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      08-30-2019, 12:36 PM   #1
ventjock
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Battery charger recommendations

Looking to purchase a battery charger as I do a lot of short trips and my mechanic told me he was seeing a lot of low voltage faults when inspecting my vehicle. (I have never seen a CEL due to this)

Would like something that will keep a charge on the battery if I am doing any coding (such as this
)

Many thanks in advance!
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      08-30-2019, 04:37 PM   #2
Ridin'Dirty
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Lots of folks on the "other board" recommend CTEK chargers for their AGM battery equiped Bimmers for general maintenance:
https://www.ctek.com/products
Me? I use my good ole reliable Battery Tender + with good results:
http://products.batterytender.com/Di...derR-Plus.html
When doing heavy duty coding, it was recommend (again on the "other board") to use one capable of up to 20A of 12v power. It's that or code with the engine running, if possible (depending on what modules you are coding).
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      09-02-2019, 06:59 PM   #3
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I've used a CTEK 3000 battery charger/maintainer on various cars; Honda Accord and Porsche Cayman for years. Very affordable and reliable, particularly in the winter when I don't drive our best vehicle as much. https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-56-158-A.../dp/B000FQBWCY
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      09-05-2019, 08:16 AM   #4
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I did not get it from Amazon but I got this battery charger yesterday:

https://www.amazon.com/Smarter-Tools.../dp/B075FWXK9N

I haven't used it yet but the manual specifically says it can be used to maintain voltage during battery replacement. It comes with three ways to hook it up, regular clips, ring terminals, and accessory "cigarette lighter" plug. The latter would seem to be handy to maintain voltage. It also is made to be left on a car for extended periods.
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      09-07-2019, 03:58 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimD View Post
It comes with three ways to hook it up, regular clips, ring terminals, and accessory "cigarette lighter" plug. The latter would seem to be handy to maintain voltage.
I wouldn't try to charge your car from the 12v Power Outlet ("cigarette lighter"). When the car goes into "sleep mode", the power outlets are turned off also.
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      09-08-2019, 05:36 AM   #6
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My local BMW dealership uses CTEK in the showroom and previously BMW sold CTEK as “original” BMW chargers. I have used CTEK for a couple of years without any problems. It was also able to prolonge the life of my AGM batteries for at least a few months.

I use this one: https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/mxs-5-0
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      09-08-2019, 08:29 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Feddersen View Post
My local BMW dealership uses CTEK in the showroom and previously BMW sold CTEK as "original" BMW chargers. I have used CTEK for a couple of years without any problems. It was also able to prolonge the life of my AGM batteries for at least a few months.

I use this one: https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/mxs-5-0
Ctek seems to be the choice of professionals
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      09-08-2019, 09:34 AM   #8
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That the 12 volt cigarette lighter is not hot all the time is a minor nuisance. It's a common arrangement of modern vehicles. You can use the "O rings" battery attachment that comes with most of these chargers, that has a quick connect plug to the charger. Slight issue is you have to open the hood to connect it.
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      09-08-2019, 12:36 PM   #9
ventjock
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Thanks everyone! Decided to go with this
CTEK (56-353) MULTI US 7002 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FRLO9Y/
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      09-08-2019, 04:01 PM   #10
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Good choice. It will be all you need. You can also buy an extra set of battery connectors, so you can use this on multiple vehicles or use the clamps on the other.
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      10-24-2019, 04:08 PM   #11
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I upgraded my Ctek to MXS 5.0. Curious as to what the Ah rating on '19 x1 xdrive OEM battery is? Or does it vary and I would need to check the battery to determine? My guess is 80Ah Thanks.
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      11-29-2019, 11:15 AM   #12
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Battery Charging

I've once again penetrated the Kremlin level security to jon this forum - hope it will be helpful thins time...

I've got an X1 that is 3 years old and done 13,000 miles - I don't drive much. As a result the battery goes low on power occasionally. I wanted to charge the battery today (first time) - quite a surprise to try to find it in the first place, never looked for it before! but now located the Positive post.

Cant' find ANY official info on charging the battery from BMW and a call to the dealer was a waste of time - can anyone tell me if I can just simply attach a charger to the Red terminal and the negative post (that I assume is what's sticking up a few inches to the right from under the plastic shroud cover) without disconnecting the Positive post from the car - in other words just chare in situ.

And assure me that there are no 'gotchas' associated with doing so...
I don't have time to take the car for a good long run and am flying out tomorrow for two weeks and don't want to return to a flat battery.

THanks
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      11-29-2019, 01:41 PM   #13
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Like you don't do many miles, 6k /year, esp in winter so car can sit for 4 weeks or so without being run.
I use a CTEK charger as others suggest, just connect to battery, check the green light comes on once topped up and then it can be left for as long as you like. Used this method on previous car, Golf Plus, and still had original battery after 10 years. CTEK make various amperage charges, I use the smallest 3.8 amp.
Am 3 months into X1 ownership and have used the charger once after it had been sat for 2 weeks. Yes, use the two posts, a bit weird compared to using battery posts but works fine. Car was quite happy having its battery charged although it did take quite a bit longer than the golf battery before the green light came on. Bigger stop start battery I suppose so might be worth having the 5 amp charger. Have seen CTEK chargers used in main dealers so have no worries about using one.
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      11-29-2019, 02:34 PM   #14
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Use this on my BMW bike over winter. Plugs into dc socket.

Recently BMW owners have reported big problems with the so-called CANBUS electronic management system with which newer bikes like the R1200GS LC are being equipped. Owing to some muddled thinking in Munich, the CANBUS breaks the contact between the battery and the DC socket (with which the bike is equipped) when the maintenance input current via the socket falls below a seemingly not very consistent level of roughly 200mA, and fails to re-establish this contact so of course the battery goes flat. Therefore no current gets through to keep the battery topped up.

The Optimate 4.4 BMW Can Bus Goldline Charger gets over this problem by keeping the connection open when other chargers would not be able to do this.




https://www.nippynormans.com/k1600gt...e-dual-charger
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