When Do YOU Replace Your Battery?

[JKO_ZHP]

In my previous E46, I only replaced the OEM battery (with a 49DL) after it wouldn't start two times in a row. I called AAA the first time since I wasn't sure what the problem was and it was after they tested it that I found out that the charge was low.

Now, even though it is getting cold, I have problems starting the ZHP up after long periods of inactivity. I learned that the OEM battery's color indicator isn't reliable (the last one was green even though it was basically dead). So far, it's always started up after the second try though but it seems a good time to replace (with another 49DL, good CCA)

What do you use to determine when it's time to change your battery?

[kayger12]

I'm a preemptive changer.

New battery every four years.

I'd rather never have to worry about getting stranded or dealing with the goofy low voltage gremlins our cars have.

[az3579]

I'm a preemptive changer.

New battery every four years.

I'd rather never have to worry about getting stranded or dealing with the goofy low voltage gremlins our cars have.

This.


I only replaced mine after not understanding why my car refused to get Shark Injected. Otherwise, everything worked perfectly. Changed it out anyway just to be sure and lo and behold, it sharked. It's never worth arriving to a car with a dead battery.

[danewilson77]

And it's only a hunabux or so.

[Washburn]

I kept my factory battery for 8 yrs almost. It was cranking slow, and only when I replaced it recently did I realize how much I needed a new one. made a huge difference in starting - it's so fast it's like it hardly cranks now - instant starting.
From now on I will replace it every 5 yrs just for peace of mind and not risk alternator, etc.
$118 bucks at Walmart: and more CCA than the OEM
http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?834-Battery-for-BMW-E46&p=226923#post226923

[danewilson77]

I will replace mine, whenever I want to.

[Whitexi]

That's the odd thing when I had my E46, it had a 6 year old OEM battery and it never skipped a beat in the 4 years I had the car. Accessory on etc no issue. I had read that pepboys sells the identical bosh OEM battery minus the BMW logo for half the price.

[danewilson77]

A lot of good answers in here. Hard data shows typical failure occurs around 5-7 years.

[az3579]

A lot of good answers in here. Hard data shows typical failure occurs around 5-7 years.

And sometimes that failure isn't even failure, just "symptoms". These batteries last quite a while!

[Avetiso]

When I start experiencing difficulty starting.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[JKO_ZHP]

Guess it's time to swap it out then.
Going with the usual, another Duralast 49-DL then. 850 CCA and only costs $99 here.
I know for a fact that the battery can last for at least another month but if it's a strain on the alternator in those few times when it takes a second turn of the key to successfully start the ignition then I'm changing it early.

[billyjack]

I don't think I ever would have thought to replace a battery as a preventative measure. I replace mine when I have trouble cranking on multiple occasions and it won't hold a charge, verified with a meter. Maybe I'm just cheap.

[RITmusic2k]

As this just recently happened to me, apparently I wait until the absolute last minute to replace my battery, basically after it has failed. I had to bump start my car to make the trip over to Pep Boys.

[kayger12]

Wife's car slow cranking in the cold tonight.

Battery exactly 4 years old. Duralast.

[Sockethead]

My battery is still the original OEM. It's going on 8 yrs old now which I find amazing. It's starting to crank a little slower now so I'll be replacing it soon.
I always have it on a maintenance charger when I'm not driving it for long periods. I think that made a difference.

[GMATT]

Mine lasted 8 years and 2 months! Car was fine, then poof, no crank! Put in a 49 DL

Gary

[JKO_ZHP]

Mine lasted 8 years and 2 months! Car was fine, then poof, no crank! Put in a 49 DL

Gary

Coincidentally, it's also been a little over 8 years now since this ZHP was born and the battery is still OEM.
Definitely time to change then, not just for the "just in case."

[kayger12]

Wife's car slow cranking in the cold tonight.

Battery exactly 4 years old. Duralast.

So like I was saying...

Wife calls me the next day and says it won't start. January cold did it in.

New Duralast installed yesterday...

[echo46]

I'm still oem but the thought of changing it is creeping in my feeble mind.

[webster]

i installed a new battery when running the shark software. even with the charger i wasn't maintaining enough voltage to perform the flash. this was in September of 2011, so the new one lasted 7.5 years roughly, even though when i pulled it the car was cranking fine.

[terraphantm]

my old ZHP's battery lasted about 7 years.

My M3 had a fairly new battery when I bought it (1 year on it). It was shot within a year of my buying it though. My alternator's rectifiers were bad and basically creating a ton of ripple, which destroyed the battery. I've since replaced it with a Deka 9AGM49 (Group 49 AGM battery... similar technology to the Optima batteries, but a lot more capacity)

[KevinC]

Getting 6, 7, 8 years out of a battery is freaking amazing. It just dawned on me - the fact that our batteries are in the trunk has to be a HUGE factor. Being away from engine heat, and also away from the coldest temps, has got to be a factor in this. Thanks, BMW! Moving the battery to the back has one more benefit on top of better balance.

I put an Autozone AGM battery in my ZHP recently. In the brutal Phoenix climate, I figure it's worth the extra durability. My Z4M has AGM as OEM, and it lasted 4 years - incredible for any battery here in the desert, inside the car or not.

[JKO_ZHP]

i installed a new battery when running the shark software. even with the charger i wasn't maintaining enough voltage to perform the flash. this was in September of 2011, so the new one lasted 7.5 years roughly, even though when i pulled it the car was cranking fine.

I've finally decided on wheels! VMR VB3s in hyper black.

[Johal E32]

^Nice choice!

You should get silver though, black wheels on a silver car look weird :P

[Pip]

I've finally decided on wheels! VMR VB3s in hyper black.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this. I've been thinking about these for quite some time, but don't know how the hyper black will look at silver gray.

They look outstanding on Tiag (Charlie has 'em).

[JKO_ZHP]

^Nice choice!

You should get silver though, black wheels on a silver car look weird :P

But I has silbergrau? :shift
And also, it's called hyper black but it isn't even close (to being black). To me, it looks like a darker silver grey in metallic....
http://www.e46fanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=879134
Please excuse the linkage to "E46:mob"


I'm really looking forward to seeing this. I've been thinking about these for quite some time, but don't know how the hyper black will look at silver gray.

They look outstanding on Tiag (Charlie has 'em).

http://www.e46fanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=879134
There's a VMR VB3 gallery on ModBargains' site, I'm guessing the silver E46 M3 whose owner's name is Charles is Charlie :p
Spotted the rear passenger window decal...............:mob
http://www.modbargains.com/images/Products/VMR/VB3-CSL-Gallery/VMR-VB3-Hyper-Black-BMW-E46-M3.html

[Johal E32]

But I has silbergrau? :shift
And also, it's called hyper black but it isn't even close (to being black). To me, it looks like a darker silver grey in metallic....
http://www.e46fanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=879134
Please excuse the linkage to "E46:mob"


Whoops, I thought it was silver :shift

I see, it is like a darker silver. It will look nice on your car :)

[JKO_ZHP]

Whoops, I thought it was silver :shift

I see, it is like a darker silver. It will look nice on your car :)

Hehe, I hope so.
Even better for me: VMR's warehouse is in Anaheim. I stopped by eas a while back since it wasn't too far from my college campus. Noticed that VMR was conveniently located a stone's throw away down the street from them. :)

[Johal E32]

Hehe, I hope so.
Even better for me: VMR's warehouse is in Anaheim. I stopped by eas a while back since it wasn't too far from my college campus. Noticed that VMR was conveniently located a stone's throw away down the street from them. :)

That's nice. I'd be broke in no time if I lived near EAS :rofl

Only places around me are Umnitza(20 minutes away) and JLEVI street works (more like 1hr away).

[Hermes]

7 years... and I got another white OE battery for $140

[JKO_ZHP]

That's nice. I'd be broke in no time if I lived near EAS :rofl

Only places around me are Umnitza(20 minutes away) and JLEVI street works (more like 1hr away).

Umnitza..........:facepalm
They messed up my first order with them. So it's also my last.
And my friend was so good at retrofitting that Umnitza began referring its customers to him. So he orders parts from them almost daily - he says 3/5 have something wrong. Missing parts, wrong sizes, mismatching color, etc.

"Good products, ^#*$^*@ support and customer service."

[johnrando]

So like I was saying...

Wife calls me the next day and says it won't start. January cold did it in.

New Duralast installed yesterday...

Whoa! I'd better not post anything in this thread as I don't want that to happen to me. Uh, oops.

[Hermes]

John, change your's now... you're coming up on the age and you don't want any of the phantom issues that occur when your battery is on it's way out. I'll see if I can get you a better deal on an OE battery from Carl (I got mine from the stealership w/CCA discount aka "I've spent too much money there in the last 17 years" - 20% off, but LJ will probably do better), you just need to come to SD one day to grab it. I'll put it in for you bro.

[JKO_ZHP]

John, change your's now... you're coming up on the age and you don't want any of the phantom issues that occur when your battery is on it's way out. I'll see if I can get you a better deal on an OE battery from Carl (I got mine from the stealership w/CCA discount aka "I've spent too much money there in the last 17 years" - 20% off, but LJ will probably do better), you just need to come to SD one day to grab it. I'll put it in for you bro.

Unless an OEM battery costs less than $100 even, I strongly suggest taking the Duralast 49-DL option. It's CCA is higher, and it's very reliable - I'm sure at least a couple other Mafia members here can attest to that.

It's also a direct fit replacement, very easy to install, even for someone like me who took an hour to replace the filter for the BMW Performance intake....:eeps

[az3579]

Unless an OEM battery costs less than $100 even, I strongly suggest taking the Duralast 49-DL option. It's CCA is higher, and it's very reliable - I'm sure at least a couple other Mafia members here can attest to that.

Consider that attested to. :thumbsup

[johnrando]

Very cool offer JP. I actually changed it last year so I know first hand about the gremlins with an iffy battery.

[Hermes]

I just like spending too much money on things that have BMW part numbers... jk.

Seriously, the OE battery vs aftermarket is perfectly fine. They both do the same job and at least with the modern cars that have them in the trunk you can't tell it's aftermarket. You shouldn't be running it until it dies anyways so don't worry about capacity or whatever...


...and if you want to complain about price, don't start me on how much an OE replacement for the 1969 2002 costs.