[chris719]

Originally Posted by F87source

Take a photo of the otherside of the battery at the positive terminal, it will have the Pb marker if it is an AGM battery as regulations require it so people don't throw lead into the garbage.

Just because it doesn't say AGM doesn't mean it isn't, bmw sometime doesn't label everything as they refine their stickers. That's probably why the later model batteries included it.

It's funny how you can ask you SA in the thread but when someone else does it then they're gullible. If the part numbers don't change or the battery wasn't superceded then it is the same battery but with different stickers......

To be fair, every lead-acid battery will have a Pb marking. Whether they are AGM, Gel, or Flooded, they are still all lead acid chemistries and only differ in the electrolyte or how the electrolyte is contained.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by chris719

To be fair, every lead-acid battery will have a Pb marking. Whether they are AGM, Gel, or Flooded, they are still all lead acid chemistries and only differ in the electrolyte or how the electrolyte is contained.

Yes,
but for bmw's we mainly have to worry about AGM, and lithium. I don't think bmw uses gel based batteries.

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by chris719

Man, you are completely clueless. Your battery is an AGM, just because the sticker doesn't say AGM doesn't mean it's not AGM. JFC. You can clearly see the CCA and AH ratings are the same and the telltale plastic cutouts show it's a Varta AGM battery.

BMW would NOT put a flooded battery in the trunk. You are welcome to put a flooded battery inside your car and see what happens after a few years.

Honestly, Sherlock, I don't know who pays you enough to afford a BMW with those reasoning skills.

I'm loving the personal insults! Keep them up, you are only building credibility!

and I seem to remember having a battery in the trunk of my 1995 325i are you saying that was AGM as well? How about my 2000 540ia?

Wow!

[F87source]

Originally Posted by doug_999

I'm loving the personal insults! Keep them up, you are only building credibility!

and I seem to remember having a battery in the trunk of my 1995 325i are you saying that was AGM as well? How about my 2000 540ia?

Wow!

Hey man, I don't mean to insult anyone (which is why I have never made an insulting comment directly at you), I just don't want there to be misinformation because like I said earlier that could really mess someone else up down the road.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by doug_999

I'm loving the personal insults! Keep them up, you are only building credibility!

and I seem to remember having a battery in the trunk of my 1995 325i are you saying that was AGM as well? How about my 2000 540ia?

Wow!

It gets tiresome refuting misinformation only to get a counter-argument from you that is consistently not fact-based.

Any car with a non-AGM SLA battery (and even some with) will have a vent to external atmosphere. If they used a non-AGM in the E36 it would have had to be vented. I see ventilation warnings if I select a non-AGM battery for a 1995 325i at O'Reilly. I don't know when BMW made the switch, but for a 2000 540 it may well be AGM.

AGM is a safer battery to have inside a car because they emit much less H2S. I do not think there are any modern cars that have a flooded battery under the seat or in the trunk for safety reasons.



I will guarantee you 100% that your 1M battery is/was AGM. Here is the overwhelming evidence:

1. Same part number as AGM battery.
2. Same exact CCA and AH ratings - a flooded/wet battery would have a lower CCA rating in the same volume.
3. Same markings, cuts, indentations on the enclosure as the battery with the AGM sticker. Strongly suggests the same factory.
4. Interior battery for a modern BMW that isn't using Li-Ion.

Your only counter argument was that the sticker does not say AGM. Well, it's a label. They get revised sometimes. Maybe it was an omission on an earlier lot, maybe regulatory requirements made them add that text later.

[Poochie]

I'm saving up my pennies to get this beauty. It has enough mobile power (2000 CCA), to independently jump start any BMW and can power any electrical device that uses a 12V (Cigarette lighter) outlet..

So far as my battery is concern; 'if it dies, it dies'

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Poochie

I'm saving up my pennies to get this beauty. It has enough mobile power (2000 CCA), to independently jump start any BMW and can power any electrical device that uses a 12V (Cigarette lighter) outlet..

So far as my battery is concern; 'if it dies, it dies'

I would look into a supercap jump starter instead. The lithium ones are fine but you have to remember to keep them charged. Self discharge is relatively high on lithium batteries and if you leave them in your car for a few months they may fail to work when you need it most. Plus, the supercaps won't spontaneously combust on you if you are unlucky like lithium cells will.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by chris719

I would look into a supercap jump starter instead. The lithium ones are fine but you have to remember to keep them charged. Self discharge is relatively high on lithium batteries and if you leave them in your car for a few months they may fail to work when you need it most. Plus, the supercaps won't spontaneously combust on you if you are unlucky like lithium cells will.

Thanks for the advice. I will certainly research your claim and decide on which is best one for me..

As far is keeping it charged, all BMW trunks have a 12V outlet, I could just snake the cable from the plug to the power pack, if it's located in the battery compartment, to keep it juiced up.

The reason I like this Noco unit is because it carries enough power to release the power trunk, giving you access to battery when it's dead. Since BMW didn't add a manual trunk release. Plus, it nice to have mobile juice, never know when it might come in handy.

[chris719]

If you can keep it topped up, it would work very well.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by chris719

If you can keep it topped up, it would work very well.

Funny, I just thought about something.. What if it's is indeed fully charged but locked in your trunk, without power.. That's irony, personified..

[F87source]

The m2's middle trunk pass through in the back seat area can tilt down with the lever, so if my battery ever dies I can just open the door with the key, hop into the back seat, open the pass through and I can use a stick to assist in pulling down the emergency trunk release, or use a stick to poke the the back seat release to tilt the rear seat down and then crawl into the trunk to manually pull the trunk release.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by F87source

The m2's middle trunk pass through in the back seat area can tilt down with the lever, so if my battery ever dies I can just open the door with the key, hop into the back seat, open the pass through and I can use a stick to assist in pulling down the emergency trunk release, or use a stick to poke the the back seat release to tilt the rear seat down and then crawl into the trunk to manually pull the trunk release.

That would be a good idea but US spec vehicles doesn't have that pass-through; its a 40/60 split rear only.. Its not even an option here..

US spec M2C rear seats:

[F87source]

Originally Posted by Poochie

That would be a good idea but US spec vehicles doesn't have that pass-through; its a 40/60 split rear only.. Its not even an option here..

US spec M2C rear seats:

That's weird my 2017 bmw m2 has that pass through, i'm not sure about the m2c though.

[doug_999]

I did what nobody here would do... I emailed Ctek

Q: For the 4.3 charger with a BMW OEM AGM battery, should the snowflake mode be used? The FAQ is not clear on this so I was looking for a definitive answer.

A: There are many different battery manufacturers and battery models on the market. Recommendations regarding charging voltage vary a bit. Most AGM- batteries are recommended to charge with normal 14.4V voltage. Some AGM- batteries (and Ca-Ca batteries) require 14.7V (snowflake) for best treatment. Please check with the battery manufacturer to get the correct information for your particular battery.
If no information is possible to acquire, use normal charging option, 14.4V It suits most lead/acid batteries, including GEL, EFB, AGM, etc. It is better to charge with a bit too low voltage than too high.
Yours, sincerely,
Teresa
CTEK SUPPORT TEAM

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Poochie

Funny, I just thought about something.. What if it's is indeed fully charged but locked in your trunk, without power.. That's irony, personified..

The supercap ones basically store up enough charge from your dead battery over a short period of time, and then give you one start from the capacitors. Your dead battery still can deliver current but not fast enough to start the car. The only time it wouldn’t work is if the battery is truly 100% discharged. Pretty hard to do that in normal use.

The advantage is that you can keep it anywhere and don’t have to every worry about charging it.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by doug_999

I did what nobody here would do... I emailed Ctek

Q: For the 4.3 charger with a BMW OEM AGM battery, should the snowflake mode be used? The FAQ is not clear on this so I was looking for a definitive answer.

A: There are many different battery manufacturers and battery models on the market. Recommendations regarding charging voltage vary a bit. Most AGM- batteries are recommended to charge with normal 14.4V voltage. Some AGM- batteries (and Ca-Ca batteries) require 14.7V (snowflake) for best treatment. Please check with the battery manufacturer to get the correct information for your particular battery.
If no information is possible to acquire, use normal charging option, 14.4V It suits most lead/acid batteries, including GEL, EFB, AGM, etc. It is better to charge with a bit too low voltage than too high.
Yours, sincerely,
Teresa
CTEK SUPPORT TEAM

Idk the ctek customer service still didn't really answer anything bfor our application.

I looked at varata and one of their PDFs (from a dealer, but it was a varata technical document) for their 92AH AGM batteries recommended a 14.8V charge voltage. They don't sell an exact battery that they offer for BMW only 85Ah, and 92Ah, and 95Ah models. I tried looking for more information but their website isn't too good, as a bunch of links were dead. The contact tab lead only to dealers, so the only good info I found was the PDF of the 92Ah battery, which isn't necessarily the same as ours.

I'll charge it on snowflake mode because their other AGM batteries can charge to 14.8V, and it's in a cold winter storage which is what snowflake mode is meant for as well. Plus the IBS will stop charging when it's full.

Varata's website also says with a good quality charge it's impossible to over charge the battery, so if you guys charge directly to your battery with it removed I guess depending on the storage temp you'd vary between normal or snow flake.

Here's some ibs info if anyone is interested: https://bimmerscan.com/bmw-intellige...ry-sensor-ibs/

[chris719]

Originally Posted by F87source

Idk the ctek customer service still didn't really answer anything bfor our application.

I looked at varata and one of their PDFs (from a dealer, but it was a varata technical document) for their 92AH AGM batteries recommended a 14.8V charge voltage. They don't sell an exact battery that they offer for BMW only 85Ah, and 92Ah, and 95Ah models. I tried looking for more information but their website isn't too good, as a bunch of links were dead. The contact tab lead only to dealers, so the only good info I found was the PDF of the 92Ah battery, which isn't necessarily the same as ours.

I'll charge it on snowflake mode because their other AGM batteries can charge to 14.8V, and it's in a cold winter storage which is what snowflake mode is meant for as well. Plus the IBS will stop charging when it's full.

Varata's website also says with a good quality charge it's impossible to over charge the battery, so if you guys charge directly to your battery with it removed I guess depending on the storage temp you'd vary between normal or snow flake.

Here's some ibs info if anyone is interested: https://bimmerscan.com/bmw-intellige...ry-sensor-ibs/

Exactly, he just said exactly what has been said all along. If the battery can accept 14.7V in the acceptance phase of the charge then you should use the snowflake mode. Only the cheap Exide AGMs should avoid 14.7V from what I have seen.

[CanadianComp]

Originally Posted by chris719

Exactly, he just said exactly what has been said all along. If the battery can accept 14.7V in the acceptance phase of the charge then you should use the snowflake mode. Only the cheap Exide AGMs should avoid 14.7V from what I have seen.

I really hate to bring this thread up again, hopefully everyone has spent the last two years relaxing, not thinking about batteries. BUT I just read through this whole thread before going to trickle charge my car, maybe it was a waste of time because I went to start charging it and it says MAX 14.4V right on the positive terminal under the hood Mine is a 2020, not sure if that wasn't on earlier M2C's or just no one ever noticed

So I figured best to just use the "normal" (14.4V) mode on the CXS 5.0 instead of the AGM (14.7V) mode...

[F87source]

Originally Posted by CanadianComp

I really hate to bring this thread up again, hopefully everyone has spent the last two years relaxing, not thinking about batteries. BUT I just read through this whole thread before going to trickle charge my car, maybe it was a waste of time because I went to start charging it and it says MAX 14.4V right on the positive terminal under the hood Mine is a 2020, not sure if that wasn't on earlier M2C's or just no one ever noticed

So I figured best to just use the "normal" (14.4V) mode on the CXS 5.0 instead of the AGM (14.7V) mode...

I think that's new lol, my OG doesn't have anything on the cap. Also is the battery different on your m2c, I'm not sure if BMW made any updates.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by CanadianComp

I really hate to bring this thread up again, hopefully everyone has spent the last two years relaxing, not thinking about batteries. BUT I just read through this whole thread before going to trickle charge my car, maybe it was a waste of time because I went to start charging it and it says MAX 14.4V right on the positive terminal under the hood Mine is a 2020, not sure if that wasn't on earlier M2C's or just no one ever noticed

So I figured best to just use the "normal" (14.4V) mode on the CXS 5.0 instead of the AGM (14.7V) mode...

Never realized they printed it there. Most likely no real harm either way.

The ideal bulk charging voltage is a property of the cell, and many quality AGMs can perform slightly better using 14.7V to reach full SOC. Why does BMW print 14.4V? Maybe the OEM battery is happier there, but I'd guess they are accounting for aftermarket batteries and safety margin. Porsche uses nearly identical batteries, possibly even from the same supplier, and they call for 14.7V.

I'd stick to their recommendations I suppose because BMW likes to do weird stuff for no reason.

This is also a function of temperature, which is why the AGM mode has a snowflake on other CTEK chargers.

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by F87source

I think that's new lol, my OG doesn't have anything on the cap. Also is the battery different on your m2c, I'm not sure if BMW made any updates.

Supposedly the same battery is used in both. 61212353812 is the P/N.

M2Comp battery

M2 battery

It's application is shown across a zillion other BMW models also.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by CSBM5

Supposedly the same battery is used in both. 61212353812 is the P/N.

M2Comp battery

M2 battery

It's application is shown across a zillion other BMW models also.

No there's a 90ah battery as well (mine is 90ah), this was on the majority of cars early on I'll post the real OEM links in a bit. I've also just made some findings that'll I post shortly.