Battery Charger (CTEK) and reprogramming questions

335icandy · 02-19-2013, 10:48 PM

Hey guys, haven't been around here in a while since I put the baby (2008 335i cabriolet) in storage back in November 2012....

I may have done something bad, but I totally forgot to buy and add a battery tender to the car... I haven't touched the car since early November 2012...

I just bought one of these tonight - http://smartercharger.com/products/b...multi-us-3300/

My question is, have I done any damage to my current battery? and should I just attached the positive and negative battery leads to the underhood jumping points, and hope for the best?

Does my car need to be "re-programmed" if the battery or car went dead?

Do I need to replace my battery in this instance or should this CTEK charger be able to recondition the battery?

One more question, did I buy a good battery charger/tender? Is this what is recommended for our cars?

Thanks in advance!

alexwhittemore · 02-19-2013, 11:44 PM

No, yes, no, no, couldn't tell you.

Your battery IS almost certainly drained to the only-enough-juice-to-start-once point, so assuming you CAN start it (should be able to, if not just hit it with the tender for a while), you should definitely leave it running for more than a few minutes to give it some time to charge.

335icandy · 02-19-2013, 11:53 PM

Great thank you! Would you know anything about this "re-programming" stuff? After 7 Bmw's in my lifetime, and replacing batteries in all of them, I've never had to "reprogram" a car after battery replacement or draining.

raj55 · 02-20-2013, 01:43 AM

Just connect your C-Tek charger to the under the hood terminals and leave it charging for two days and when the charger shows green light, start the engine. You should be fine. My small snow blower battery(permanently attached to the snow blower) is not even charged for almost a whole year and yet it manages to retain and start the snow blower every winter. Just goes to show how long they retain their charge. I know that BMW has electronics that consume electricity even at rest but on the other hand it is far bigger battery than the snow blower's motor cyckle battery.

alexwhittemore · 02-20-2013, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj55

Just connect your C-Tek charger to the under the hood terminals and leave it charging for two days and when the charger shows green light, start the engine. You should be fine. My small snow blower battery(permanently attached to the snow blower) is not even charged for almost a whole year and yet it manages to retain and start the snow blower every winter. Just goes to show how long they retain their charge. I know that BMW has electronics that consume electricity even at rest but on the other hand it is far bigger battery than the snow blower's motor cyckle battery.

True, but at nominal sleep current, it's still expected to be totally flat in between 1 and two months, depending on equipment. Though it should go into 'no, for real' sleep with enough charge for one start.

fun2drive · 02-20-2013, 04:54 PM

You electronics are likely fine.
I suggest just putting the battery tender on the car using the front posts and allow it to charge until you get the all green ready to go. Also I suggest you make the connections permenate. I don't know if CTEK has the lugs and the clips but all my battery tenders have them and both my BMWs are wired that way so it takes less than 30 secs to reconnect my charger.
It makes a HUGE difference in that my M3 battery is 2004 and just fine and my 335 battery is 6 years old this month.
I think you will be fine to be totally honest since the electronics will not loose their setting until you get a really low VDC.
Also always keep your car locked so the computer is not pulsing the system every 4 hours...

Surly73 · 02-21-2013, 07:46 AM

Make sure that you charge using the under-hood terminals and not directly on the battery. The IBS will monitor the charge current and voltage and account for the recharging in its estimates of battery condition.

If your battery is a standard flooded lead acid, it's probably started to sulfate. Sulfation starts as early as 80% charge and becomes more and more of the factor the more discharged the battery is and the longer it stays that way. Leaving it go may have substantially shortened the overall service life of the battery, but that doesn't mean it won't seem to work "fine" once you charge it back up.

335icandy · 03-04-2013, 01:04 PM

Thanks guys! excellent advice!

02-19-2013, 10:48 PM	#1
335icandy Lieutenant 49 Rep 503 Posts Drives: 2016 328dX Msport Estoril Blue Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Toronto, ON, CANADA iTrader: (0)	Battery Charger (CTEK) and reprogramming questions Hey guys, haven't been around here in a while since I put the baby (2008 335i cabriolet) in storage back in November 2012.... I may have done something bad, but I totally forgot to buy and add a battery tender to the car... I haven't touched the car since early November 2012... I just bought one of these tonight - http://smartercharger.com/products/b...multi-us-3300/ My question is, have I done any damage to my current battery? and should I just attached the positive and negative battery leads to the underhood jumping points, and hope for the best? Does my car need to be "re-programmed" if the battery or car went dead? Do I need to replace my battery in this instance or should this CTEK charger be able to recondition the battery? One more question, did I buy a good battery charger/tender? Is this what is recommended for our cars? Thanks in advance!
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02-19-2013, 11:44 PM	#2
alexwhittemore Lieutenant Colonel 111 Rep 1,951 Posts Drives: 2009 Crimson 328i Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (0)	No, yes, no, no, couldn't tell you. Your battery IS almost certainly drained to the only-enough-juice-to-start-once point, so assuming you CAN start it (should be able to, if not just hit it with the tender for a while), you should definitely leave it running for more than a few minutes to give it some time to charge.
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02-19-2013, 11:53 PM	#3
335icandy Lieutenant 49 Rep 503 Posts Drives: 2016 328dX Msport Estoril Blue Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Toronto, ON, CANADA iTrader: (0)	Great thank you! Would you know anything about this "re-programming" stuff? After 7 Bmw's in my lifetime, and replacing batteries in all of them, I've never had to "reprogram" a car after battery replacement or draining.
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02-20-2013, 01:43 AM	#4
raj55 First Lieutenant 28 Rep 303 Posts Drives: E91 2009, 320i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: SWEDEN iTrader: (0)	Just connect your C-Tek charger to the under the hood terminals and leave it charging for two days and when the charger shows green light, start the engine. You should be fine. My small snow blower battery(permanently attached to the snow blower) is not even charged for almost a whole year and yet it manages to retain and start the snow blower every winter. Just goes to show how long they retain their charge. I know that BMW has electronics that consume electricity even at rest but on the other hand it is far bigger battery than the snow blower's motor cyckle battery.
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02-20-2013, 04:54 PM	#6
fun2drive BMWCCA 149159 38 Rep 847 Posts Drives: 13 128i Vert/ 14 JGC Diesel Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Florida Panhandle iTrader: (1)	You electronics are likely fine. I suggest just putting the battery tender on the car using the front posts and allow it to charge until you get the all green ready to go. Also I suggest you make the connections permenate. I don't know if CTEK has the lugs and the clips but all my battery tenders have them and both my BMWs are wired that way so it takes less than 30 secs to reconnect my charger. It makes a HUGE difference in that my M3 battery is 2004 and just fine and my 335 battery is 6 years old this month. I think you will be fine to be totally honest since the electronics will not loose their setting until you get a really low VDC. Also always keep your car locked so the computer is not pulsing the system every 4 hours...
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02-21-2013, 07:46 AM	#7
Surly73 Lieutenant Colonel 535 Rep 1,873 Posts Drives: '11 535xi 8AT KWv3 MPE MHD xHP Join Date: May 2012 Location: Oakville, Ontario iTrader: (1)	Make sure that you charge using the under-hood terminals and not directly on the battery. The IBS will monitor the charge current and voltage and account for the recharging in its estimates of battery condition. If your battery is a standard flooded lead acid, it's probably started to sulfate. Sulfation starts as early as 80% charge and becomes more and more of the factor the more discharged the battery is and the longer it stays that way. Leaving it go may have substantially shortened the overall service life of the battery, but that doesn't mean it won't seem to work "fine" once you charge it back up.
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03-04-2013, 01:04 PM	#8
335icandy Lieutenant 49 Rep 503 Posts Drives: 2016 328dX Msport Estoril Blue Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Toronto, ON, CANADA iTrader: (0)	Thanks guys! excellent advice!
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