Battery dead on 2015 M4

bikenbd22 · 06-17-2021, 10:00 PM

I jumped the car and drove it. started smelling bad plastic smells. Parked the car and it's still dead. Can I charge the lithium battery? The car has only 15K miles and was sitting for 3 months, 100% stock.

Brian

Slowphiveo · 06-17-2021, 10:17 PM

CTEK lithium battery tender. Hook it up for a day and see how it goes. DO NOT USE a standard battery tender! If the car will be sitting for months at a time, a CTEK tender is a good investment.

imcpa · 06-18-2021, 03:37 PM

This is of interest to me. I have a 2015 M4. If it needs to sit 4 months or so, it is better to use CTEK lithium battery tender, or just disconnect it?

Same for a 2014 650i?

Slowphiveo · 06-19-2021, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imcpa

This is of interest to me. I have a 2015 M4. If it needs to sit 4 months or so, it is better to use CTEK lithium battery tender, or just disconnect it?

Same for a 2014 650i?

You could go either way. The only reason I like to leave it connected is for the idrive and settings that are saved. If you disconnect it, you have to go through and reprogram all your saved settings.

Not sure about the 650i, but im assuming that has a lithium battery as well. If so, the CTEK Lithium tender will work fine.

verruckt · 06-19-2021, 02:17 PM

CTEK or BMW one (which is CTEK). Don't use a Noco one - I did and it killed my battery. Noco doesn't care.

Since you smelled something you might want to visually and physically inspect the battery before trying to charge it. That said, the battery shouldn't take a charge if its really fried with the way its setup.

If the CTEK doesn't bring it back alive, you'll need a new one.

There's a lower cost option available with an Antigravity branded lithium battery. They're like $850 instead of BMW's ~$1,600 and a long wait time, but you need to replace the negative battery cable which is about another $150.

I'm going through the same myself, and likely going to get an Antigravity battery, but will be testing out an AGM replacement this week. The only sacrifice should be weight (~20lbs more than the factory lithium).

Eurosonly · 06-20-2021, 01:36 AM

I would buy the oem bmw charger these batteries are to expensive to be messing around with the other brands.

imcpa · 06-26-2021, 03:33 PM

Slowphiveo, thanks for the response.

speedracerM4 · 06-26-2021, 08:21 PM

I used a noco genius 10 and had no issues. I had a "replace battery" indicator after sitting for more than a month. BimmerLink app read ~60% and would not re-register the battery. I used the noco genius 10 and got the battery back up to 92% and cleared the "replace battery" warning and re-registered the battery.

The reason I went with the noco genius 10 is that it charges lithium, agm, and lead acid batteries. It also has a repair mode that can charge a completely dead battery. Do research on YouTube for lithium battery chargers. There are horror stories on the internet for any product. I, for one, can tell you that it saved me from needing to buy a $1500 battery for the car.

SD ///M4 · 06-30-2021, 05:14 PM

If you use a CTEK Lithium charger (and only the Lithium charger) on an apparently dead LiFePo4 battery, make sure that you press the reset button on the charger. There is a whole thread on this that I started a couple of years ago and it just got resurrected and is on the first page.

Search is your friend.

mangler99 · 07-09-2021, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedracerM4

I used a noco genius 10 and had no issues. I had a "replace battery" indicator after sitting for more than a month. BimmerLink app read ~60% and would not re-register the battery. I used the noco genius 10 and got the battery back up to 92% and cleared the "replace battery" warning and re-registered the battery.

The reason I went with the noco genius 10 is that it charges lithium, agm, and lead acid batteries. It also has a repair mode that can charge a completely dead battery. Do research on YouTube for lithium battery chargers. There are horror stories on the internet for any product. I, for one, can tell you that it saved me from needing to buy a $1500 battery for the car.

How do you clear the “replace battery” warning?

I had my battery die over a year ago due to not “tended” over the winter… but it recharged and has been fine since … tended properly over this past winter. I have no issues with it but still have the replace battery warning. For the cost of these batteries, I don’t want to replace if I don’t have to. So wondering how you cleared the code?

BzsBimmer · 07-12-2021, 08:56 PM

Code should go away with a drive cycle and getting the battery to sufficient voltage. If it persists, you may want to take to dealer as the battery may need to be replaced because the cells failed and isn’t holding sufficient charge.

Or someone with ISTA or advanced code reader like GT1 can probably clear.

06-17-2021, 10:00 PM	#1
bikenbd22 Registered 0 Rep 4 Posts Drives: 2012 535 2015 M4 Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Maryland iTrader: (0)	Battery dead on 2015 M4 I jumped the car and drove it. started smelling bad plastic smells. Parked the car and it's still dead. Can I charge the lithium battery? The car has only 15K miles and was sitting for 3 months, 100% stock. Brian
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06-17-2021, 10:17 PM	#2
Slowphiveo Captain 1525 Rep 895 Posts Drives: 2020 M4 Heritage Edition Join Date: May 2018 Location: PA iTrader: (0)	CTEK lithium battery tender. Hook it up for a day and see how it goes. DO NOT USE a standard battery tender! If the car will be sitting for months at a time, a CTEK tender is a good investment.
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06-18-2021, 03:37 PM	#3
imcpa New Member 8 Rep 24 Posts Drives: 2015 BMW M4 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: TX iTrader: (0)	This is of interest to me. I have a 2015 M4. If it needs to sit 4 months or so, it is better to use CTEK lithium battery tender, or just disconnect it? Same for a 2014 650i?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-19-2021, 02:17 PM	#5
verruckt First Lieutenant 108 Rep 310 Posts Drives: F82 M4, G05 X5, Gen 2 Raptor Join Date: May 2015 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	CTEK or BMW one (which is CTEK). Don't use a Noco one - I did and it killed my battery. Noco doesn't care. Since you smelled something you might want to visually and physically inspect the battery before trying to charge it. That said, the battery shouldn't take a charge if its really fried with the way its setup. If the CTEK doesn't bring it back alive, you'll need a new one. There's a lower cost option available with an Antigravity branded lithium battery. They're like $850 instead of BMW's ~$1,600 and a long wait time, but you need to replace the negative battery cable which is about another $150. I'm going through the same myself, and likely going to get an Antigravity battery, but will be testing out an AGM replacement this week. The only sacrifice should be weight (~20lbs more than the factory lithium).
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-20-2021, 01:36 AM	#6
Eurosonly car addicted 89 Rep 217 Posts Drives: 2015 m4 Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: portland iTrader: (0)	I would buy the oem bmw charger these batteries are to expensive to be messing around with the other brands.
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06-26-2021, 03:33 PM	#7
imcpa New Member 8 Rep 24 Posts Drives: 2015 BMW M4 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: TX iTrader: (0)	Slowphiveo, thanks for the response.
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06-26-2021, 08:21 PM	#8
speedracerM4 Private 57 Rep 79 Posts Drives: 2015 M4 Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Baltimore iTrader: (0)	I used a noco genius 10 and had no issues. I had a "replace battery" indicator after sitting for more than a month. BimmerLink app read ~60% and would not re-register the battery. I used the noco genius 10 and got the battery back up to 92% and cleared the "replace battery" warning and re-registered the battery. The reason I went with the noco genius 10 is that it charges lithium, agm, and lead acid batteries. It also has a repair mode that can charge a completely dead battery. Do research on YouTube for lithium battery chargers. There are horror stories on the internet for any product. I, for one, can tell you that it saved me from needing to buy a $1500 battery for the car.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-30-2021, 05:14 PM	#9
SD ///M4 ///Multiple 2992 Rep 4,243 Posts Drives: M4 Coupe \| M3 \| Z4M Roadster Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: San Diego, CA iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW Z4 M Roadster [8.81] 2016 BMW M4 Coupe ( ... [10.00] 2018 BMW M3 (Euro D ... [0.00] 2011 BMW 335is Coup ... [10.00]	If you use a CTEK Lithium charger (and only the Lithium charger) on an apparently dead LiFePo4 battery, make sure that you press the reset button on the charger. There is a whole thread on this that I started a couple of years ago and it just got resurrected and is on the first page. Search is your friend. __________________ The Coupe: 2016 M4 \| Sakhir Orange \| Black Full Merino Leather \| CF Trim \| M-DCT \| More \| ED 5/13/16 The Sedan: 2018 M3 \| San Marino Blue \| Black Full Merino Leather \| CF Trim \| M-DCT \| ZCP \| ED 7/18/18 The Roadster: 2006 Z4 \| Interlagos Blue \| Black Extended Nappa Leather \| Carbon Leather Trim \| Purchased 7/19/12
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07-12-2021, 08:56 PM	#11
BzsBimmer Major General 3274 Rep 6,723 Posts Drives: '23 G80 FO M3, M3 & MY Tezzy's Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Nor. Cal iTrader: (32)	Code should go away with a drive cycle and getting the battery to sufficient voltage. If it persists, you may want to take to dealer as the battery may need to be replaced because the cells failed and isn’t holding sufficient charge. Or someone with ISTA or advanced code reader like GT1 can probably clear.
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