[samchuang33]

Hey guys

My X5 finally die on me this morning. Flat battery..... I think the batter has been working after my recent audio upgrade and fianlly throw in the towel.

To those who have change their OEM battery, what did u change to?

• Factory or aftermarket?
• If aftermarket, what brand and how much did u pay?

Cheers
Sam

[samchuang33]

I have just changed the battery at ALCO battery in Moss St, Slacks Creek. They charged me a good price at $185 for a Korean battery. Not sure how it will match up to the OEM battery thou but i kinda need it in a hurry. The battery is exactly the same size as the OEM and comes with 2 years warrenty. They tested my almost 5 year old batter and it had very little capacity left so they fitted the replacement on the spot. Excellent service for a excellent price. Car starts very easily now.

Battery world was asking $275 for a Century battery with 2 years warrenty which is more expensive and apparently not a good as the one I ended up getting according to ALCO.

Anyway, thumbs up for the guys at ALCO battery.

[Ninjaoz]

optima battery, they are the best in the market and specifically cater for high-end performance stuff.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/home.php

[Chris.G]

Same happened to me the other day to my X3 and had NRMA come by to replace it, cost me $245. It was a perfect fit and comes with 3 years warranty. I was in a carpark at the time and took NRMA 10mins max to get to me, damn good service as well.

[samchuang33]

Originally Posted by Ninja333

optima battery, they are the best in the market and specifically cater for high-end performance stuff.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/home.php

Yea, i saw that at Autobarn yesterday too. I think it was over $300 from memory. Might change to that next time when my Korea dies on me.

I saw at Autobarn the Odyssey battery too. Shit, it think it was $600/$700 or something. Anyone use that before?

OK, did some research and thought i share, the optima batteries will not be a direct fit coz they do no make factory replacement. Apparently a 34 or 34r ($316 + $25 postage) will fit it with some modification. Odyssey PC1700MJT will be a direct fit ($532.12 + $25 postage). Price is from batteriesdirect.com.au

The battery on my car now is a AtlasBX MF58515 battery with 800 CCA, Optima is 800 CCA and odyssey is 875 CCA. 20hr norminal capacity hour discharge is 85ah on atlasBX, 50ah on optima and 68ah for odyssey. Reserve capacity on AtlasBX is 140, optima is 110 and odyssey is 142. So the Korean AltasBX is actually not bad mind u it does not have as much cranking amp as the optima and odyssey but it is much cheaper. So technically, i should get a odyssey or optima coz i have a aftermarket system so maybe next time i will try odyssey.
http://www.alcobatt.enkloprinting.co...20brochure.pdf
http://www.batteriesdirect.com.au/sh...ptima-34-.html
http://www.batteriesdirect.com.au/sh...pc1700mjt.html

[samchuang33]

Originally Posted by Chris.G

Same happened to me the other day to my X3 and had NRMA come by to replace it, cost me $245. It was a perfect fit and comes with 3 years warranty. I was in a carpark at the time and took NRMA 10mins max to get to me, damn good service as well.

Which battery was that? There ain't too many battery that offers 3 years warranty. $245 for a battery with 3 years warranty is a good deal.

[OptimaJim]

Hi Sam, my name is Jim McIlvaine and I'm the eCare Manager for Optima Batteries. I’m sorry to hear about your battery issue and I’d like to help. If your battery started to struggle after your audio equipment was installed, it might be worth checking to see if you have a current draw that is draining your battery. This video explains how to check for a current draw and some other basic battery diagnostics-

Most vehicles have a “key-off” load of about 25 milliamps. If your vehicle has a key-off load that exceeds 100 milliamps, it will probably continue to drain any battery you install. I should also mention that many newer BMWs require batteries to be “registered,” so the car’s charging system knows what kind of battery is being installed (flooded or AGM) and what the approximate age is of the battery, so it can make charging adjustments accordingly. If you have any other battery-related questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

[VGR00]

Interesting comments Jim. Can you give any further details on the models where batteries need to be "registered" to the car. I'm seeing more and more companies putting RFID devices on battery products like power tools etc where the use of an unauthorised battery wont allow the tool to power on. Some manufactures also increase discharge rate when non genuine battieries are fitted thereby giving the impression the non genuine battery is not as good as the genuine. This is so easy to do these days since everything is microprocessor and software controlled. I'd hate to think car manufactures are going down this track considering this adds an unnessesary complexity.

[mark325]

Vgr02, What Jim is talking about is purely a coding option within the vehicle.

Ive seen the Ah values in one of the coding files and it simply defines what battery is installed in the vehicle.

[samchuang33]

Originally Posted by OptimaJim

Hi Sam, my name is Jim McIlvaine and I'm the eCare Manager for Optima Batteries. I’m sorry to hear about your battery issue and I’d like to help. If your battery started to struggle after your audio equipment was installed, it might be worth checking to see if you have a current draw that is draining your battery. This video explains how to check for a current draw and some other basic battery diagnostics-

Most vehicles have a “key-off” load of about 25 milliamps. If your vehicle has a key-off load that exceeds 100 milliamps, it will probably continue to drain any battery you install. I should also mention that many newer BMWs require batteries to be “registered,” so the car’s charging system knows what kind of battery is being installed (flooded or AGM) and what the approximate age is of the battery, so it can make charging adjustments accordingly. If you have any other battery-related questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

Thx JIM for advise

Got me thinking if the X5 has a electrical leak somewhere. If there is, it is probably from the new aftermarket system. Touch wood again...

[OptimaJim]

vgr02, the best source of information on your charging system is your local dealership. However, I spoke with a friend of mine, who is a salesman at Advantage BMW in Houston, Texas, and he confirmed the models described on this page- http://autobahnperf.com/TechNews/BMW...y/Battery.html

If you have any other questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries