E85 z4 another battery thread. Sorry

Ok! My battery recently gave out. It's a oem 70 ah 570 cranking amp. I have a 80 ah 670 cranking amp oem battery laying around. Question is. Can it be used safely and work properly?? These cars don't have to be registered but I don't want to install a battery and have a rats nest.

Will it fit? Does it have a vent for the vent tube? If yes to both you should be okay, however if it doesn't have a vent connection don't use it or you risk having acid fumes in a very confined space which ain't good.

I agree, make sure that it is the same width. you want to be able to lock it down. I just replaced my battery with one from Autozone. The first one they gave me was too narrow and I could not lock it down. I went back and got the wider one (H5 vs. H6). I understand that BMW used several different battery sizes. The amp hrs and cold cranking amps can vary, more is better.

The vent tube is critical. You don't want battery fumes or hydrogen building up in your trunk and cabin.

Ok thanks guys. I will test fit it later today and check for the vent tube. How much did you find the h5 for? I may go that route being in how the battery I have probly doesn't hold a charge either

Good news! My battery is good after all! Bad news! Well you tell me? Starter solenoid will click once. And nothing. So I'm thinking the issue is either a stuck starter or bad starter. Ideas?

Originally Posted by Droptop85

Good news! My battery is good after all! Bad news! Well you tell me? Starter solenoid will click once. And nothing. So I'm thinking the issue is either a stuck starter or bad starter. Ideas?

My Z4 did the same thin, since the battery was 5 years old, I just changed it and it cranked right up. By the way, I ended up with the H6 gold, it was about $139. If you have another battery available, I would hook it up just to see if it cranks.

Also. After I turn the key and hear the starter 'click' the alarm will chirp once I turn the key back to its normal position.

Originally Posted by Droptop85

Also. After I turn the key and hear the starter 'click' the alarm will chirp once I turn the key back to its normal position.

Go to the starter and jumper the solenoid. With the key off and a jumper wire, connect the jumper wire to the terminal with the battery cable and then touch the smaller wire momentarily and the starter should spin. If the starter spins, the starter is good and your problem is in the starting circuit. If not, the starter is bad or the engine is locked (probably just the starter). How did you determine the battery is good? My thoughts with the alarm chirp is either a security issue or battery voltage dropping low enough to reset the alarm to trigger the chirp. If you have a voltmeter, battery voltage should not drop below 10V while cranking. If you have another key, try it to make sure the transponder in one key is not damaged. BTW, Exide replacement is 48C, which is 690 CCA. Battery capacity is not an issue going up, as the electrical system will only use what it needs. While you cannot register a different battery size (at least not with my equipment on this model), you can register a battery replacement. It is my understanding that this will change the charging strategy based upon a new battery versus a deteriorated one, though most shops will just replace the battery and never register it anyway. I replaced my battery last week and the battery date code was 0909. When I entered to register, no previous replacement had been registered. It was a BMW battery, but whether installed by dealer, individual, or independent shop is unknown to me. There are other factors such as voltage drops, connections, and corrosion to be considered, especially since power travels from the rear of the vehicle to the front of the vehicle, but start with the simple things first. Good luck.

Originally Posted by brock5ga

... While you cannot register a different battery size (at least not with my equipment on this model), you can register a battery replacement. It is my understanding that this will change the charging strategy based upon a new battery versus a deteriorated one, though most shops will just replace the battery and never register it anyway. I replaced my battery last week and the battery date code was 0909. When I entered to register, no previous replacement had been registered...

What is "registering"? What is entered where to register? It sounds important but I have no idea what it's about.

Originally Posted by vintage42

What is "registering"? What is entered where to register? It sounds important but I have no idea what it's about.

On a Z4 you _don't_ need to know what it's about because our vehicles do NOT require registration. A quick Google search turned up the following:

The following late-model vehicles require battery registration:

· 2002 and newer 7-Series E65/E66 chassis
· 2003 and newer 6-Series E54/E63 chassis
· 2004 and newer 5-Series E60/E61 chassis
· 2006 and newer 3-Series E90/E91/E92/E93 chassis
· 2007 and newer X5 E70 chassis
· 2008 and newer X6 E71 chassis

As you can see, the E85/86 is not on the list. If a mechanic/dealership is charging (no pun intended) Z4 owners for "registration" then they are ripping them off.

Originally Posted by keeton

On a Z4 you _don't_ need to know what it's about because our vehicles do NOT require registration. A quick Google search turned up the following:

The following late-model vehicles require battery registration:

· 2002 and newer 7-Series E65/E66 chassis
· 2003 and newer 6-Series E54/E63 chassis
· 2004 and newer 5-Series E60/E61 chassis
· 2006 and newer 3-Series E90/E91/E92/E93 chassis
· 2007 and newer X5 E70 chassis
· 2008 and newer X6 E71 chassis

As you can see, the E85/86 is not on the list. If a mechanic/dealership is charging (no pun intended) Z4 owners for "registration" then they are ripping them off.

Battery voltage and current is monitored by the PCM and the alternator is cycled on and off to control the amount of charge it is returning to the electrical system. Some models will let you use the scan tool to change the amp hour rating as well as when the battery was replaced to help it in its calculations. I can verify from personal experience that on my 03 Z4 3.0i using a Launch x431, you can register a battery replacement in the PCM. There was no option to make changes to the battery capacity. Is this a necessary procedure, probably not. We have replaced batteries without registration for years with no issues. Will the factory scan tool let you make changes to the battery capacity on the Z4, I do not know.

Yea I swapped on the batteries and it still doesn't crank. Dang car

Thank you for the advice. How do you recommend jumping the starter? Other than removing the intake manifold is there an easier way of getting to it?

Fortunately, I have never had to get to the starter on mine. On most cars, you should be able to jack the vehicle and put it on stands and access from underneath. If it is too difficult to access both wires at the solenoid, you can jumper from the jump start terminal under the hood to the small wire on the starter.

Just logged on to Shopkey5 and looked up starter replacement procedure. It says to remove the air cleaner housing to access the starter wiring. This would be the upper and lower halves. I also looked at the wiring diagram. According to it, you should have 2 smaller wires-A black with yellow stripe that goes to the instrument cluster module and a solid black which would be your start signal wire from the immobilizer module. The solid black wire would be the one you would want to jump. You could access the immobilizer module under the dash. Disconnect the wiring from it and pin 1 should be the solid black wire to the starter. I went and looked under the hood of mine and they do have the starter tucked nicely under the intake. It still may be difficult to see the wiring with the air cleaner removed. If you cannot determine which wire to connect to, don't do it. It is much cheaper to pay someone to check it before than after something is fried.

Thank you that was very helpful. I jumped the starter silinoid today bypassing the immobilizer like you explained. Just a click is all I get out of it with a good battery. So. A starter rebuild is in session.

Anyone have a starter for sale????

Rockauto.com has a TYC starter for $66.79 + shipping and no core. Appears to have had better days. Is that just the remainder of the brushes? It's really hard to find parts for electrical parts anymore. Usually cheaper to replace them than to rebuild them. You may check for a local auto electric rebuilder close to you. We have one local I have used on some hard to find or very expensive items with mixed results.

Thanks ill check them out. And yes it appears to be brush debris. After taking it apart the brushes had seen better days for sure. Everything else looked ok after cleaning. But no one sells starter parts so I have to bit the bullet and buy a new one. But at least now ill have replacement parts

I priced brushes, solenoid, and drive gear years ago when the drive gear went out in my 88 C1500. It was cheaper to purchase a Delco reman starter than it was to buy the parts to fix mine. Everything today is replaced as an assembly. Not that things cannot be repaired, but finding parts is nearly impossible. TV repair across the street from the shop just went out of business after being there for over 30 years. Again, cheaper to replace than repair, sadly.

Just ordered my new starter from rock auto. I purchased the TYC for 76.00 shipped no core! Dealer wanted 290.00 plus the 50.00 core! Thanks brock5gA you saved me a crap ton lol.

Glad I could help

So this is all about "registration" of replacement batteries.
Why is it required? Register with who or where?
Glad that none of our four cars seem to need it.