Is it time for a new battery? BMW 116i Series1 F20 7 years old.

Ibrahim5

I know that Ford give you a way of resetting the battery without connecting 'the computer'. I imagine BMW would be incapable of doing that.

motorguy

Ibrahim5 said:

The £40 + £25 +£25 is an investment. It's the sort of money a garage charges you to 'put it on the computer' but it means you have the kit to 'put it on the computer' yourself at any time. Could save an absolute fortune in future.

Its only an investment if the O/P ever uses it again, otherwise its a waste of money.

motorguy

shiraz99 said:

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

Belenus said:

shiraz99 said:

TBH, during covid even I had battery warnings on my F20 as it was rarely being used, but since using more often and occasionally charging it fully I've not had any issues. What type of charger are you using, does it have an AGM battery setting and are you charging the battery correctly, ie using the charging posts under the bonnet rather than connecting directly to the battery in the boot?

It is a very old and simple charger, possibly 40 years old or more. It long predates AGM technology.

It has no variable settings just a dial indicating the amps being drawn.

Yes, I did use the charging posts under the bonnet.

I probably won't buy a new one as it does the job of charging a battery and I have only had to use it twice in decades.

I will just buy a new high quality battery and trust that I will get another 7 years use out of it.

It'll cheaper to buy a decent charger as it's unlikely that the battery really is on it's way out.

However if really want a new battery want to save some money installing it yourself, then get a replacement battery online, buy this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veepeak-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Supports-Vehicles/dp/B076XVQMVS/ref=sr_1_5 and download both Bimmerlink and Bimmercode apps for around £25 each. Depending on what you can source the battery for may work out cheaper than getting one fitted at a garage.

I'd disagree with all of that frankly.

The battery is almost certainly on its way out, given the prolonged symptoms the O/P has told us about and posted about.

Other than to have a charger for potentially future use, i wouldnt bother buying a charger to try to "save" that battery.

I'm really not sure on the point of spending £40 + £25 + £25 then figure out how to do it to "save money" by installing a battery yourself, given any indy / fitter would do it for a fraction of that, irrespective of where its sourced.

When I looked around for a replacement AGM battery myself last year the cheapest I could get one fitted with the necessary coding etc was Halfords and that was still about £50 more expensive than buying the battery myself and all the kit I mentioned.

As per what someone else posted, buy the battery yourself at the cheapest price, fit it and then have it coded in by someone.  Or have them fit it too.  Either way it would work our far cheaper than supply and fit.

I've a local indy who does that sort of stuff for me as well as look after my cars.  

shiraz99

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

Belenus said:

shiraz99 said:

TBH, during covid even I had battery warnings on my F20 as it was rarely being used, but since using more often and occasionally charging it fully I've not had any issues. What type of charger are you using, does it have an AGM battery setting and are you charging the battery correctly, ie using the charging posts under the bonnet rather than connecting directly to the battery in the boot?

It is a very old and simple charger, possibly 40 years old or more. It long predates AGM technology.

It has no variable settings just a dial indicating the amps being drawn.

Yes, I did use the charging posts under the bonnet.

I probably won't buy a new one as it does the job of charging a battery and I have only had to use it twice in decades.

I will just buy a new high quality battery and trust that I will get another 7 years use out of it.

It'll cheaper to buy a decent charger as it's unlikely that the battery really is on it's way out.

However if really want a new battery want to save some money installing it yourself, then get a replacement battery online, buy this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veepeak-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Supports-Vehicles/dp/B076XVQMVS/ref=sr_1_5 and download both Bimmerlink and Bimmercode apps for around £25 each. Depending on what you can source the battery for may work out cheaper than getting one fitted at a garage.

I'd disagree with all of that frankly.

The battery is almost certainly on its way out, given the prolonged symptoms the O/P has told us about and posted about.

Other than to have a charger for potentially future use, i wouldnt bother buying a charger to try to "save" that battery.

I'm really not sure on the point of spending £40 + £25 + £25 then figure out how to do it to "save money" by installing a battery yourself, given any indy / fitter would do it for a fraction of that, irrespective of where its sourced.

When I looked around for a replacement AGM battery myself last year the cheapest I could get one fitted with the necessary coding etc was Halfords and that was still about £50 more expensive than buying the battery myself and all the kit I mentioned.

As per what someone else posted, buy the battery yourself at the cheapest price, fit it and then have it coded in by someone.  Or have them fit it too.  Either way it would work our far cheaper than supply and fit.

I've a local indy who does that sort of stuff for me as well as look after my cars.  

All well and good if you can find an indy who doesn't mind you supplying the battery yourself and will code it correctly for under £100.

Ibrahim5

£100 for a battery and £100 for telling the car it has a new battery. Madness.

motorguy

shiraz99 said:

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

Belenus said:

shiraz99 said:

TBH, during covid even I had battery warnings on my F20 as it was rarely being used, but since using more often and occasionally charging it fully I've not had any issues. What type of charger are you using, does it have an AGM battery setting and are you charging the battery correctly, ie using the charging posts under the bonnet rather than connecting directly to the battery in the boot?

It is a very old and simple charger, possibly 40 years old or more. It long predates AGM technology.

It has no variable settings just a dial indicating the amps being drawn.

Yes, I did use the charging posts under the bonnet.

I probably won't buy a new one as it does the job of charging a battery and I have only had to use it twice in decades.

I will just buy a new high quality battery and trust that I will get another 7 years use out of it.

It'll cheaper to buy a decent charger as it's unlikely that the battery really is on it's way out.

However if really want a new battery want to save some money installing it yourself, then get a replacement battery online, buy this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veepeak-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Supports-Vehicles/dp/B076XVQMVS/ref=sr_1_5 and download both Bimmerlink and Bimmercode apps for around £25 each. Depending on what you can source the battery for may work out cheaper than getting one fitted at a garage.

I'd disagree with all of that frankly.

The battery is almost certainly on its way out, given the prolonged symptoms the O/P has told us about and posted about.

Other than to have a charger for potentially future use, i wouldnt bother buying a charger to try to "save" that battery.

I'm really not sure on the point of spending £40 + £25 + £25 then figure out how to do it to "save money" by installing a battery yourself, given any indy / fitter would do it for a fraction of that, irrespective of where its sourced.

When I looked around for a replacement AGM battery myself last year the cheapest I could get one fitted with the necessary coding etc was Halfords and that was still about £50 more expensive than buying the battery myself and all the kit I mentioned.

As per what someone else posted, buy the battery yourself at the cheapest price, fit it and then have it coded in by someone.  Or have them fit it too.  Either way it would work our far cheaper than supply and fit.

I've a local indy who does that sort of stuff for me as well as look after my cars.  

All well and good if you can find an indy who doesn't mind you supplying the battery yourself and will code it correctly for under £100.

Its not a difficult or time consuming job, as you know, so lets not pretend any indy is going to charge anywhere near £100 for it.

They may also be able to source a battery at the right price also through motor factors etc.

It really doesnt need someone buying £100 of equipment for a one off job.

motorguy

Ibrahim5 said:

£100 for a battery and £100 for telling the car it has a new battery. Madness.

It would be, if it ever happened. 

shiraz99

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

Belenus said:

shiraz99 said:

TBH, during covid even I had battery warnings on my F20 as it was rarely being used, but since using more often and occasionally charging it fully I've not had any issues. What type of charger are you using, does it have an AGM battery setting and are you charging the battery correctly, ie using the charging posts under the bonnet rather than connecting directly to the battery in the boot?

It is a very old and simple charger, possibly 40 years old or more. It long predates AGM technology.

It has no variable settings just a dial indicating the amps being drawn.

Yes, I did use the charging posts under the bonnet.

I probably won't buy a new one as it does the job of charging a battery and I have only had to use it twice in decades.

I will just buy a new high quality battery and trust that I will get another 7 years use out of it.

It'll cheaper to buy a decent charger as it's unlikely that the battery really is on it's way out.

However if really want a new battery want to save some money installing it yourself, then get a replacement battery online, buy this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veepeak-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Supports-Vehicles/dp/B076XVQMVS/ref=sr_1_5 and download both Bimmerlink and Bimmercode apps for around £25 each. Depending on what you can source the battery for may work out cheaper than getting one fitted at a garage.

I'd disagree with all of that frankly.

The battery is almost certainly on its way out, given the prolonged symptoms the O/P has told us about and posted about.

Other than to have a charger for potentially future use, i wouldnt bother buying a charger to try to "save" that battery.

I'm really not sure on the point of spending £40 + £25 + £25 then figure out how to do it to "save money" by installing a battery yourself, given any indy / fitter would do it for a fraction of that, irrespective of where its sourced.

When I looked around for a replacement AGM battery myself last year the cheapest I could get one fitted with the necessary coding etc was Halfords and that was still about £50 more expensive than buying the battery myself and all the kit I mentioned.

As per what someone else posted, buy the battery yourself at the cheapest price, fit it and then have it coded in by someone.  Or have them fit it too.  Either way it would work our far cheaper than supply and fit.

I've a local indy who does that sort of stuff for me as well as look after my cars.  

All well and good if you can find an indy who doesn't mind you supplying the battery yourself and will code it correctly for under £100.

Its not a difficult or time consuming job, as you know, so lets not pretend any indy is going to charge anywhere near £100 for it.

They may also be able to source a battery at the right price also through motor factors etc.

It really doesnt need someone buying £100 of equipment for a one off job.

I never said it was but they may well charge a premium for using their software to code the battery, that usually comes with a bit of a markup.

chrisw

It doesn't sound like there's much wrong with the battery for the time being tbh. I've had a low battery charge warning on my diesel car for over 3 years now. It spins over quite happily even in the winter when the glow plugs kick in.

The only downside is that the radio shuts down after 2 minutes without the engine running and the stop start doesn't work, which in my view is a plus.

motorguy

shiraz99 said:

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

motorguy said:

shiraz99 said:

Belenus said:

shiraz99 said:

TBH, during covid even I had battery warnings on my F20 as it was rarely being used, but since using more often and occasionally charging it fully I've not had any issues. What type of charger are you using, does it have an AGM battery setting and are you charging the battery correctly, ie using the charging posts under the bonnet rather than connecting directly to the battery in the boot?

It is a very old and simple charger, possibly 40 years old or more. It long predates AGM technology.

It has no variable settings just a dial indicating the amps being drawn.

Yes, I did use the charging posts under the bonnet.

I probably won't buy a new one as it does the job of charging a battery and I have only had to use it twice in decades.

I will just buy a new high quality battery and trust that I will get another 7 years use out of it.

It'll cheaper to buy a decent charger as it's unlikely that the battery really is on it's way out.

However if really want a new battery want to save some money installing it yourself, then get a replacement battery online, buy this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veepeak-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Supports-Vehicles/dp/B076XVQMVS/ref=sr_1_5 and download both Bimmerlink and Bimmercode apps for around £25 each. Depending on what you can source the battery for may work out cheaper than getting one fitted at a garage.

I'd disagree with all of that frankly.

The battery is almost certainly on its way out, given the prolonged symptoms the O/P has told us about and posted about.

Other than to have a charger for potentially future use, i wouldnt bother buying a charger to try to "save" that battery.

I'm really not sure on the point of spending £40 + £25 + £25 then figure out how to do it to "save money" by installing a battery yourself, given any indy / fitter would do it for a fraction of that, irrespective of where its sourced.

When I looked around for a replacement AGM battery myself last year the cheapest I could get one fitted with the necessary coding etc was Halfords and that was still about £50 more expensive than buying the battery myself and all the kit I mentioned.

As per what someone else posted, buy the battery yourself at the cheapest price, fit it and then have it coded in by someone.  Or have them fit it too.  Either way it would work our far cheaper than supply and fit.

I've a local indy who does that sort of stuff for me as well as look after my cars.  

All well and good if you can find an indy who doesn't mind you supplying the battery yourself and will code it correctly for under £100.

Its not a difficult or time consuming job, as you know, so lets not pretend any indy is going to charge anywhere near £100 for it.

They may also be able to source a battery at the right price also through motor factors etc.

It really doesnt need someone buying £100 of equipment for a one off job.

I never said it was but they may well charge a premium for using their software to code the battery, that usually comes with a bit of a markup.

Then ask around first before rushing out and spending £100 on kit that might never be used again.  They may well have a better / as good a source for sensibly priced batteries too.

Geez.  This isnt difficult.