[fazman]

Originally Posted by BMW ONLY

What if you remove the ibs and take out the battery and charge it to max and return it to the trunk?

That's a lot more extra work, at that point... why not just change the battery with a new one for $100?

[Cruiser124]

Originally Posted by BMW ONLY

What if you remove the ibs and take out the battery and charge it to max and return it to the trunk?

What if you remove the ibs and take out the battery and charge it to max and return it to the trunk?[/QUOTE]

Pain in the ass to remove from car. I just disconnect the terminals at the battery and throw it on 2am trickle charge overnight, simple.

[BMW ONLY]

Originally Posted by fazman

That's a lot more extra work, at that point... why not just change the battery with a new one for $100?

The battery is not $100. But I guess that's another way to go.

[fazman]

Originally Posted by BMW ONLY

The battery is not $100. But I guess that's another way to go.

Okay... your right... let's say $200 for an H8 AGM? It's still not that much when you average it out over 7 years

[BMW ONLY]

Originally Posted by fazman

Okay... your right... let's say $200 for an H8 AGM? It's still not that much when you average it out over 7 years

True. Where do you get your battery from?

[fazman]

Originally Posted by BMW ONLY

True. Where do you get your battery from?

Advanced Auto Parts

My original battery lasted 7 years and I think it was just under 100k miles. It was FLA battery 90AH. I bought an H8-AGM from AAP had my friend install it and code my car for AGM. Under $150 with 30% off coupon code and it has been a champ since Oct 2014 and 50k miles.

But I do a lot of long distance driving on this AGM and I usually leave my car running (locked) when I need to do short trips like dropping my kid off at school or anything that would last less than 5 minutes away from the car.

My thinking is, the less you use the starter motor... the longer it should last before needing a replacement. It's also a lot easier to replace gas in my tank than it is to get stuck with a starter that doesn't work and needing a tow to an indy to get fixed. When that happens... I have AAA Plus with four free 100 mile tows. I'm thinking to upgrade to the next tier up with a free 200 mile tow.

[BMW ONLY]

Originally Posted by fazman

Advanced Auto Parts

My original battery lasted 7 years and I think it was just under 100k miles. It was FLA battery 90AH. I bought an H8-AGM from AAP had my friend install it and code my car for AGM. Under $150 with 30% off coupon code and it has been a champ since Oct 2014 and 50k miles.

But I do a lot of long distance driving on this AGM and I usually leave my car running (locked) when I need to do short trips like dropping my kid off at school or anything that would last less than 5 minutes away from the car.

My thinking is, the less you use the starter motor... the longer it should last before needing a replacement. It's also a lot easier to replace gas in my tank than it is to get stuck with a starter that doesn't work and needing a tow to an indy to get fixed. When that happens... I have AAA Plus with four free 100 mile tows. I'm thinking to upgrade to the next tier up with a free 200 mile tow.

Nice. Thank you.

[delmarco]

This is how you can do it with a portable jumper!

[Wazza320]

Ok I have that issue with a dead battery but I can't open the boot to access and remove old battery as it completely flat now. Since I have a wagon (E91) I could climb over the back seat but I am a large bloke and it would be ridiculously cramped for me to try and work in such a confined space.
My battery jump-starter no longer holds a charge and goes to flat as soon as I connect it so I cannot get enough trickle to open the boot that way. Before I go out and buy a new one tomorrow, can either of these following options be safe to try?
1. I have a charger - can I connect it up under the hood to the jump points and try and get enough charger that way? (Usually I would remove a battery before putting on a charger).
2. I have the new replacement battery ready, can I use jumper cables to connect (daisy chain?) that to the jumper points under the bonnet instead and use it's full charge to wake the car up and unlock the boot?

Also one other concern, the new battery is an AGM same as the original but the cold cranking amps are rated much higher (1080CCA/85Ah). Is this going to be a problem? I didn't think it would be because (my understanding is...) that is its ability to supply that many amps if called on to, but not what it does actually supply as a constant charge right?

BMW model: 2010 (post LCI) 320d E91 (Wagon)

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by Wazza320

Ok I have that issue with a dead battery but I can't open the boot to access and remove old battery as it completely flat now. Since I have a wagon (E91)...My battery jump-starter no longer holds a charge and goes to flat as soon as I connect it so I cannot get enough trickle to open the boot that way. Before I go out and buy a new one tomorrow, can either of these following options be safe to try?
1. I have a charger - can I connect it up under the hood to the jump points and try and get enough charger that way? (Usually I would remove a battery before putting on a charger).
2. I have the new replacement battery ready, can I use jumper cables to connect (daisy chain?) that to the jumper points under the bonnet instead and use it's full charge to wake the car up and unlock the boot?

Also one other concern, the new battery is an AGM same as the original but the cold cranking amps are rated much higher (1080CCA/85Ah). Is this going to be a problem? I didn't think it would be because (my understanding is...) that is its ability to supply that many amps if called on to, but not what it does actually supply as a constant charge right? BMW model: 2010 (post LCI) 320d E91 (Wagon)

If you connect another battery (via jumper cables) or a charger with at least 6 Amp output to the Jumpstart terminals under the hood, you should have enough system voltage to be able to use the tailgate unlock button @ lower-front of driver door (OR the center-dash Central Locking Lock/ Unlock button) to unlock the tailgate at which point you can open it using the exterior handle. It would be a plus to get to "mechanical emergency release" step below IF you could unlock one of the rear doors, pulling interior handle twice.

There are other wiring "patches" that can be done, but rather than disassemble a bunch of stuff and pour over wiring diagrams, I would suggest the following if the preceding did NOT work.

If NOTHING works electrically, you (or the nearest "little person" you can find ;-) can put the rear seat backs down, crawl in prone position to tailgate (with plastic upholstery pry in hand ;-) and then remove the lower trim (carpeted) panel on the inside of the tailgate by prying 3 metal tabs at BOTTOM of carpeted trim panel, and swinging bottom of trim panel forward to remove. There is a pull handle inside to release "hatch latch." You should NOW be able to open the tailgate from outside.

See "Tailgate, Opening Manually" in your Owner's Manual for description & diagrams.

Forgot your question about Battery: If prior battery was AGM and you are replacing with AGM (Same Type), no programming is needed.

The next question is what Ah rating is system currently set for (INPA would tell you). I'm NOT sure of the exact choices of Ah, but my understanding is that there is one choice in the range of ~ 80 Ah, and another at 90 Ah (that's what is selected on mine but you need to know yours), and if your battery has a rating somewhere in between, you simply select or keep whatever option is NEAREST your battery's rating.

No need to worry about "registration" which just records mileage/km on odometer when "Register" button is pushed, and that is for informational or Tech reference purposes only. The Histogram of SoH for last 5 starts will be overwritten in 5 starts anyway, so even though that CAN be cleared, no need if you don't have INPA/ISTA, etc.

George

[ctuna]

Why would you do that it dosen't charge any better
and you increase the chance you will screw something up.

I thought all e91's have fold down seats.
Mine does and they have the buttons to release them
at the top of the rear seats.

[assassinsbrotherhood]

Originally Posted by sankohuy

Wow I never knew that! I was about to get a charger, plug into the trunk battery, and do my flashing!

Yeah, very lucky you asked here first. Could have been an expensive remedy.

[gjm120]

Originally Posted by gbalthrop

No need to worry about "registration" which just records mileage/km on odometer when "Register" button is pushed, and that is for informational or Tech reference purposes only.

George

This may be an old BMW wive's tale, but, I think you need to register a new battery even if the same type and ah. My understanding is the charging profile for a new battery is different than for an older one.

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by gjm120

This may be an old BMW wive's tale, but, I think you need to register a new battery even if the same type and ah. My understanding is the charging profile for a new battery is different than for an older one.

While I have NO personal knowledge of "old BMW wives tales/tails":

1) The mileage existing at the moment a replacement battery is "registered" is recorded in the DME Power Management module, NOT Date.
2) IF it made some calculation based upon mileage as opposed to battery age, why would we NOT see major differences in battery life based upon miles driven per year?
3) Most important, WHY would BMW have devised a system that calculates SoH (State of Health) of the battery EVERY time the engine is started, and saves that data in the "Battery Histogram", and WHY is the Histogram being constantly overwritten by the data from the last 5 days/starts?

So, based upon what I have read (NOT necessarily on forums where "Urban Legend" is prevalent ;-) in BMW Training Manuals, and what I HAVE read on other Forums where knowledgeable, trained BMW Techs have offered opinions based upon professional BMW AG training & their experience, "Batterietausch Registrieren," or Replacement Battery Registration, is ONLY for Tech reference (a record a Tech with INPA/ISTA can retrieve from the car) and is NOT used by the DME to determine HOW to charge the Battery.

Think of the difference between a Number Field (which may be made a part of a computation or formula) & a Text Field which is simply informational. Further complicating the issue is the fact that there are multiple versions of the IBS, what data it provides to the DME, how that data is transmitted (BSD vs. LINBUS), what faults the DME is able to identify & save in memory, etc. So what I am talking about is what I understand from reliable sources to be the way the Power Management System functions in E9x vehicles such as mine.

If ANYONE has any reliable facts that suggest otherwise, please enlighten me. I attach the BMW Training Manual: "Power Mangement" and would suggest anyone interested in knowing what BMW has to say about their Power Management System actually read pages 5-11 of that pdf.

CONFESSION:

In learning how to use INPA, I pressed the F5 (Batterietausch Registrieren) button just to see what screen came up. NOTHING came up When I examined the "PM InfoField 1" or Power Management Information Field #1 which shows the "Last Battery Replacement" mileage/km there was the current km, and I hadn't even disconnected the battery terminals (so much for INTELLIGENT battery sensor ;-) My charging system has worked fine ever since even though my battery is 4+ years old. By mistake, I pushed the same button on a later date, so NOW I have TWO bogus "Last Battery Replacement" mileage/km entries in the DME -- everything still works same as ever.

I suppose the Marketing division of BMW enjoys the fact that they have sold us on the concept that BMW engineering is so superior that we can't possibly understand or explain it. The engineers, perhaps "not so much."

George

[gjm120]

I've seen that article before and should read it more closely and I see your point. I admit no mention is made of registration and adapting charging profile accordingly. But no mention (as far as I found) is made of coding for battery type or Ah either and I think we all agree this is necessary. These cars surprise me in the amount of data taken in and acted upon (think about the fact engine power will be reduced based on brake heat (not actually heat but calculated temperature based on braking). Bottom line for me is I don't know what to believe. At least battery registration is easy. I like you found out it is a little too easy in INPA (no 'are you sure you want to do this' message).

And I'd love to know what in world the SOH number means. I've seen so many screenshots with something like 3.91