DIY: Battery Replacement and Registration

[BoilerMakerATX]

Hello guys,

I started having "increased battery discharge" message recently and I was worried that it was due to the CarPlay module I installed. Did some digging and it turned out my battery is original (2012) and definitely needed replacement. I checked alternator voltage via the cluster and it hovered around 14v even with all light and electronics on. I think that is good enough voltage to keep battery charged but probably would be ideal if it hovered around 14.5v.

Anyways, dealership in Austin wanted $560 to replace the battery! And even if I purchase the battery separately and install it myself, they still want $195 to program and register the battery! Damn thieves... how can they get away with this lol. Anyways, I did some research and seems like Walmart battery does very well in cold weather! (Farm Project YouTube Channel compared batteries). So I bought an H8 EverStart with 900CCA and 95Amp/Hr ($165 + $35 for BimmerLink) which was almost identical with my original one except that one had 90Amp/Hr on the label. In this case, coding is not required but battery registration is.

In this video I show battery replacement process and registration using BimmerLink app. I also show some features on the BimmerLink app... my car is a 2012 X5 35D with 125k mile.

Any questions, shoot!

Cheers

https://youtu.be/i1rpGywx03k

[X535dee]

That's awesome. Thanks for that. I don't have the need of a new battery but I'm glad your posting this to help out here out as there is not too many vidz online for our specific model X5!

[argento]

Just a quick note to add since my battery is going out now. Last week my alarm began randomly going off after about 3 hours of sitting locked. This week I get the discharge error. I switched my P3 vent gauge to Voltage and sure enough when I turned off the car Voltage immediately dropped from 14.2 with the alternator to 11.6V at off. Trickle charged it overnight and it only maxed out at around 11.8V. I believe when you get in the 10's it'll be iffy to start. So replacing soon…but at least it gave me some warning and didn't leave me stranded. I last replaced it in Dec.2017.

[Movado750]

Originally Posted by BoilerMakerATX

Hello guys,

I started having "increased battery discharge" message recently and I was worried that it was due to the CarPlay module I installed. Did some digging and it turned out my battery is original (2012) and definitely needed replacement. I checked alternator voltage via the cluster and it hovered around 14v even with all light and electronics on. I think that is good enough voltage to keep battery charged but probably would be ideal if it hovered around 14.5v.

Anyways, dealership in Austin wanted $560 to replace the battery! And even if I purchase the battery separately and install it myself, they still want $195 to program and register the battery! Damn thieves... how can they get away with this lol. Anyways, I did some research and seems like Walmart battery does very well in cold weather! (Farm Project YouTube Channel compared batteries). So I bought an H8 EverStart with 900CCA and 95Amp/Hr ($165 + $35 for BimmerLink) which was almost identical with my original one except that one had 90Amp/Hr on the label. In this case, coding is not required but battery registration is.

In this video I show battery replacement process and registration using BimmerLink app. I also show some features on the BimmerLink app... my car is a 2012 X5 35D with 125k mile.

Any questions, shoot!

Cheers

https://youtu.be/i1rpGywx03k

Whats this registration of the battery you speak of?

[Tillman]

Originally Posted by Movado750

Whats this registration of the battery you speak of?

The new one needs to be coded to the car.
If I recall correctly, that can be avoided by buying a new battery with the exact same specs as the old.

If that's not possible, a scan tool like the Foxwell NT510 elite can register it.

[TonyBologna]

There's registration and then coding.

Registration tells the car you changed the battery so the alternator knows and doesn't over charge or incorrectly charge the new one.

Coding is if the new battery you're putting in is significantly different than the original/old one. For instance my old battery was 92AH and my new one was 95AH. No coding was required, just registration.

[gadgetfreak2024]

Resurrecting this very helpful forum.

So I used the "Car Scanner" app on my iPhone and got OBD2 voltage readings in the mid-11 range before firing up the car. The battery's date stamp is 2018, 39th week. During the winters, I've been getting regular excess drain warnings at startup, but that may have been because of a dash cam plugged into the OBD2 port. Guess my question is whether I should proactively replace at this point.

I'd go for the same Walmart battery noted here. Do people know if the Car Scanner app can be used to register the battery? Or do you have to use BimmerLink?

Thanks.

[JellyStyle]

Originally Posted by gadgetfreak2024

Resurrecting this very helpful forum.

So I used the "Car Scanner" app on my iPhone and got OBD2 voltage readings in the mid-11 range before firing up the car. The battery's date stamp is 2018, 39th week. During the winters, I've been getting regular excess drain warnings at startup, but that may have been because of a dash cam plugged into the OBD2 port. Guess my question is whether I should proactively replace at this point.

I'd go for the same Walmart battery noted here. Do people know if the Car Scanner app can be used to register the battery? Or do you have to use BimmerLink?

Thanks.

you need to use bimmerlink or code to do the reg and coding. its cheap, the OBD adapter and you can do it for all your friends in your area.

[gadgetfreak2024]

Originally Posted by JellyStyle

you need to use bimmerlink or code to do the reg and coding. its cheap, the OBD adapter and you can do it for all your friends in your area.

Thanks. I already have purchased BimmerCode (vs. Link). So that can do the registration?

On a related matter, the OEM battery I have is 92 Amp Hours and 850 CCA. The replacement I'm looking at is 95 Amp Hours and 900 CCA. I think I have seen someone say that's close enough to not re-code (but just re-register). Is it correct I'd only need to do the registration with this replacement?

[nuwde]

Originally Posted by BoilerMakerATX

Hello guys,

I started having "increased battery discharge" message recently and I was worried that it was due to the CarPlay module I installed. Did some digging and it turned out my battery is original (2012) and definitely needed replacement. I checked alternator voltage via the cluster and it hovered around 14v even with all light and electronics on. I think that is good enough voltage to keep battery charged but probably would be ideal if it hovered around 14.5v.

Anyways, dealership in Austin wanted $560 to replace the battery! And even if I purchase the battery separately and install it myself, they still want $195 to program and register the battery! Damn thieves... how can they get away with this lol. Anyways, I did some research and seems like Walmart battery does very well in cold weather! (Farm Project YouTube Channel compared batteries). So I bought an H8 EverStart with 900CCA and 95Amp/Hr ($165 + $35 for BimmerLink) which was almost identical with my original one except that one had 90Amp/Hr on the label. In this case, coding is not required but battery registration is.

In this video I show battery replacement process and registration using BimmerLink app. I also show some features on the BimmerLink app... my car is a 2012 X5 35D with 125k mile.

Any questions, shoot!

Cheers

https://youtu.be/i1rpGywx03k

Just wanted to ask if you can give us an update on the battery after a year. Thanks!

[X52010dxb]

Hi, please see attached i shifted from standard to agm battery also my amp was changed. My battery is 95 amp and i chose 90 amp as there is only 90 or 105 amp option.
I coded the new battery using protools. it says coding success but register fail. Can anyone help in this regards.

[gadgetfreak2024]

Hi. I finally had enough with the installed battery -- lots of warnings and then my kid had to use our Noco jump starter the other day when the thing just wouldn't start. As an aside, that thing is great -- immediately started and I could even guide my kid over FaceTime as to how to use it.

But I digress. I decided to replace the battery. I went with one of Walmart's platinum variety, given the various reviews, Project Farm, etc.

The one that was listed on the site was the same one in the video that started this thread. 900CCA and 95 Amp Hours. The battery it was replacing was an H8 850CCA and 92 Amp Hour variant. I understood that this was close enough to just have to register the battery.

I had Walmart deliver the battery from store (super convenient, btw). I was surprised, however, when it arrived that it actually had the same specs as the battery I was about to discard -- e.g., 850 CCA and 92 Amp Hours. As such, it was a pretty perfect replacement for the prior battery. I installed it and used BimmerLink to register. BimmerLink said the prior battery was a 90 Amp Hour, but given what I've read here, that's close enough.

A few immediate thoughts and a few questions:

Thoughts:
* The Comfort Access function works again now -- hooray
* No warnings so far about diminished voltage
* I did get the 4x4 warning, but it went away turning the wheel from lock to lock


Questions:
* Did I get ripped off by Walmart getting a 92 / 850 vs. a 95 / 900 battery? I already put the thing in since it seemed like a hassle to deal with bringing that beast back -- and since it actually matched the existing specs. But just curious

* Since I own BimmerCode as well, am I better recoding to actually state the batter is 92 Amp Hours vs. the 90 that BimmerLink had shown? Or it's a rounding error and doesn't matter.

Thanks!

A few

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by gadgetfreak2024

Hi. I finally had enough with the installed battery -- lots of warnings and then my kid had to use our Noco jump starter the other day when the thing just wouldn't start. As an aside, that thing is great -- immediately started and I could even guide my kid over FaceTime as to how to use it.

But I digress. I decided to replace the battery. I went with one of Walmart's platinum variety, given the various reviews, Project Farm, etc.

The one that was listed on the site was the same one in the video that started this thread. 900CCA and 95 Amp Hours. The battery it was replacing was an H8 850CCA and 92 Amp Hour variant. I understood that this was close enough to just have to register the battery.

I had Walmart deliver the battery from store (super convenient, btw). I was surprised, however, when it arrived that it actually had the same specs as the battery I was about to discard -- e.g., 850 CCA and 92 Amp Hours. As such, it was a pretty perfect replacement for the prior battery. I installed it and used BimmerLink to register. BimmerLink said the prior battery was a 90 Amp Hour, but given what I've read here, that's close enough.

A few immediate thoughts and a few questions:

Thoughts:
* The Comfort Access function works again now -- hooray
* No warnings so far about diminished voltage
* I did get the 4x4 warning, but it went away turning the wheel from lock to lock


Questions:
* Did I get ripped off by Walmart getting a 92 / 850 vs. a 95 / 900 battery? I already put the thing in since it seemed like a hassle to deal with bringing that beast back -- and since it actually matched the existing specs. But just curious

* Since I own BimmerCode as well, am I better recoding to actually state the batter is 92 Amp Hours vs. the 90 that BimmerLink had shown? Or it's a rounding error and doesn't matter.

Thanks!

A few

Walmart batteries are supposed to be pretty good. Maybe the same as Costco's Intestate? I don't think they sent you the wrong one (an H8???), so maybe just a little variation on what they have in stock.