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      10-27-2014, 10:50 AM   #64
WestCDA
Second Lieutenant
Canada
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Drives: 2006 Z4R 3.0si
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Calgary, Alberta

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I just did a warranty replacement of my group 47/H5 battery, and replaced it with a group 48/H6 - this required a modified BMW battery mounting adapter (details below). At the point it was replaced, the battery would seem to accept a full charge from a battery charger, but would last a couple of days at most before it would no longer start the car. The battery was purchased and installed in June of 2012, so was replaced after about 2 years 4 months.

The battery/electrical has been acting up for most of this summer, so I'd say it had problems earlier, solved by keeping it on a CTEK smart charger - it just reached a point where it was un-useable recently. The car is stored over the winter months, but the battery is maintained during that period.

The battery was tested at the supplier (Canadian Tire) and found to be faulty, so the new one was no cost under their 4 year free replacement (I paid 5.00 to upgrade to the group 48/H6 size). This is their premium line of lead/acid batteries (Eliminator series) which are manufactured by Exide, one of the BMW OEM suppliers.

To fit the larger battery, I had to remove the plastic adapter BMW uses at the bottom of the battery housing, which clamps the right side of the battery in place. If removed to accommodate an H6 battery replacement, the battery is not only free to move side to side, but also move up and down (as far as the bracket spanning the battery fore and aft will allow). This is not a good thing. A spacer can be made to wedge in there and prevent the battery from shifting sideways, but it looks kludgy and doesn't clamp the battery down to prevent it from lifting.

RealOEM shows two OEM battery adapters for that right side mount - one for the smaller 50/55AH battery (PN 61216916634) and one for the larger 70AH battery (PN 61216911025). I have the latter on order (cost is approximately 6 dollars from the usual suppliers). For those converting to the wider H6 battery, I'd definitely get this part to ensure the battery is properly secured from lateral and vertical movement.

I've updated this replacement info into the spreadsheet below my original H5 battery posting.
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