GEL or AGM battery
 

Hi, my battery is tired after 5 years of continuous use in temperatures between -35 to +40 and is having troubles starting my 2005 E53 3 litters diesel engine.

so which one do you recommend?

From what I can gather on this AGM battery so far is that it's not far superior in cold temp but it has very small self-discharge curve (around 1-3 percent of capacity per month). That;s why BMW switch to this on newer models since those tend to have more electronics (i.e comfort access, that can drain battery while sitting in garage if the FOB is within 30ft in many cases).

The problem for older X5 would be charging (or over charging in this case) of AGM battery possibly shorthening the life of it. That's why on newer BMW there is inteligent charging algorithm that register the batt mfg date and the car adjust the charging current overtime (being more toward the end of batt life).

That is correct,except that when you switch from AGM to normal battery (or vice versa) the car wont understand that by itself.You have to use a diagnostic software and register the new battery-type and capacity.

I am reading on the net that GEL battery are suffering more from that than AGM :confused:

It maybe, AGM and gel is similar technology (instead of using the liquid sulfuric acid as electrolite it uses gel, while AGM added glass insulation to reduce self-discharge between cells further). Maybe also the glass insulation may be able to absord the gas forming while charging/over charging.

Again assuming you have E53 (not E70) X5, the car alternator/regulator provide up to C/4 (C being the full capacity ~ 80Amp) while GEL/AGM never like anything more than C/8 or C/10 of charge current. Newer BMW like E60/E90 with IBIS circuitry will limit the current by looking at the date stamp of the batt and gradually adjust the charge current over the life of the batt (hence the registration upon replacement to reset this algorithm is required or customer will be back for new AGM batt in 3-4 years due to over-charging).

I am not sure you'll see the benefit of GEL/AGM under severe weather though, does the batt mfg claims that? I never look into bad weather situation since my car always garage and Seattle weather is not that bad.

my car is a 2005 E53, so I should go for a simple battery then and change the batteries more often for the savings I will made right?

thank you for your explanations

AGM should be fine in an E53, repaced my battery with BMW AGM six years ago and its still going strong. This battery was originally speced for 7 series before IBS technology so all is well.

Bosch Silverline should do you and now comes with a 5 year warranty.

can you suggest a national retailer (I see you are from the UK - I am in Edinburgh).

also maybe you know what model from Silverline family suits 05 reg diesel E53 best?

many thanks!

I would highly recommend using an odyssey pc1700. The cranking power at all temps is much more powerful and they have been extremely reliable for me.

Interesting battery. Good specs.

No vent tube required? How well does it fit?

to be honest I have never heard of this battery before?

anybody else had any experience with them?

AGM or not, don't be surprised if you need a new battery soon. My original BMW battery died approx. 6.5 years later.

Actually had to get one ourselves over Xmas as an emergency so it came from Halfords. There may be cheaper suppliers though at about £30 less, but we needed it there and then. It was an HSB019 in Halfords parlance, Bosch Silver Plus S5 series. Took me about 30 mins to change it.

Labelling on side:
12V 600 402 083
830A CCA 100Ah
0 092 S50 130 = Part Number
According to the Bosch Catalogue this = S5 013 Battery
Battery can be vented at either end and they supply a plug to go in the other end vent hole. Works a treat. Turned the steering left/right lock to clear the warning lights and away we went. Didn't even lose any memory settings as I waited for the car to go to sleep, then did it - result ;)

There is an AGM Version the S6 002 which is a 95Ah/850CCA but it's a lot more expensive. Comes with a 6-year Warranty.
0 092 S60 020

wow!!! many thanks for this information - very helpful!!! :thumbup:

Halfords will charge me £130 for s5 013 battery...

If anyone knows a better price please let me know - any help is appreciated.

reply to an OOOOOLLLD post but did you eventually go for the agm battery? if yes how has it behaved so far?

I bought this Duracell H8 AGM battery several months ago and it is doing very well.

https://images.samsclubresources.com..._size_380x380$

https://www.samsclub.com/sams/auto-g...lp:product:1:1

Specifications:

20 amp hour rate:92
Battery electrolyte composition: Glass Mat
Battery end type: Top post
Battery purpose: Starting lighting instrumentation
BCI group size: 49
CA at 32 degrees F: 975
CCA at 0 degrees F: 850
DIN code:H8/L5
Freight class: 65
Polarity: Right positive
Reserve capacity: 170
Terminal type:DIN
Volts: 12

Mike

Looks very good....stateside or even mainland europe things are much more easier to get hold of.....on the tiny island i am on they will charge an arm and a leg IF they stock agm batteries