Brake energy regeneration

[Maybach_man]

Hi All;

It would appear that i have 'Brake energy Regeneration' on my car 01CD... How do i know if its working and what is it. Im assuming its something like 'Eco-Pro' on my wifes 2 Series.... but she has a readout on the dash...?

Cheers

 

[tintoverano]

GIYF

With Brake Energy Regeneration, BMW EfficientDynamics points the way to a more energy-efficient future. As soon as you brake or take your foot off the accelerator, the kinetic energy is captured and fed to the battery. This reduces the amount of power the battery takes from the engine and hence lowers fuel consumption. When the driver presses the accelerator, on the other hand, the alternator is decoupled from the drivetrain. With fewer components drawing power from the drivetrain, more of the engine's output can go into accelerating the car.

 

[Anonymous]

In reality it’s not noticeable ...if you do the maths even if the alternator is running flat out at 220 amps re-charging the battery whilst you slow down, compared to the 225 kilowatts potential of the engine, the 3kw the alternator isn’t going to be obvious..

The way it works is by never having the battery fully charged...on the overrun and when brakes are applied..the alternator dumps large amounts of current into the battery...up to 3kw of kinetic energy can be lost in this way...

On acceleration the alternator is commanded off consistent with the battery being reasonably charged...reducing the ancillary load..

 

[flybobbie]

Basically just switches the alternator on or off, no mechanics involved. Simple programming set up really.
One reason why the battery needs coding when replaced.
Could be when battery reaches the end of it's life, the switching in and out is reduced.
Reason for the electrical gremlins when battery on it's way out.
Now these cars have history, i would replace battery every five or six years.