[dpaul]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Pretty good, considering the electrical consumers in these cars!

Not sure I understand what you mean. If you mean that modern vehicles have more electrically powered devices you are of course correct. But that is irrelevant when the engine is running and the alternator is supplying the electric power.

[Tambohamilton]

It's relevant when the engine is off and the battery is powering the immobiliser/alarm at best, if not interior lights, puddle lights, welcome home lights, auto start/stop, comfort access...... Plus all the electronics in modern cars are way more sensitive to a weak battery.

Lots of people hate on the charging system because it's not 'fit and forget', but the reality is it does a very respectable job of prolonging the life of our batteries

[TunafishE93]

I have to say that the Ah is nothing to do with overcharging. The car will supply the same amount of volts (different from flooded and AGM) regardless of the Ah.

What the Ah does is tell the car you have this much amp drain and with this size of battey you should have this much voltage drop. This is where the excess battery drain warning comes from.

When the battery starts to get old the Ah will decrease. When Ah decrease the voltage drop will be more for the same amount of amps being pulled above. The computer then says, hey this is not right.

If you code a battery that is 80Ah to 90Ah. The car will think that the battery voltage should not drop that fast and throw a warning sooner than it should.

If you code a 100Ah battery to 90Ah your voltage drop will be less and car wont throw a warning. Again nothing to do with charging. Just to warn you at the proper time when your battery is out of specs.

[Tambohamilton]

I'm not sure that's correct; I've witnessed a healthy charging system switch between 12.x and 14.xV, indicating that the charging system has decided the battery is fully charged and doesn't need anything until demand increases. This behaviour may be particular to cars with regenerative braking, or whatever BMW calls it. With that system the IBS will target 80% charge, so that the battery can be charged (alternator output increased) on overrun; it doesn't just blindly charge constantly.

[TunafishE93]

Thats not what i said. It doesn't charge blindly, it goes by battery voltage and temperature (again flooded and AGM have different charging maps), voltage will increase/decrease with those parameters. But it will be the same voltage charge with the same parameters above regardless of what the Ah is set for.

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

It's relevant when the engine is off and the battery is powering the immobiliser/alarm at best, if not interior lights, puddle lights, welcome home lights, auto start/stop, comfort access...... Plus all the electronics in modern cars are way more sensitive to a weak battery.

Lots of people hate on the charging system because it's not 'fit and forget', but the reality is it does a very respectable job of prolonging the life of our batteries

That's an interesting assertion - that the E90 charging system does a "very respectable job of prolonging the life of our batteries". Are you aware of any studies supporting this notion?

[toymaker]

Bought a cable and downloaded standard tools as suggested. Sp datens are numerous and I don't see one for the e90 but only all other models. . .
Am I missing something? (no jokes please :-))

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by toymaker

Bought a cable and downloaded standard tools as suggested. Sp datens are numerous and I don't see one for the e90 but only all other models. . .
Am I missing something? (no jokes please :-))

Assuming you downloaded BMW standard tools from Bimmergeeks, you DO NOT need additional datens for the use of NCSExpert and INPA - Bimmergeeks includes the needed daten files in their distribution. However, if you want to use WinKFP you will need to download a daten. E89 is the one you want.

[toymaker]

Originally Posted by dpaul

Assuming you downloaded BMW standard tools from Bimmergeeks, you DO NOT need additional datens for the use of NCSExpert and INPA - Bimmergeeks includes the needed daten files in their distribution. However, if you want to use WinKFP you will need to download a daten. E89 is the one you want.

Will this allow me to register/code the new battery?
Thank you dpaul

[TunafishE93]

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1338302

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by toymaker

Will this allow me to register/code the new battery?
Thank you dpaul

You'd use NCSExpert to "code" the battery i.e. tell the car whether it's AGM or FLA and what the AH rating is. You'd use Tool32 to "register" the battery i.e. tell the car that a new battery has been installed so that if the DME had previously de-rated the old battery based on usage, it will reset back to new.

I've never bothered to "register" and never had to "code" because I never changed the type and rating of the battery when I replaced it. However, YMMV.

NCSExpert does not need a daten installed if the Bimmergeeks distribution of BMW Standard Tools is used. However, I am not sure if Tool32 needs a daten installation or not. It does not hurt to install a daten but be sure you follow the instructions and use the utility program "BMW Coding Tool", rather than copying files manually. Easy to make a mistake by hand

Instructions on how to "code" and "register" are in that link provided by Tunafish; Option 3 and Option 5.

[toymaker]

Thank you for helping me I really appreciate it. I replaced with the same battery, and my opinion is the same about registration as yours. I replaced with the same battery, H8 900CCa AGM just the brand changed. Some people say the registration just enters new date into the system... New type is of course different. I was wondering too if I could just not register because it is the same battery. . .

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by toymaker

Thank you for helping me I really appreciate it. I replaced with the same battery, and my opinion is the same about registration as yours. I replaced with the same battery, H8 900CCa AGM just the brand changed. Some people say the registration just enters new date into the system... New type is of course different. I was wondering too if I could just not register because it is the same battery. . .

Just to be clear, "coding" is never needed if the battery size/type has not changed. Opinions differ about "registration"; while most posters insist it is necessary or at least prudent when a battery is replaced, a few posters have looked what the DME does with the "registration" info and argue that it is not actually used.

[TunafishE93]

I loose my registration every time i flash a new map with MHD. I gave up trying a year ago but only have two years on battery with no issues.

[toymaker]

When I looked at the input data to the module all I could see was date time for registration; leading me to believe it is mostly, ceremonial. :-) Recoding is necessary for a new formulation, lead acid to agm for instance, but that makes more sense.

I think I would be bothered more if the capacity was different, afraid I would overcharge a 720cca if I previously had a 900cca. . . Then I would be bothered not to register the battery. I'll see what happens.

Had the 328i for 11 years without too much trouble after 30k. Way more reliable than my previous 2009 335d. Unfortunately I loved THAT 335d so much I had to get the 2011 328i. That 335d was a torque monster though. The wild ones are always more fun but need more care.

[crypticc]

Originally Posted by toymaker

When I looked at the input data to the module all I could see was date time for registration; leading me to believe it is mostly, ceremonial. :-) Recoding is necessary for a new formulation, lead acid to agm for instance, but that makes more sense.

I think I would be bothered more if the capacity was different, afraid I would overcharge a 720cca if I previously had a 900cca. . . Then I would be bothered not to register the battery. I'll see what happens.

Had the 328i for 11 years without too much trouble after 30k. Way more reliable than my previous 2009 335d. Unfortunately I loved THAT 335d so much I had to get the 2011 328i. That 335d was a torque monster though. The wild ones are always more fun but need more care.

I think Carly says it's coding but actually doesn't.. Multiple attempts never once updated the mileage counter or the stats. (I even tried changing the battery type, which it would do but not register/reset). *

I use BMW Logger where free version includes both battery registration and battery coding.

Carly would then read out the updated setting successfully, (attached) but it wouldn't update them.

I also tried INPA battery registration only, this also worked okay. but not Carly


Regards
Chris


*
This is with both the Gen 1 and 2 Carly adapter by the way.

[crypticc]

P.s. battery was changed at 52K km

[toymaker]

Any recommendations for a new K+DCAN cable for my 2011 e90? I borrowed a cheap one from my e90 buddy but I need to return it. I need something that won't break the bank.

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by toymaker

Any recommendations for a new K+DCAN cable for my 2011 e90? I borrowed a cheap one from my e90 buddy but I need to return it. I need something that won't break the bank.

Bimmergeeks Pro cable $45. Best there is

[toymaker]

Originally Posted by dpaul

Bimmergeeks Pro cable $45. Best there is

I tried to buy one but they are out of stock unfortunately. Any other one you can recommend? Thank you.

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by toymaker

I tried to buy one but they are out of stock unfortunately. Any other one you can recommend? Thank you.

Sorry I don't have another recommendation.

There are a couple of issues;

First, many cheapo cables use 'fake' FTDI chips which don't necessarily support a full instruction set and are unreliable at higher baud rates. In addition, at least for a while, FTDI modified their drivers to kill fake chips when they were encountered. I think they stopped doing that but some existing driver installations will destroy your cheapo cable.

Second, even cables with bona fide FTDI chips are subject to a firmware bug that is fatal when used with certain modules, most famously, the MSS60 DME in the E90 M3 and the GM1912 auto transmission controller in many E9x models. You will permanently brick your MSS60 if you do not use a cable with upgraded firmware with WinKFP, although INPA and NCSExpert will function normally. In addition, the upgraded firmware allows the cable to run significantly faster, a serious benefit if you do a lot of flashing with different tunes.

I'll wager other vendors are selling cables with real FTDI chips and upgraded firmware. I just don't know who. Perhaps someone with this information can chime in.

[TunafishE93]

They have the pro version at bimmergeeks but its 20 dollars more.