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Battery for E53 2005 4.4i
Hi all, I am looking at getting the Varta H3 100AH 830A Lead Acid for my X5 E53 2005 4.4i petrol. I dont think I need a AGM version which is a lot more expensive. Are these the ones BMW use? Also, I think Zi can replace my battery myself. Is this a good choice?
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:iagree: I have the same installed .
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Battery for E53 2005 4.4i
Easy to install, I recommend spending the extra for the AGM but get it at a discount. I paid $170 at Sam's club, a $70 discount from batteries+.
If you only drive on roads, and don't abuse your battery with short trips that won't recharge more than consumed starting the car and live in a warmer climate you can make a strong case for liquid electrolyte |
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My only tip is...if the battery is installed below the cargo floor...DON'T FORGET TO VENT THE BATTERY. Hopefully you still have the gray tube and the little black elbow in the existing battery to hook up your replacement battery to. You can see the gray vent tube and the little black connecting elbow on the left side of the battery in the pic below of my replacement battery and the original BMW battery: |
Very important tip!
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Thanks guys! I have my eye on the Varta. I live in Brisbane with a warm climate. The cost brand new is $407 AUD. A brand new battery genuine BMW at their shop here is approx. $460 AUD.
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Do you guys have the equivalent of Sam's club or Costco down there? I saved $70 USD on my battery ($170 vs $240 got the mid grade AGM) and just two days ago bought a $140 battery for $102.
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Unfortunately, cosco here has stopped selling car batteries here and we dont have Sam’s. I wonder what the cost of shipping would be and if allowed. Might check that out.
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PM me an address I'll see if it's possible.
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I'm betting a 22kg battery will be prohibitively expensive to ship....
TJ, there are some good deals to be found over there, like this DIN88LMF for AUD$239... (in W.A. mind you...) https://www.batteriesplus.com.au/sho...a-car-battery/ |
Thanks Andrew, will keep you in mind. Cheers wpoll, I will have a look.
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hmm...only 810 CCA though.
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The petrol models take about 200A to start when warm. Maybe 250 for the V8 and diesel. There is no need for more than 500-600 the rest is overkill. Important is the build quality so in five years it still has 500cca out of the 800.
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Good points. thanks. I have been out for a short drive and the car has been resting for two hours. I went out and did a #9 obc test - turning the ignition switch to pos 2. The lights turn on due to dark cloudy rainy day and the air con on. The reading is 11.6V. I am assuming this means the batter is towards the end of its charge life unless there is another issue. I will open the cargo bay floor and have a look to see for a date code tommorrow.
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Under 12 before starting not great. Yes sounds end of life to me unless you have a ground problem or such. Get a reading at the battery
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True that might be an absolutely normal value
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I have officially 'outsourced' my batteries to AAA. Their battery service came to my house and installed the thing for $190. they got there in 45 min on a Saturday.
It's totally not my M.O. to not research it and figure out the absolute top performing, best bang for the buck etc, but the battery I replaced was also a AAA battery from an emergency install in 2012. it lasted 7 years. no issues whatsoever. I know not everyone is a AAA member but if you are, a lot of folks don't know about their battery service, which in my n=1 experience, has been very good. the new battery came with the little plastic elbow for the new vent connecting it was super easy. |
Was the battery liquid or AGM?
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Battery for E53 2005 4.4i
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I changed it in my E53 (same 4.4i) almost 3 years ago, for one with CCA650 and 100A. and the X5 in 150m went from a sluggish almost bore car into a sharp, direct and powerful machine. It might be the most (simple) rewarding thing I’ve done to the car. Really amazing. I didn’t expect that. |
For a daily driver never taken off road I would not veto a liquid axis battery. The BMW branded battery I replaced last year on my x5 was liquid but I upgraded to AGM when I found a good value at Sam's club
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Before you replace the battery I suggest you have it load tested. The test will be conclusive one way or the other. Keep in mind that BMWs are very sensitive to voltage variations so there should be some urgency replacing the current battery if it test bad and should be considered in what the specs are on the new battery. I wouldn't purchase a battery that doesn't at least meet the original specs. I think the purchase of a battery is not about what is sufficient for normal conditions. It should be about what will still be sufficient in extreme conditions. Also consider the length of the warranty and how long the two types of batteries normally last as part of the pricing decision. The AGM battery could be a better value even at the higher price. Based on the importance of a good battery, it has always served me well replacing original batteries with heavier duty batteries.
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Battery for E53 2005 4.4i
It actually is not conclusive. My battery that could start my 3.0 at 0°F and tested 550 CCA on an old school resistive tester couldn't run an iPhone for 30 minutes nor the hszzards for 8 minutes and start the car after.
All I can figure is that somehow the plates were covered in such a way it affected only capacity not current or voltage. Basically rather than having an 800A,100AH battery it was a 550A, 1AH battery (could supply 200A for a start a couple times but the capacity being literally about 1AH means I could crank a few times at best or run the iPhone charger maybe 20 minutes (30 and I couldn't start the car) That all said: normally bc is correct, a load test *should* by all means give you a definitive answer about the battery condition, but only a long term load test (eg pull 10A for half a day) will test the battery fully. Nobody ever performs that test but it really should be done occasionally. An 80AH battery should be able to run a 1A load for 80 hours, and a 10A load for maybe 6A for 10-11 hours (internal resistance costs you some storage the higher the draw) My dad has a 100A load tester I think it might have a lower setting I'll have to check. +1 on the upgrade a bit concept, especially if you live in a cold climate. There's a very good reason nobody talks about the hot cranking current |
I disagree that you have to do more than a load test these days. Current equipment even that used in chain auto parts stores checks all the boxes. A load test is easy to have done at least in US and is free. It's an important troubleshooting step as It eliminates the question if the problem is elsewhere such as the alternator voltage output.
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Battery for E53 2005 4.4i
You maybe missed the point of my previous message:
A load test "confirmed" that my battery was perfectly ok and they sent me on my merry way. Less than a week later my car wouldn't start after 8 minutes of blinking the flashers. A load test can as it did in my case give you a false sense of security. It can't be trusted trusted blindly as proof it's ok. It will definitely prove a battery is shot though so it's the first test to perform. The problem is they can't test capacity which is also pretty important, it determines literally, how long the car can sit before it won't start, and good long leaving on an accessory will take to cripple the car. A normal battery will run an iPhone for perhaps a week or more, my "passed the test" battery 1/500th of a week did it in. You definitely should do a load test it's the most important factor in determining if your battery has reached end of life, but a completely worthless end of life battery CAN pass a load test with flying colors and then leave you stranded when you go into a store for 20 minutes and your kid has his iPhone plugged in. (True story) If your battery (like mine) passes a load test but you are bewildered when your car won't start after sitting overnight or with the radio on for an hour (a normal battery can probably run the radio for at least 30 hours and still start the car), then some more testing is needed. Eg. Run the radio for six hours and see what voltage is left and if you can start the car. If a battery can start the car after 2-4 hours of radio play AND passes a load test, I would call that acceptable. it would be worth figuring out a combination like high beams on but nothing else to get a standard load test to perform once in a while rather than just wait to be stranded method that is the normal test for end of life |
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Battery was charged, the test was done at battery plus with a state of the art tester that have a print out of a "perfectly operational" battery that had no problem putting out 500A but literally could not run an iPhone for 30 minutes.
So back to my original comment that a load test even from a modern tester can not measure capacity and can in fact give you a false sense of security with a glowing report on a battery that is end of life. |
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Thanks for your opinions guys. It has been pouring in rain here the last couple of days so now I have a bit of an update.
I did a trial run of accessing the battery to measure the voltage. The car had been sitting all night and at mid morning I started it up and turned it around to access the cargo bay. To my disappointment the spare wheel cap that holds the wheel down was missing (see pic) and the two bolts/nuts at the bottom of the triangle shape long plates that have the air compressor on top that needed removing were stripped. Some mechanics are shocking! Anyway, with a multimeter I got this: 1) Before starting with everything off 12.13V 2) Adding a load (air con, lights) 11.56V 3) Starting engine and running (very short time) 13.66V 4) Stopengine and remeasure 11.93 Interesting to note that the battery isn’t what I was expecting. A Century and even though it has more CCA I dont think it is correct one for my car. Also, I understand the date stamp code for this one is under the battery so I couldn’t get to it at this time. Cheers |
Battery for E53 2005 4.4i
The plate is missing because it would not fit your rim.
Group 94R for 6 or 49 for 8 cylinder is what I see. If yours is a Group 95 as hinted by the model number ; but can't confirm by partial UPC, than it's a huge battery much bigger than needed. The numbers you describe from your test sound just about what I'd expect to see. Are you having hard to start issues, etc? Usually the first post would include I've had to get a jump start xx times in a month so I'm thinking the battery might be at fault. In the past year I've seen three cases of somebody replacing a battery to only discover shortly thereafter, that their starter was shot not the battery. If you have a clamp ammeter, or a peak reading dmm, you can measure the current that your starter is pulling at start up to determine if it's failing. A Starter will typically pull 50-70% more current at end of life. These giant batteries we use will mask this failure quite well: a 200A starter that pulls 400A is nothing for a 950cca battery but it's definitely not good for the battery to pull double the design current, so just like the solid advice from BC that the main test for a battery is the load test with a proper tester, you would be ill informed to only use that test. Before you replace a battery get a current draw test on the starter. I developed a method to get you a ballpark starter current value: measure the voltage drop from the B+ terminal to the lighter socket in the cabin. My baseline is 0.75v with the petrol i6. Using that value I multiply by 280 and get 210A. It's an estimate but gives me a relative value I can test annually and before I change a battery. If suddenly that voltage drop is 1.25v than my starter would be pulling 350A and means it's toast! I have yet to get a DC clamp ammeter to more precisely calibrate the 280 factor but I know that's close. (Based on kw spec of the starter). |
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According to the Aussie Century battery web site, the DIN85LMF IS the correct battery for your car, and mine... but according to the NZ Century web site, the DIN88ZLMF is the correct battery. Maybe because it's colder over here? :D |
Thanks. This is the original spare rim so I am not surel if that is the case. Anyway, I have ordered a new one. Rather have it clamped down then the threaded bolt bent which I suspect has already happened.
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I think a state of the art battery tester/charger is one of those must have 'tools' for a DIYer. I use a CTEK 7002. About two years ago I took a battery to get replaced under warranty. I had already tested it and knew it was bad. It tested good. It was a new hire at the parts store that didn't do the procedure correctly. I insisted it was bad and asked the guy I normally deal with to run the test again. It tested bad. About two weeks later I started having the same problem. I made the mistake of not testing the new battery first. I assumed it was not the battery since I had been cleaning up the wiring for the switches in my console. I finally tested the battery and it was out of the box bad. Certainly there are lots of other electrical problems that can drain a battery. My point is to eliminate the battery first since it is easy to do and there is no cost. If members want to take your advice that's fine. |
It literally sounds like you are saying the same thing as myself. You just literally said don't trust the test done by the battery sale store which is exactly what I've been saying. I'm not familiar with the tester you described but I'm willing to bet it tests for capacity and therefore does an actual test.
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I'm doubtful about the accuracy of any battery test that can be done in minutes over the counter, even without concern for the guy screwing things up. So in my belief, results from there will often NOT be definitive and conclusive. Good enough for many, and often it's the best you can reasonably do, but ...
What I do whenever I can is to get my fleet set up so I have cars with interchangeable batteries. So whenever I get a situation where I'm getting weird battery stuff, after doing all the easy testing, charging, etc. I can do, if doubt remains, I just can swap batteries between cars and see if the problem goes away. Not much harder than taking a battery into the store for questionable testing. It does take a little effort up front, when buying new batteries for each car. Sometimes I run with a slightly smaller or slightly bigger battery (that obviously still fits and works), to enable this more definitive testing. For example, the battery in my 2001 X5 is exactly interchangeable with the one in my 2004 Cayenne. I have not done it yet, but if I ever think one of the batteries has a problem, I can swap them pretty easily to see if the problem stays with the car or with the battery. And for diagnosing simpler battery problems, I've found the most telling failure is that when charging up a battery on my 25A smart charger, it goes from dead to full very quickly (minutes vs. hours). BTW, this method helps for general electrical debugging as well as battery management. Many electrical problems present intermittently, and can be tough to isolate. Very often, a correct and wise decision may be made that the problem could be due to a weak/bad/intermittently failing battery. So the step is taken to buy a new battery and see what happens. Which is great, unless the new battery did not fix the problem (although it often improves things), and you've done nothing but spend $$ and remove doubt about the new battery ... unless the new battery needs to be doubted too. By swapping in a battery from a second car with no problems, it is already known to be good. |
Looked up the 7002 and not only agree with the assessment from @bc above, I'm going to put that on my father's day wish list.
I don't know how much charge the 7002 pulls out of the battery to test that it can hold a charge but it does claim to do some form of a drain test, it doesn't do a load test so that would still need to be done at a battery store or mechanic. I've only been borrowing basic chargers in the past, this thing is a very nice charger and importantly can act as voltage supply when disconnecting battery for repair etc You might ask why ? Because it can only supply 7a vs 900 so things won't explode if you accidentally short something out, but if you manage to avoid shorting out anything you don't need to reprogram everything. |
A battery that "charges too quickly" is a perfect example of a sure problem with any battery.
I like having a pair of near clone X5 as it comes in very helpful when I can swap parts either for diagnosis or getting a car functional in a hurry (fuel pump, cam shaft sensor, tires for example) |
No, we are not saying the same thing. I suggested it is not a good idea to assume the expertise of the tester not that a state of the art tester doesn't cover all necessary testing to confirm the state of the battery. My interpretation is that you are saying you have to do other testing on you own that the battery evaluation procedure of a state of the art tester doesn't do. I disagree. In my view you shouldn't have had to do any testing of your own, the Battery Plus testing was flawed.
Not removing a surface charge or testing a battery when it is not fully charged can screw up testing. I used go through the desulfating procedure, then the slow low amp charge cycle and then the battery test. No need to now. Test button does any needed prep. If folks don't feel comfortable until they do a capacity check have at it, won't hurt anything or just ask the parts store if their test includes capacity check if they think that is important. I've done capacity checks on deep cycle marine batteries. Testing a deep cycle battery was draw over time based on the battery specs there was no rule of thumb that covered all batteries. |
Battery for E53 2005 4.4i
I said: one can not rely entirely on the test done at a battery shop to determine the end of life of a battery.
You said (paraphasing): "if you own your own tester that does the proper tests you can eliminate the not entirely reliable battery store test" Not exactly sure how that's not the same thing. We are both saying that the test done at the store is not entirely reliable. (That is the ONLY common point I was saying we are saying the same thing) I specifically did NOT say there aren't tools you can buy that can do a better job. I did not say we were in lock step agreement, I just said the store/mechanic load test can give you inaccurate results regarding battery end of life. I didn't say you "had to do" any particular thing, I pointed out just that a typical test can say a battery is fine and can't be trusted 100%. That if you, like me get a battery tested, they send you home with a clean bill of health, you may have a capacity, not a current capability problem. I offer real world simple methods that can be done without buying a tool that costs as much as the battery somebody wants to test. I'm quite sure if it happened to me it will happen to other people. The average person that has a couple times they need a jump will assume battery. They go get it load tested and if it passes they will be very confused. There are a couple reasons that can happen and one that recently happened to me, so I'm sharing a real world actually happened not theoretical story so when somebody else in the future has the same symptoms they can maybe track down the actual problem. Is there a chance my old battery could have just had surface charge interfering with capacity and could have been bright back to life with the 7002? Yup. Did I make a judgement call to upgrade to the AGM Battery because the old battery was 4-6 years old and I didn't want the unknown? Yup. Not exactly sure what the "argument" is here. Coming from a standpoint of the 99% of folk that will not have a conditioning battery charger at home; their option is to take the battery to a store with a load tester. Some non-zero % of the time that test will report the battery is fine when it's not. It happened to me, that's why I'm sharing so when it happens to somebody else they can do a free test to double-check it is the battery before they start replacing their alternator or starter when it was just a battery that had plenty of current capability but no capacity. FYI n>1, it was tested a few times, different stores, different testers, different operators, also with an "old school" pure resistive tester, they all reported battery was OK. If it happened to me it'll happen to somebody else. I agree with the idea every DIY'r should have something like the 7002, it's in my Amazon wish list I'm going to get one, but it's not for everybody. The average Joe that needs to replace a battery every 5-8 years or every 3-4 years when you factor a couple cars, the $ is better spent paying for 3/4 of a new AGM battery. |
How do these state of the art testers handle intermittent problems? I'll guess they can't handle all of them. State of the art does not mean infallible. Never did, never will, regardless of how much the art advances.
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No cure for intermittent. That said, a charger/tester like that 7002 will do as bc pointed out, run the 7002 on a battery and you are not likely to get a false test, as it will pre-trial and remove surface charge. All tools are falible that's a primary motivation for me to use common sense "have on hand" tests and solutions.
Does everybody have a 7002? Nope. Does everybody have a high beam headlight and a clock? Yep. -awr |
Your responses and paraphrasing are not what I said. I accept I am not making myself clear even though I've tried several times. Doesn't matter.
FYI it is not necessary to load test with the 7002. The CTEK does a full analysis of the battery. If there is a problem with the battery the unit will stop the charging cycle and a red error led comes on. If that happens I try the reconditioning mode especially if the battery has been completely discharged. If the error light comes on again the battery is bad. |
I've gotten Walmart EverStart H8 AGM units for $149.
A great deal plus tax and $15 core fee https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart...up-h8/40647529 Mike |
Bcred, thanks for your comments. If Andrewwyn had a case based on facts then it is worthwhile recording here. You may disagree (and it is worthwhile writing that) but there is the fact that equipment built for testing is only as good as the overall knowledge gone into designing it. It is not uncommon for updates to be made to equipment when new problems are discovered (igoring the operators fault). Even though equipment may have gone into years/decades of testing. I am far from the knowlege behind these but it is good to read anything out of the ordinary in these forums to assist. Andrewwyn, without seeing the total setup, method, etc. of the occurance there all we can do is take your word that it wasn’t something else but again it is more than worthwhile posting it to this forum in case someone else has the same problem. Thanks to you both and hope that I have not stood on your toes. It would be quite easy as I am 6’8” with big feet...:o)
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I think (and still not sure) that it came off that I said you would "have to" do some testing on your own to determine the end of life state is a battery. I was simply saying that the normal process that 95% of people will do (charge up your battery take to a battery store and get a load test done) can report a false negative (that battery is good but isn't). for *whatever* reason.
I was saying it happened to me about a year ago. I've worked a LOT with batteries including designed and built battery chargers, I was stumped so I shared my story because if it happened to me It will happen to others. I simply said : "if the same happens to you, here is a possible route to take". |
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If the only reason one needs a charger/tester is to see if a battery is bad every 4 years or so I can see why there is no need to have one. I wouldn't think of them as DIYers if that is the only use they have for one. |
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What intermittent problems are you referencing? |
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And I actually once had a tough intermittent battery problem on my old 911. Very simple electrical system on that car, and I would have about 1/10 failure to start, randomly. Hooking up jumper cables would make it start instantly (no need to charge). Battery, alternator, everything I could measure tested fine. Removed and cleaned all ground straps, etc. In the end it was basically process of elimination and I swapped in a new battery. It was not until about 6 months of no failures that I was sure I had fixed the problem. So in that case, it was an intermittent internal battery problem. Due to its rare occurence, one would need to be lucky to ever detect it. But it was a real problem when it happened, as you can imagine. That experience led me toward the setup where I try to have interchangeable batteries so at the first puzzling observation, I can just swap batteries and see what changes. My X5 can swap with my Cayenne, and my 3 Japanese cars can swap. The 911 is not directly interchangeable, but I could get it done if needed. |
Battery for E53 2005 4.4i
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Battery capacity test.(Also it's not a capacity test it's only an estimate just like the CCA "test" done at 25C is just an estimate based on test curves and math). Example: drive your car only highway for an hour or so, your DTE will be very optimistic compared to reality when you switch to all city driving. the DTE estimate isn't "wrong" it's just not clairvoyant. My battery put out 500A for 15 to 30 seconds and held over 9.6v. That same battery had previously not been able to start my car (200-220A) after 25 minutes of running an iPhone. (Hence why I went to get a load test (and they also did the quick capacity test as described above) So, I figured I must have left something on or FSU was killing my battery until a week or so later when after leaving my hazzards on for no more than 8 minutes, again I could not start my car and I needed to use my booster pack. (This same battery never had a problem first start every time at zero F, even a couple starts in a row without running to charge). I literally had a 700A strong but 0.2AH capacity battery. I am FOR CERTAIN not the only person this has happened to and will not be the last, so: again just pointing out to people that may find themselves in the identical predicament, test don't guess, even if "they swear" the battery is good, it can be end of life failed even when it passes the tests. I only wish I still had the battery so I could test it more throughly. If I had similar symptoms in the future, I would go get a load test (and quick capacity test) and if the battery passed I personally would do a longer test of the actual capacity as the mfgr does eg pull 1/20 of the AH rating and see how long it takes to reach the mfg cut off voltage (probably 9.6 or 10v). It's a real world and simple thing anybody can do, they just need some device that pulls a few A and some time and a voltage measuring tool. For those that have a tool like the 7002 that's awesome for them, doesn't help the other 99% |
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Why are you suggesting to go have a load test done if you already believe the industry standard for testing is inconclusive. Just do your test and if it tests good there is no reason to go to the store, if it tests bad still no reason to have the store test it and then have to try to explain to them why their test if flawed. Your link took me to a site to buy a printer cartridge |
You are adding more than I've said ever.
I simply said that by my example of it really happened to me: a standard load + capacity test gave my battery a clean bill of health and was wrong. Then followed up with if it happens to you, consider that the test may have been inaccurate before you replace the starter or alternator chasing the problem. What will typically happen in such a case (battery tests ok) is somebody will assume that means the problem lies elsewhere. That can be a very costly proposition. The battery testing formula is of course an estimate. They measure for 15 seconds and estimate the long term capacity of the battery. It uses a *formula* so by definition is an extrapolation of capability. It's more accurate than the DTE in most cases but in some cases clearly the load test is way off. I would bet 1/100 to 1/1000 odds of repeating the high current low capacity situation I had. Regardless if people call load capacity or vice versa there are two very different and distinct ratings for batteries that will be on every car battery sold: CCA and AH. Cold Cranking Amps and Amp-Hours. CCA a measure of how fast the battery can deliver charge when cold. This is almost always a calculated estimate because batteries are not fabricated at 0° F and the testers use estimate curves to predict a CCA based on ambient temp and current at that temp. That is a measurement of LOAD. Not in any way shape or form "capacity" Capacity of a battery is measured in amp•hours, and can ONLY be measured over time there are no short cuts. Typically a battery will be subjected to a load such as 5A and the time it takes (hours) to drain to 1.75v/cell will give you the amp•hours (an 80AH battery should give you about 16 hours of 5A discharge for example) I own hardware for capacity testing batteries: it has FETs and big heat sinks and a fan. It will pull a calibrated drain from a battery and will shut off at a design limit say 3.0v for LiON cell. I've never seen a commerically available tool for testing a car battery capacity only load capability. I've seen people CALL a load test a capacity test; it assuredly is not. It's a "capability test". Pulling half the CCA from a battery for 15 seconds is a good test of it's capability, it has no relationship in any way to the AH or capacity of a battery. I am instructing people in the normal care of a suspected end of life battery: the first thing to do if a battery makes itself suspect (old, requires a jump start more than once and no known drain), you of course charge it up (typically a solid drive of an hour is enough to do a test but overnight on a charger is better) then go get a load test. 99 or 99.9% of the time that will be conclusive, most often when an old battery can't start a car after you have left the lights on for 10-30 minutes, coincidentally the amp capability has been diminished and the battery will fail a load test and it's a clear cut case of end of life. SOME of the time the battery will pass a load test; and some people will even say a "capacity" test (which cannot be done in seconds or minutes but takes large parts of days). There will absolutely be somebody that chimes in eventually "me too". I've had MANY MANY MANY batteries fail in this way: countless. Back in the day with NiMH chemistry they used the term "memory effect" to describe the case of a battery that would not lose current nor voltage capability but would lose mAH capacity. I've only had ONE of many CAR batteries do this. It had at least 3/4 of it's new amp capability but lost maybe 95-98% of it's AH capability. Put on a charger and it just saw the battery as fully charged, pull 500A out for 5 seconds and it maintained voltage. Pull 1/2A for 20 minutes and voltage dropped to 9.6V. Jump start and it's fully charged in 20 minutes ready to sit a week and start the car without a problem. So, yes a very odd case probably 1 in 1000. But if somebody else can realize it's the battery not the alternator or starter and learn from my real world example my job here is done. |
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Ok guys, three pages of back and forth...really? Thanks for the great reading and sharing but if you want to continue may I suggect you start up another thread. I dont want this one to be closed by the moderator. I am happy that you have both said your piece and therefore now let the judgements lie.
I will post again when I get some more info. cheers! |
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Ok enough.
I will try NOT to continue this unique discussion on battery testing approaches and thoughts. Having spent years in the battery tester world, a battery load test with one that can actually carbon pile a 1/2 cold (ZERO) amp output load, followed by a charging system test (Volts, Amp load, ripple, dio test) will pin point 99% of all surface charged, cell wall collapsed, soon to be dead, and wasted batteries, along with poor performing alternators with all sorts of ailments. Having sold thousands of units and tested 100,000 + batteries across the entire US market with that approach, I can say that "if it is questionable THROW IT AWAY". Batteries are cheap compared to a tow. Surface only charged batteries cause more issues and shop returns. TEST TEST and more TESTs should pin point the failure. You both are OK, lots more important issues in the DIY world to focus on as most of this back and forth is in the ASE/SAE Engineering scope level of conversation. WAY WAY beyond this forum. Photo: Example of an analog version with 500 amp load capacity. Era 2000 designed in 1950! Number 1 shop level tester sold for 40 years. Replaced by the digital one 1997, still out sold the digital one for another 8 years.... Work horse. This one is my own. Solved lots of "my car will not start again" pain... WHAT? Doesn't everyone have a $1,000 VOLT Amp Tester sitting around? Next topic! |
DIY battery test
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So I picked up a battery tester and it arrived from the states. These small portable units are selling like hot cakes. Anyway, lifted out the spare wheel and hooked it up.
I had previously done a bit of driving around so I figure the battery is probably not fully charged but should pass the load test. Here is the result for a 780 CCA. I think the result speaks for itself. Attachment 75875 I then took the engine up to 1500 revs as instructed and the result showed the charging system is still ok. Attachment 75876 So, another battery required. Will let you know which one I get. Oh, by the way the rear wheel is now snug as a bug with its new fixing plate. Attachment 75877 Cheers, and thanks guys! |
So I understand completely, The first test shows battery voltage with engine off, Correct?
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Battery must be fully charged to do a load test.
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Yes, first test engine off. Will get back to you after I try to charge it fully. I suppose I better disconnect in case of any earth leaks.
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I don't know about V8, but for M54 engines, the best bang for the buck is Exide L3 or L5.
I have used both Exide L3 and L5, they are great for the money. They last about 5-7 yrs. Home Depot hardware sells them, Exide L3 about $99, L5 about $119. PS: I do NOT use Autozone Duralast battery any longer, their quality went down in the last 5 yrs, they barely last 1-2 yrs. |
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Mike |
Duracell AGM for $170 Sam's club. That's $70 savings from batteries plus
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
Just installed Walmart's EverStart H8 AGM battery ($149) 900 CCA and it fit perfectly. https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart...up-h8/40647529. It has 2 top vent holes and comes with one vent hole plug (it's on the red plastic positive pole cap that should come with the battery), so gotta plug the other hole on the negative side.
And boy oh boy, my X5 has woken up and is alive as ever! It's not in my head but she's more responsive and definitely has that extra oomph. When I hit the pedal to the metal, she takes off immediately - no that milliseconds of delay I used to have. The vehicle just generally feels alive and nimble. Starts immediately as well. Wow, didn't know what I was missing. |
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