Car Battery

[jnkhan82]

Hey,

I found out my battery is going bad, tends to die if I don't start my car every 3-4 days. I was wondering if there is a brand anyone would recommend?

Also is the battery swap easy on the z's? I'm not very handy when it comes to car issues...

Thanks in advance.

J

[TriAdX]

lmao.. ur sig "bug" just got me.. I tried to "squish" it.. but to no avail!

[GeorgeT]

Originally Posted by jnkhan82

Also is the battery swap easy on the z's? I'm not very handy when it comes to car issues...

J

Go to your local parts store (Advance Auto, Autozone, O'Reillys etc.) and have them replace it. It's really pretty simple. They are pricey, in the $150 range, depending on capacity. Interstate, Delco and most "branded" batteries are good.

[gferil]

^I agree with above if you aren't comfortable doing it on your own. Sears usually does a good job too. Just makes sure that whatever battery you have meets or exceeds the specs of the OEM battery, don't let them put a battery in that doesn't have as much cold cranking amps, etc.

[jnkhan82]

Thanks guys! going this week to swap it.

[chickdr]

One other comment. My battery seems to be dying off as well. I had looked at O'Reilly previously and noticed they carried an AGM battery for $155(part #48-AGM) which is cheaper than the OEM battery and appears to be identical in every way. Today I noticed they also carry a non-AGM version which runs $105(part #48-72). Same dimensions as the AGM, same 72mth 2yr replacement warranty. The only difference is CCA are a bit lower at 700 vs 760 for the AGM version. Seems like a great deal to me.

[pelerojo]

I went with the AGM and the higher CCA and it makes a difference at least with the S54. It spins over much easier. Perfect fit. Easy Install, but not cheap.

[chickdr]

Originally Posted by pelerojo

I went with the AGM and the higher CCA and it makes a difference at least with the S54. It spins over much easier. Perfect fit. Easy Install, but not cheap.

As my store did not have the AGM type in stock I went with the standard battery. Seems to work fine on my S54. It is also identical to the OEM battery for anyone who wants to know. I bet it came from the same factory. We will see about cooler temps, but I can't imagine 60 less CCA could make too much difference as the rest of the specs are the same. I certainly like the 33% lower price. Install was plug and play, but the cover was a pain to get back in place.

[racerbruce]

Just pro-actively replaced my battery due to my Z4M's production date of Nov 06....and a replacement date of July 2011 (4.5 yrs old....that's enough).

My BMW dealer replaced my battery during schedule inspection.

Originally Posted by jnkhan82

Hey,

I found out my battery is going bad, tends to die if I don't start my car every 3-4 days. I was wondering if there is a brand anyone would recommend?

Also is the battery swap easy on the z's? I'm not very handy when it comes to car issues...

Thanks in advance.

J

[imom]

Originally Posted by chickdr

As my store did not have the AGM type in stock I went with the standard battery. Seems to work fine on my S54. It is also identical to the OEM battery for anyone who wants to know. I bet it came from the same factory. We will see about cooler temps, but I can't imagine 60 less CCA could make too much difference as the rest of the specs are the same. I certainly like the 33% lower price. Install was plug and play, but the cover was a pain to get back in place.

chickdr - when you had the battery replaced...did you have to attach to another battery or battery tender to keep the computer settings alive? I heard some German cars require this...wasn't sure if the Z4s required this, just read some post about battery failure and going into limp mode afterwards.

[chickdr]

Originally Posted by imom

chickdr - when you had the battery replaced...did you have to attach to another battery or battery tender to keep the computer settings alive? I heard some German cars require this...wasn't sure if the Z4s required this, just read some post about battery failure and going into limp mode afterwards.

I think the E85 Z4 is one of the last BMW's to allow a true DIY battery replacement. I took my battery out, and brought it to the parts store to get the core value then brought the new battery back and installed it. All I had to do was reset the clock. It fired right up.

[Evan70]

Just replaced mine about a month ago with the AGM from Oreillys. Did the swap myself, very easy. Old battery died very suddenly, literally went from working fine to not holding a charge at all in 8 hours. So if you have a 2006 model year, you might really want to think of proactively swapping it if you don't have a second vehicle.

[CJW2OO4]

this is an older thread from e46fanatics that discusses replacement batteries. It might be of some help to people looking to replace their unit.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...756&highlight=

[chickdr]

Originally Posted by Evan70

Just replaced mine about a month ago with the AGM from Oreillys. Did the swap myself, very easy. Old battery died very suddenly, literally went from working fine to not holding a charge at all in 8 hours. So if you have a 2006 model year, you might really want to think of proactively swapping it if you don't have a second vehicle.

Funny, this is exactly my story. I drove the car one night and all was well then it was completely flat the next day. I put it on the charger and it did start after a few hours, but the battery did not top off as usual after 24+ hrs on the charger. I figured why not go ahead and replace it...

[Silververtu]

Originally Posted by Evan70

Just replaced mine about a month ago with the AGM from Oreillys. Did the swap myself, very easy. Old battery died very suddenly, literally went from working fine to not holding a charge at all in 8 hours. So if you have a 2006 model year, you might really want to think of proactively swapping it if you don't have a second vehicle.

Feels like i should get mine replaced soon

[gferil]

Originally Posted by imom

chickdr - when you had the battery replaced...did you have to attach to another battery or battery tender to keep the computer settings alive? I heard some German cars require this...wasn't sure if the Z4s required this, just read some post about battery failure and going into limp mode afterwards.

When I replaced my battery, I didn't hook it up to a tender and with the exception of the auto up on the windows not working right away (they started working after a day or so), everything else was fine.

However, last week when my battery died while the car was parked at the airport (and I was only gone 4 days), the car went into limp mode for the first 20 minutes. So as long as you are doing a swap the same day you should be good...I think.

[santov]

Don't be afraid to swap your own batteries. There's no codes or errors that need to be reset. You will have to reset the clock and MAYBE the windows (search around for the procedure).

I've topped my battery off with a tender overnight about once a month (when I remember). It def starts faster when topped off.

[chickdr]

Originally Posted by CJW2OO4

this is an older thread from e46fanatics that discusses replacement batteries. It might be of some help to people looking to replace their unit.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...756&highlight=

That thread discusses #94 size batteries which are not the same as our 48 batteries. What I found interesting is the posts about 11yr OEM battery life! Amazing- twice as long as most M owners are getting.

[gferil]

Yeah...the battery in my E46 lasted 10 years...but then again in those 10 years it was driven 140K miles, so regular use and recharge from the alternator definitely helped...my coupe has only seen 39K miles in the past 6 years and I just replaced the battery a few months ago.