Which Trickle Charger To Use?

Beartato · 03-23-2017, 11:08 AM

So long story short I'll be overseas all summer, and I need to store my M235i. I planned on doing the standard stuff, like fuel stabilizer and over-inflating the tires to avoid flat spots, but one thing I'm unsure of is battery care. Typically I'd just disconnect the negative terminal and have someone slap a charger on the battery ever so often. With this car, considering the location of the battery and the cost, I'd rather be more careful. This car has a huge battery so what I wanna know is what capacity trickle charger will do the job? Will a regular 1.5 amp trickle charger do the job hooked up top the jumper terminals in the engine bay or is there something special I need to do? Thank you.

overcoil · 03-23-2017, 11:26 AM

http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showt...attery+charger

chk out the BMW chargers sold on their accessories page, if your a BMWCar Club NA member you cam use that to get a discount at participating dealers.

Tpeterson · 03-23-2017, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beartato

So long story short I'll be overseas all summer, and I need to store my M235i. I planned on doing the standard stuff, like fuel stabilizer and over-inflating the tires to avoid flat spots, but one thing I'm unsure of is battery care. Typically I'd just disconnect the negative terminal and have someone slap a charger on the battery ever so often. With this car, considering the location of the battery and the cost, I'd rather be more careful. This car has a huge battery so what I wanna know is what capacity trickle charger will do the job? Will a regular 1.5 amp trickle charger do the job hooked up top the jumper terminals in the engine bay or is there something special I need to do? Thank you.

You need a battery maintainer not a trickle charger. If the charger is not turned on and off exactly right the battery will either be under or over charged. A maintainer keeps it fully charged automatically and probably has a desulphation mode if the battery needs that. I use a CTEK MUS 4.3 for my Winter storage and it works fine.
I use the front jumper points and have had no problems.

BMWZ4 · 03-23-2017, 07:05 PM

Also, don't connect it directly to the battery in the trunk. Connect it to the posts in the engine bay.

Beartato · 03-23-2017, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tpeterson

You need a battery maintainer not a trickle charger. If the charger is not turned on and off exactly right the battery will either be under or over charged. A maintainer keeps it fully charged automatically and probably has a desulphation mode if the battery needs that. I use a CTEK MUS 4.3 for my Winter storage and it works fine.
I use the front jumper points and have had no problems.

Sweet, this is the response I was fishing for, someone who has actually stored their car and what charger they use.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showt...attery+charger

chk out the BMW chargers sold on their accessories page, if your a BMWCar Club NA member you cam use that to get a discount at participating dealers.

Heck. Never noticed the section. The more expensive battery charger listed seems to be an exact copy of the one mentioned above with a BMW logo slapped on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWZ4

Also, don't connect it directly to the battery in the trunk. Connect it to the posts in the engine bay.

Noted.

Thanks for the replies.

Tpeterson · 03-24-2017, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beartato

Sweet, this is the response I was fishing for, someone who has actually stored their car and what charger they use.

If you decide to buy the CTEK, I'd suggest you put it in Recondition mode this time.With the BMW intelligent battery system, a battery doesn't stay in the best condition no matter how much you drive the car. The maintainer showed my less than year old battery not able to hold a charge (step5). I put it in Recond mode and never had a another problem. Just a suggestion.

crabu2 · 03-27-2017, 09:41 AM

This is what I use on all my 12V batteries.

http://www.batteryminders.com/1510-1...-with-warranty

EuroDude · 03-31-2017, 06:54 PM

I'm a fan of Battery Tender and CTEK, both of which, I have. The thing that sucks about the BMW compared to my Porsche is the Porsche has a live cigarette lighter socket when the car is off and that's how I charged it with my CTEK. The bmw has to be hooked up under the hood which is more of a pain.

03-23-2017, 11:08 AM	#1
Beartato Major 882 Rep 1,202 Posts Drives: M235i Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Utah iTrader: (0)	Which Trickle Charger To Use? So long story short I'll be overseas all summer, and I need to store my M235i. I planned on doing the standard stuff, like fuel stabilizer and over-inflating the tires to avoid flat spots, but one thing I'm unsure of is battery care. Typically I'd just disconnect the negative terminal and have someone slap a charger on the battery ever so often. With this car, considering the location of the battery and the cost, I'd rather be more careful. This car has a huge battery so what I wanna know is what capacity trickle charger will do the job? Will a regular 1.5 amp trickle charger do the job hooked up top the jumper terminals in the engine bay or is there something special I need to do? Thank you.
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03-23-2017, 11:26 AM	#2
overcoil Major General 3074 Rep 5,577 Posts Drives: M235i 6spd Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Mid-Atlantic iTrader: (0)	http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showt...attery+charger chk out the BMW chargers sold on their accessories page, if your a BMWCar Club NA member you cam use that to get a discount at participating dealers.
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03-23-2017, 07:05 PM	#4
BMWZ4 Major General 1908 Rep 5,102 Posts Drives: '23 X1/'23 Allroad Progressiv Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Toronto iTrader: (1)	Also, don't connect it directly to the battery in the trunk. Connect it to the posts in the engine bay. __________________ '11 Z4 30i (retired);'11 X3 28i (retired); '15 M235i Stage 1 Dinan (recalled & crushed); '16 M235i Stage 3 Dinan (retired); '15 X3 28i (retired); '14 328i (retired), 2019 X3M40i (retired); Loaded '18 X1 (retired); Loaded '20 X3MC DG, Black/Tan Merino (retired); Loaded '23 X1 Cape York green and Red/Black interior; '23 Audi A4 Allroad Progressiv
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03-27-2017, 09:41 AM	#7
crabu2 Captain 140 Rep 671 Posts Drives: Truck and ... Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Maryland iTrader: (0)	This is what I use on all my 12V batteries. http://www.batteryminders.com/1510-1...-with-warranty __________________ '20 240ix convertible
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03-31-2017, 06:54 PM	#8
EuroDude Second Lieutenant 67 Rep 201 Posts Drives: 2017 GT350 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Florida iTrader: (2) Garage List 2017 Ford GT350 [0.00]	I'm a fan of Battery Tender and CTEK, both of which, I have. The thing that sucks about the BMW compared to my Porsche is the Porsche has a live cigarette lighter socket when the car is off and that's how I charged it with my CTEK. The bmw has to be hooked up under the hood which is more of a pain.
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