cinergi

In the end, I chose to err on the side of caution and selected 90AH (non-AGM). After doing some more research, I don't think this value is used for charging anyway, but rather for calculating how much "spare" capacity the battery has before the IBS/DME/MPM modules start shutting down non-essential accessories to maintain enough energy to start the car. For example, with the 90AH setting I'll have less time to use the radio with the engine off before it is automatically shut down.

I think the actual charging is controlled based on the voltage and current measured across the battery terminals by the IBS, similarly to how a "smart" battery charger operates.

-cinergi

FormerE30Owner

Correct, plus the temperature of the battery. I don't think that "smart" battery chargers take the temperature into consideration. As the temperature drops, one can see that the charging voltage increase. I have seen up to 15+ v on mine. The usual voltage for a running car at 21 C is between 14.1 to 14.6.

Salut, Bob P.

m5proud

you did right!
there is almost no difference 90 or 100, but it is very important to set AGM

roadmax

Is registering a battery possible as DIY or it has to be done at the dealer?

cinergi

Possible as DYI with the right software (INPA and NCS Expert) and an OBD2 cable.

The bmwcoding.com forum has some good guides available for general use of these tools.

-cinergi

cmyachtie

Actually to be more specific, registration can be done with DIS 57 or Tool32 and you'll need NCSEXPER to change the battery type and rating, thus if you are replacing battery with same type and approx. rating registration is all you need to do.

twh

Or, just use Carly for BMW.

cinergi

Yes correct; I focused on INPA and NCS Expert because they are more easily available and generally cheaper / free than the official dealership tools like DIS or ISTA.

Tool32 can indeed be used for battery registration, but I find INPA easier to use. Tool32 requires opening the correct module file and selecting the correct job for battery registration from a long list of jobs with somewhat unintuitive names. INPA can accomplish the same thing in a more friendly user interface; it's also easier to display the detailed battery statistics (last registration km, current state of charge, etc.) in INPA.

The easiest software to use would be the official BMW dealership tools like DIS (as you mentioned) or ISTA.

Carly is indeed another option; I personally have no experience with it, but based on the screen shots I've seen it seems quite easy to use. The problem I have with Carly is that the functionality is limited according to the documentation, you have to pay to unlock specific functionality, and you also have to pay for the recommended OBD2 interface. Definitely easier to use than the BMW standard tools though; the advantage of the Standard Tools suite (INPA, NCS, Tool32, WinKFP) is that it provides the full functionality with no restrictions.

-cinergi

cmyachtie

Also, someone correct me if I am wrong here, I believe that with the V8 engines at least with my 545 There is nowhere where ?I can find on how to register the battery in INPA, which is why I mentioned Tool32 and DIS57. I believe that the MPM Module maybe at play here which is why INPA is unable to register the battery.
If it can be done with a 545 with the POWER MODULE running INPA, I would love to see a step by step on the process.

cinergi

Ah, that is possible. I was speaking from my experience with an N52 engine (I6). For my engine, the path to follow in INPA is: Select engine management system (MSV70 in my case) > F5 for power > F5 to register battery. This path doesn't exist for you?

cinergi