New Battery Recommendations (Again)

[craigdm]

I only use my car once a week on average and noticed it's been a bit sluggish to start recently.
Just got the multi-meter out and it's showing 11.7v which I think is pretty grim.
Can't see a date on the battery, but suppose it could be original!

I've changed loads of batteries in the past, but notice that the Z4 ones need to be coded, but just how important is this?

Initially looked at Halfords (and Tyres on the Drive, same company), but these only list the bigger battery (317mm, when mine is the shorter version). Also they don't mention anything regarding coding the battery to the car.

Any thoughts from the wise?

 

[jamesgarbett]

i bought this a couple of months ago from Tayna site

096 Enduroline AGM Stop Start Car Battery 12V 70Ah

About £130

seems to work fine without any coding

 

[B21]

If you are swapping the 70ah for another 70ah then its registration not coding.. its not crtical but the life of the battery will be shorter by an amount (unknown) as a result..

I'd suggest you swap it and find a Z4 buddy who can register it in due course over the next month or two..IMHO

Assuming you don't take it to Halfords who should register it..otherwise get a cheap app that allows coding and error ocdes..

 

[Chippie]

The date will be stamped on the top of the positive terminal under the red cover, it certainly looks like the original BMW battery, I’d change it ASAP as you could end up with the dreaded handbrake failure which requires a trip to your local main dealer or someone with the appropriate software to reprogram the module.
Where are you based? There maybe a member local to you who could register it for you.

 

[craigdm]

The date will be stamped on the top of the positive terminal under the red cover, it certainly looks like the original BMW battery, I’d change it ASAP as you could end up with the dreaded handbrake failure which requires a trip to your local main dealer or someone with the appropriate software to reprogram the module.
Where are you based? There maybe a member local to you who could register it for you.

I'm concerned about the various issues you can get with a dud battery so I'll be replacing it ASAP.
Looking at the comments so far I'm leaning towards buying a battery and fitting it myself, then worry about the coding later.

I'm based in Lancashire, just outside Blackpool but would be happy to travel locally if there was anyone nearby who could do the coding/registering.

 

[jamesgarbett]

fitting the battery is a piece of cake, and my mechanical skills are very limited

my battery was also the original (so 10 years old) and was starting to cause 1 or 2 issues even after being hooked up to a trickle charger

 

[DonDon]

If you aren't using the car very much, then it is worth keeping the battery charged in between times. A CTEK charger costs less than a new battery, so should pay for itself in the longer term. You can get a cable to go with it that is permanently attached to the positive charging point in the engine bay and a suitable earthing point. The indicator version of this has three LEDs to show how charged the battery is.

Do not charge the battery by connecting directly to it in the boot, as you will confuse the car's electronics.

Just to clarify, registration tells the car you have fitted a new same capacity battery; coding tells it that you have fitted a different capacity battery. In either case, this tells the charging circuitry how much charge to apply.