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End All Battery Replacement Thread

165K views 325 replies 99 participants last post by  PSYKOH 
#1 ·
E60 Battery Replacement
I have done a ton of researching for you and moderators please make this a sticky for battery replacement in the E60

This IS kind of a pain but if you want to save money and get it done correctly THIS is the way to do it.

Duralast Gold/Battery 95R-DLG
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/_/N-5yc1s?itemIdentifier=820339
Here's the battery, AutoZone sells it for $179.99. IGNORE the AutoZone battery finder thing, it's COMPLETELY WRONG and spits out the wrong battery.

Or:
AutoCraft Gold Battery, Group Size 95R, 950 CCA
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/we...oup-size-95r-950-cca-autocraft-gold_2130016-p
Here's the battery, Advance Auto sells it for $182.99. IGNORE the Advance auto battery finder thing, it's COMPLETELY WRONG and spits out the wrong battery.

Or:
http://www.batteriesplus.com/produc...es/94199-BMW/545I/2004-V8-4-dot4L-850CCA.aspx
SLI95RH9

Old Battery: If this is your old battery
01 Battery from Exide (Warranty Only) 110AH 850A 1 61216901815 ENDED
01 Battery from Exide (Warranty Only) 110AH 850A 1 61217591085 ENDED

OEM Battery Specs:
Cold Cranking Amps (CCA): 850
Reserve Capacity (Min): 110
Battery Length: 394 mm - 15 9/16 in
Battery Width: 175 mm - 6 15/16 in
Battery Height: 190 mm - 7 1/2 in
Post Location: Top Post
Right Or Left Hand Positive: Right
Core Charge Applicable: Yes

New Battery (this is for the one I got from Advance Auto)
AutoCraft Gold Battery, Group Size 95R, 950 CCA
Amp Hours: 110 hr
Battery Type: Lead Acid
BCI Group Size: 95
Cold Cranking Amps: 950 amps
Deep Cycle/Starting: Starting
Height: 7 1/2 in
Length: 15 9/16 in
Maintenance Free: Yes
Terminal Type: Top Terminal
Voltage: 12 v
Weight: 64 lbs
Width: 6 15/16 in

Autocraft Gold CCA 950 AH 110 RC 150
BMW OEM CCC 850 AH 110 RC 110

Other batteries that I think will work but not positive:
http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/9073748/00390/?quantity=148-690B Bosch from Bosch Premium Performance Battery Group Size 48 Pepboys $113.99
Part # 48-690B SKU: 9073748

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...cpncode=31-153196531-2&sid=IDx20070921x00003c
DieHard Gold Automotive Battery - Group Size 48 $149.99

DO NOT GET THE H8 BATTERY FROM WAL-MART ALTHOUGH THE CCA IS BETTER THAN OEM AT 900CCA THE AH ON THIS BATTERY IS ONLY 80 WHICH IS NOT ENOUGH FOR OUR CARS!!!!

Out of all these choices I ended up getting the Advance Auto Battery and with using coupon code HUGE50 or TPT 30 I ended up getting $50 off of the battery. For these coupon codes to work you MUST purchase the battery online and do in store pickup!!!

If you get the Autozone or Advance Auto battery (Which I would recommend doing) they will not be able to touch your car: (I did this in the parking lot of advance auto)
Under the hood use a 12 volt source so that you car never loses power!

Battery removal and installation:
1. Remove the trunk carpet/plastic floor and lift the tray containing the spare.
2. Locate the battery by pulling the rear right corner panel inside of your trunk. There should be 1-2 plastic screws that hold the panel down.
3. Use i believe a 11-13mm socket wrench to unbolt the retainer bar (black) that holds down the battery.
4. Use a 10mm socket wrench to loosen the positive and negative terminal and pull them off the battery. Note that the positive plug has two connections. Only need to loosen the one that is connected to the battery (which is closest to the North edge)
5. Use a Phillips screw driver to loosen the long gray screw on the South side of the battery. This is clipping down the battery on the bottom.
6. Once loose enough, pull the battery straight out.
7. Replace battery and then make sure the metal clip is sitting on top of the edge of the battery case (at the bottom of the battery)
8. Tight screw so battery is held down from the bottom.
9. Attach plugs to Positive and Negative terminals and tighten the nuts.
10. Tighten the retaining bar back on and put the corner panel back.
11. Start your car and let it run for a couple of minutes and drive around the block.
13. If your car has the 4x4 warning come up all you have to do it sweep your steering wheel all the way to the left and than all the way to the right and this warning will go away.
14. If you didn't use the 12 volt source and lost power to the car, you must reset the date and time and also don't forget to reset the TPMS through the I-Drive.

After this is all completed you car should now be running fine and throwing no codes if done correctly: Call your nearest dealer or Indy shop and ask how much for "battery registration" You don't HAVE to do this but I would HIGHLY recommend it!!!
My one local dealer wanted $103.99 to register the new battery but another dealership through some talking to them opted to do it for FREE!!!

So my all in costs was $156 after the discount coupon code for advance auto and PA State tax of 6%

My dealer wanted $500 for battery replacement, installation and registering. This process I admit was a pain but with this information I already saved the leg work for you. I saved myself $344 doing the process this way!!!
 
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#156 · (Edited)
"JayArras
Super Moderator
2007 BMW 530xi

Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Fairfield County, CT
Posts: 1,681
Default
The answer is yes unless the replacement battery was an exact match spec-wise (i.e. battery type, CCA, etc. The IBS doesn't really enter into the equation.
__________________
2007 530xi, Black Metallic Sapphire, 6 speed manual, Sport package, Cold Weather Package, Premium Package, Premium Sound Package, Sirius Satellite Radio, MTech front bumper, Replica Style 166 wheels"
Well the whole reason for registering the battery is so your car knows its a new battery and to change it's settings to charge it accordingly using information from via the IBS, correct?.

So I'm not sure how the IBS wouldn't be part of the equation.

************************************

"The IBS contains a micro-processor that is used to monitor/measure various battery conditions such as:

Terminal voltage via measurement from B+ to Gnd
Charge/discharge current via integrated shunt resistor
Temperature of battery acid via integrated temp sensor

Intelligent Battery Sensor

The IBS is able to withstand thermal loads up to 105°C, the chemical effects of the battery acid.

IBS MEASURING/EVALUATION FUNCTION
The measuring/evaluation function of the IBS electronics, continuously measures the following values under all vehicle operating conditions:

Voltage (6V to 16.5V)
Current (200A to +200A)
Closed Circuit Current (0A to 10A)
Starting Current (0A to 1000A)
Temperature (-40C to 105C)

******************************************************

Thank you though for your input. Anyone else wanna chime in? Also still looking to see if anyone has objections/reasons why I shouldn't operate the car with the IBS disconnected.[/QUOTE]
 
#159 ·
The ECU ONLY is what is updated when you program or register the battery. The battery has no microprocessor and the IBS is a rather rudimentary processor and sensor combination, designed to hold a small amount of data while the engine is off and the ECU is shutdown, and is unaffected during programming.

The main purpose of the IBS is to allow the ECU to safely vary the system voltage based upon the perceived need to recharge the battery. If the battery is very low on charge the ECU will set a higher target system voltage for the voltage regulator contained in the alternator to get the battery recharged quickly. This is compared to older car electrical systems which typically set a fixed system voltage of between 13.9V and 14.2V, and recharged batteries at a fixed rate.

The IBS is usually disconnected if it has become moisture damaged (early E60s from 2003 to 2006 were not sealed properly and are prone to failure). The IBS contains an internal function allowing it to wake up the ECU in the event that after engine shutdown there is excessive battery drain and allows the ECU to shut down certain power consumers on the electrical system via a relay to preserve the battery charge. The wake up function is designed to be performed only once. But moisture damaged IBS can repeatedly wake the ECU which can quickly drain the battery.

Raising the system voltage can be detrimental to battery life if the temperature of the battery acid during accelerated charging reaches the boiling point. Water in the acid solution will boil away, and in a sealed battery cannot be replenished and will adversely affect battery life. Before computerized charging systems this was a common occurrence in car batteries and why an important part of battery maintenance was checking cell acid solution levels and adding distilled water as needed to prevent the cell charging plates from being exposed. The IBS with its built-in acid temperature monitor (actually measures the temperature of the negative terminal) can signal the ECU to back down the system voltage when the temperature begins to approach boiling.

An additional issue is the sensitivity of AGM batteries to voltage. AGM batteries should never be charged with a voltage exceeding 14.8V or they can be damaged, whereas the older FLA style can easily accept 15.5V or more for a short period. This is the most important function of programming the ECU for the battery. Telling the ECU if the battery is an AGM type will prevent the ECU from ever telling the voltage regulator to exceed 14.8V during accelerated charging.

When the IBS fails or is disconnected the ECU senses that it can gain no information regarding battery health or acid temperature and defaults to a fixed system voltage of just over 14V (like older style charging systems). This may have a minor effect on battery life as during long highway trips when the battery becomes fully charged there is the opportunity for an IBS enabled charging system to lower the system voltage even further (down into the mid 13s) to prevent overcharging the battery, but it won't be substantial for most owners.

Other than preventing overcharging an AGM type battery with a voltage greater than 14.8V, there is really no magic to battery registration and no measurable increase in battery life.

I had the opportunity to measure battery charging voltages long term before battery replacement (dealer replacement of FLA type with AGM and registration) and after replacement of that AGM battery when it died 3.5 years later with another AGM battery I installed with no registration. I saw no change in normal system voltage over time and certainly have seen no over-charging of the new battery, as is the claim that BMW always makes in favor of registration.

I have a OBDII cable and run both DIS and INPA regularly for diagnostics, and could register the battery myself, but as it is already properly registered to an AGM type battery I don't feel the need.

Moral of the story - If an FLA type battery is registered, don't replace it with an AGM type battery without registering the AGM type afterwards. Other than that, registration is only a great way to keep your dealer making money.
 
#165 ·
Thanks for this. I have an FLA right now in my 545i. Bought from the dealer back in 2010 for almost 500.00 installed. It is the white Exide battery.

I am going to use a Walmart FLA H8 and not register it. I was told that I need to put a trickle charger to to keep my car from losing its settings. Where do I put the charger? I was going to put 2amps at the jump starting connections under the hood. Is that right?
 
#161 ·
Bimmerfan, thanks for the awesome explanation!!!

It's funny the IBS is being brought up as my car has been giving me a high batter drain warning on startup obsessionally. I've had to reset the time and date about 4 or 5 different times over the past three weeks because of it. I have no idea if it's something like the IBS or just my car being needy since I really haven't taken her on a significant drive in awhile.
 
#162 ·
Greetings TX550!

Check that your battery cables are tight.

IBS failure is possible, but the IBS was fairly well insulated by 2008. You can disconnect it for a few weeks to see if the battery drain goes away.

If you are handy with a multimeter or have a plug in voltmeter, monitor your alternator output as it may not be fully charging the battery. My VR went bad at about eight years so you are entering that window of failure.

The 5-series does use a lot of power and each start drains the battery significantly. A nice long drive may correct your problems. Alternately you can use a battery tender to keep the battery safely "topped off" with a full charge. Leaving the battery undercharged long term will shorten its life significantly (battery plates coated with sulphate crystals) and depending upon your battery's age you may have already reached that point.
 
#163 ·
Thanks for your reply bimmer!

I plan to give everything a once over tomorrow. My battery is about 1.5 years old and it was replaced by my indy so it got the full registration treatment. In the mornings, it will sometimes crank longer than normal.

If it was the VR/alternator giving up, would I be getting any other error codes? When my previous battery was tapping out, odd things would happen like the radio cutting out, the SOS button flashing, etc.
 
#168 ·
Blue Text Cobalt blue Font Technology
I think it's time for a new battery. 04 525i 135k. I've had this car for about a year now. I installed an aftermarket sub, an amp and a digital 4farad capacitor in the trunk about 4 months ago. The voltage has always read between 13.9 and 14.2 while the sub was turned up. Recently the voltage reads 14.2 when the music is off but as soon as I turn it on and raise the volume the amps go down to 9.00 on the capacitor and the bass shuts off. I have Carly and in the parameters section I've been monitoring the battery voltage. Other than the bass shutting off everything seems ok. Any input?
 
#170 ·
Uh, No... FLA battery, 110ah. AGM battery, 95ah. With the amp, sub, etc that you have installed go with the AGM battery. Even though it has fewer Ah, the AGM will accept a faster charge rate, thus recovering better for your usage. Remember changing from a FLA battery to AGM will require reprogramming to AGM and resetting your ah rating, plus usual registration. You can accomplish all with your Carly.
 
#173 ·
Call the 800 number shown in photo 3. Interstate will confirm based on the part number what you have.... 04 & 05 e60 were mfd with FLA batteries installed as OEM. Take your Carly and look how it is set up now. By the way, I notice on your ground terminal in photo 3, you are missing the IBS terminal. Hard to get the system to function as designed with part of the system absent.
 
#174 ·
I didn't know that. I'm going to check again in a few minutes and take some pics. Since I didn't disconnect anything I assumed that everything that was supposed to be plugged in was actually plugged in. I didn't get any codes at all so I would've never known
 
#177 · (Edited)
I stand corrected. Have you placed another ground cable on the negative terminal? Ok, I see now, you have tapped in for the amp or something on both posts, both positive and negative. That was throwing me off on that earlier photo, sorry.

With your Carly, go in as though you are going to register a battery, but don't. You have the option to change the battery type, FLA or AGM. You can escape and back out without changing anything by using the back arrow in the left top of the screen, going off memory. You can also check what Ah is currently recorded. Just don't Chang any settings...
 
#182 ·
Well, my AcDelco battery is due for a replacement about two years later which seems a bit premature. Upon going over this thread again, I saw that 80 AH will not work well with our vehicles. After looking at my battery, the only specs listed on the top are 900 CCA and 150 RC...do these sound about right? It seems that dividing the RC by 2 is a good way to get near the AH; if that's the case, I'm only at 75 AH with this battery!

The battery is still under warranty, but if these specs aren't correct, I'm going to get another one with the correct specs...what do you all think?
 
#184 ·
Well, my AcDelco battery is due for a replacement about two years later which seems a bit premature. Upon going over this thread again, I saw that 80 AH will not work well with our vehicles. After looking at my battery, the only specs listed on the top are 900 CCA and 150 RC...do these sound about right? It seems that dividing the RC by 2 is a good way to get near the AH; if that's the case, I'm only at 75 AH with this battery!

The battery is still under warranty, but if these specs aren't correct, I'm going to get another one with the correct specs...what do you all think?
Yes AC Delco batteries.. i have a bad experience with them. Friend of the family is the distributor here so we got good prices and i changed all the batteries (that we due) over the course of 2 years to AC Delco for my personal and company's cars. They all leaked prematurely some barely into the second year, in total they were around 5-7 batteries. Though i dont remember where you could read how many amps they were. Maybe its written in the model number?

I'd recommend Bosch S5 units 100AH if you dont want to go AGM.
 
#185 ·
A note to consider (and if it's already been noted, apologies).

I went over the Advance auto to buy a battery. After getting the wrong advice from their app, I found a 95R/H9 FLA for my '07 530.

The two on the shelf were 2 1/2 years old. Since it had acid in it, and was never shelf-charged, it had likely sulfated to some extent. The counter guys haven't a clue about long-term sulfation in on-the-shelf FLA batteries.

My point here is look at the date code, particularly if you live in an area where there's not much demand for H9 batteries. Yes, there's a warranty; but who needs the hassle of an iffy battery?

No comment on AGMs; I have not seen docs on the long term effects of on-the-shelf uncharged AGMs.

Just a note. FLA, at least, have a shelf life.
 
#187 ·
+1...you should aways look at the date code on a new battery (and tires).
Really interesting article on Paul Walker's fatal accident referenced in a thread in "off topic".
 
#188 ·
Interesting...I read that thread about Paul Walker's accident. Those tires were too old. My wife thinks I'm nuts about my tire buying practices :) For decades now, I've insisted on nothing less than A traction, A temperature and H rated for all the family cars. That's pretty easy to come by these days, but it hasn't always been that way. I've gotten a replacement tire mid-way though the life of the remaining 3 for my wife's X5 with RFT. I'll went to eBay and found one with the same factory code, no repairs and a +/- few months date code. Ordering new tires from tirerack is going to give you a recent date code every time due to their volume. Local tire shops may have something laying around they might try to use. If I go to a local tire shop, I let them know in advance I won't accept a new tire with a date code more than 6 months old.
 
#189 ·
If I'm going to replace mine with something other than the ACDelco that I'll be getting, I'm just going to go with another FLA battery to avoid having to code my car to accept the AGM.

If I go to a battery with a higher AH than my current battery, will I need to have it coded again?
 
#190 ·
If I'm going to replace mine with something other than the ACDelco that I'll be getting, I'm just going to go with another FLA battery to avoid having to code my car to accept the AGM.

If I go to a battery with a higher AH than my current battery, will I need to have it coded again?
If you never reprogrammed the car it from the original specs, then no, you don't need to do anything other than register the new one. I also chose to just replace my 2006 with a flooded battery since that was what was in the car, but that was before I had Carly. I don't think it really matters which kind you get as long as the car knows what's there.
 
#193 ·
To quote Bimmerfan52:

"The ECU ONLY is what is updated when you program or register the battery. The battery has no microprocessor and the IBS is a rather rudimentary processor and sensor combination, designed to hold a small amount of data while the engine is off and the ECU is shutdown, and is unaffected during programming.

The main purpose of the IBS is to allow the ECU to safely vary the system voltage based upon the perceived need to recharge the battery. If the battery is very low on charge the ECU will set a higher target system voltage for the voltage regulator contained in the alternator to get the battery recharged quickly. This is compared to older car electrical systems which typically set a fixed system voltage of between 13.9V and 14.2V, and recharged batteries at a fixed rate.

The IBS is usually disconnected if it has become moisture damaged (early E60s from 2003 to 2006 were not sealed properly and are prone to failure). The IBS contains an internal function allowing it to wake up the ECU in the event that after engine shutdown there is excessive battery drain and allows the ECU to shut down certain power consumers on the electrical system via a relay to preserve the battery charge. The wake up function is designed to be performed only once. But moisture damaged IBS can repeatedly wake the ECU which can quickly drain the battery.

Raising the system voltage can be detrimental to battery life if the temperature of the battery acid during accelerated charging reaches the boiling point. Water in the acid solution will boil away, and in a sealed battery cannot be replenished and will adversely affect battery life. Before computerized charging systems this was a common occurrence in car batteries and why an important part of battery maintenance was checking cell acid solution levels and adding distilled water as needed to prevent the cell charging plates from being exposed. The IBS with its built-in acid temperature monitor (actually measures the temperature of the negative terminal) can signal the ECU to back down the system voltage when the temperature begins to approach boiling.

An additional issue is the sensitivity of AGM batteries to voltage. AGM batteries should never be charged with a voltage exceeding 14.8V or they can be damaged, whereas the older FLA style can easily accept 15.5V or more for a short period. This is the most important function of programming the ECU for the battery. Telling the ECU if the battery is an AGM type will prevent the ECU from ever telling the voltage regulator to exceed 14.8V during accelerated charging.

When the IBS fails or is disconnected the ECU senses that it can gain no information regarding battery health or acid temperature and defaults to a fixed system voltage of just over 14V (like older style charging systems). This may have a minor effect on battery life as during long highway trips when the battery becomes fully charged there is the opportunity for an IBS enabled charging system to lower the system voltage even further (down into the mid 13s) to prevent overcharging the battery, but it won't be substantial for most owners.

Other than preventing overcharging an AGM type battery with a voltage greater than 14.8V, there is really no magic to battery registration and no measurable increase in battery life.

I had the opportunity to measure battery charging voltages long term before battery replacement (dealer replacement of FLA type with AGM and registration) and after replacement of that AGM battery when it died 3.5 years later with another AGM battery I installed with no registration. I saw no change in normal system voltage over time and certainly have seen no over-charging of the new battery, as is the claim that BMW always makes in favor of registration.

I have a OBDII cable and run both DIS and INPA regularly for diagnostics, and could register the battery myself, but as it is already properly registered to an AGM type battery I don't feel the need.

Moral of the story - If an FLA type battery is registered, don't replace it with an AGM type battery without registering the AGM type afterwards. Other than that, registration is only a great way to keep your dealer making money."

Emphasis mine.
 
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