BMW battery...who can register and code in Cardiff?

BMW battery...who can register and code in Cardiff?

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Discussion

m33ufo

Original Poster:

4,959 posts

237 months

Friday 3rd January 2014
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I'm pretty sure the battery in my 2008 520D hasn't been coded correctly to the car - I assume whoever historically replaced it just popped a "similar" battery in and thought that was it! I don't particularly want to go back to the main dealer for this so was wondering if there's anyone in Cardiff / Bridgend who offer the registering and coding facility?


Mikey G

4,766 posts

246 months

Friday 3rd January 2014
quotequote all
I assume your car must be a stop/start?
Is it suffering from any problems?
It isn't coding that's required, just need to tell the car it is fitted with a new battery, if the battery is now fairly old this may be a pointless exercise.

I cover Cardiff and I have the facility to tell the car its fitted with a new battery.

m33ufo

Original Poster:

4,959 posts

237 months

Friday 3rd January 2014
quotequote all
It's not stop/start but would have originally been fitted with an AGM battery. The replacement certainly isn't AGM so the car would need to be registered and coded for this battery. My other option is to buy an AGM replacement (equivalent to the original), and then just get it registered.

edit...and yes, I'm getting the excessive discharge warning and low battery warning. But if my car is coded for an AGM battery the charge levels are lower than for a wet cell so it may not be receiving a full charge.

Edited by m33ufo on Friday 3rd January 12:20

hornetrider

63,161 posts

211 months

Friday 3rd January 2014
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Battery replacement is looming for me as I'm occasionally seeing my clock reset and seeing battery discharge warnings. What's this about coding a bloody battery?!

m33ufo

Original Poster:

4,959 posts

237 months

Friday 3rd January 2014
quotequote all
Is it your original battery? If so, assuming you purchase the same spec of battery (and that includes whether it's AGM or a wet cell), then you just need to register the new battery with the car. It lets the car know that you have fitted a new battery. If you are changing the spec of the battery (amps, wet or dry cell etc), then you need to tell the car what battery you have fitted which is called coding. Both registering and coding require that you're hooked up to a computer be it at the dealer, specialist or whoever.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

211 months

Friday 3rd January 2014
quotequote all
Ballache!! Oil service due in 2.5k, will prob wait til then and kill two birds with one stone at Forza.

m33ufo

Original Poster:

4,959 posts

237 months

Friday 3rd January 2014
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
Ballache!!
Sure is!

Mikey G

4,766 posts

246 months

Friday 3rd January 2014
quotequote all
Hmmm, why do people insist on fitting substandard batteries into the cars to save a few quid which could cost you more in the long run?... If it had an AGM then it should be replaced with an equivalent spec AGM.

I am able to tell the system a new battery is fitted but I have never had the need to programme a different battery in, I will have to see if one of my systems is capable of this, unfortunately the only way I can tell is if they are plugged into a car that requires this facility.

Trouble is looking at it if the battery has been fitted for some time telling it that it has a new different battery may improve the charging performance but still not be right as it is now a used battery and the ECU will assume its new. Batteries lose performance literally straight from the first fit to a vehicle.

LuS1fer

41,547 posts

251 months

Saturday 4th January 2014
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Oh how I laugh at modern cars and all the crap they throw at you.
Never going to buy one.

Mikey G

4,766 posts

246 months

Saturday 4th January 2014
quotequote all
LuS1fer said:
Oh how I laugh at modern cars and all the crap they throw at you.
Never going to buy one.
What do you do in 10-15 years or so time when all these modern cars are now old wink

LuS1fer

41,547 posts

251 months

Saturday 4th January 2014
quotequote all
Mikey G said:
LuS1fer said:
Oh how I laugh at modern cars and all the crap they throw at you.
Never going to buy one.
What do you do in 10-15 years or so time when all these modern cars are now old wink
Maybe they will have realised by then because all these modern cars will be being scrapped as economically unrepairable.