just bought a battery tender, here is my question. do i close the hood and if so how? tried many diffrent ways to close the hood but i cant because the clips is in the way? or do i just leave the hood open?
Send a PM to "whatheheck" (Dan) - I know he has used a battery tender for some time so he no doubt has tips for you. He is also the king of DIY M6 upgrades, frequent poster and a Moderator.
I was able to close the hood with the clips setup as shown in my photo, but it was not very stable (and only used the clips a few times).
The solution is to hardwire the Battery Tender connections. A hardwire harness is included with the Battery Tender, but I made my own to look OEM :biggrinbounce:
I leave my hood open, I guess I am a bit paranoid that if I were to close it the clips might pop off and bounce around where they should not be! If I can't see they are on I cannot prove to myself that they are secure.
..................or just connect it directly to the battery in the trunk - in either case it makes sense to leave the hood/trunk open to remind yourself before driving off !!!
I can't remember the details, but somewhere there is a thread regarding NOT connecting a charger directly to the battery in the trunk. I think something in OM as well. Something to do with the car actually knowing a charger is connected and regulating charge of battery. Not saying I'm right just something I vaguely recall around this topic. Cheers!
You are correct, the BMW TIS specifically calls out charging at the front connectors. Supposedly allows for the charging system to monitor the charge.
I use a quick connect permanent mount wire for my motorcycle, but the battery is buried and requires tools to access. The car has quick connects, open the hood and connect!
Like Dan says, also makes sure myself, or more likely my Wife, would not drive off while connected.
I have the BMW tender, and it looks like it uses the same oversize alligator clips. I close my hood, just enough for the safety clasp to engage, but not fully closed. Then the cover goes on. This is the second winter for this and no issues to date.
Attached are a few interesting documents about batteries.
On vehicles with IBS, recharging the battery is directly at
the battery terminals could lead to a misinterpretation of
the battery condition and even unwanted Check-Control
messages or fault-memory entries.
If the battery is recharged while it is installed, it must be
recharged using the jump-starting points, whenever
jump-starting points are provided in the engine
compartment (all vehicles except R55, R56).
Only then can you be sure that recharging is correctly
recognised by the vehicle electronics on vehicles with
intelligent battery sensor (IBS).
Just a little caution, if you attach the battery tender to the engine terminals just make sure the clips will not short each other if you decide to close the hood.
The hood is conductive so just be careful as if the batter tender alligator clips touch the hood it will short out not only the battery tender but the battery as well and you now have a risk of fire.
If you leave the hood up, will the car still shut completely off? Or, will there be some draw on the battery? There is a pressure switch next to the passenger cabin filter, and what if you put a weight on that switch to fool it into thinking the hood is closed?
Thanks for the advice/information/tips! So, while waiting for the replys, I connected the tender, left the hood up, put a weight (small can of paint) on the pressure switch and locked car with the fob. Confirmed all dash/shifter lights went out. A couple hours later, I'm watching TV and I hear the car alarm wailing and my wife runs in from the garage holding her ears! She lifted the can of paint from the pressure switch setting off the alarm. Classic.
At least on my e60, I can leave all the doors, trunk, hood open, and not worry about battery drain. After awhile, the car will turn everything off and go into service mode. It assumes, with everything open, you are servicing the car.
Make sure that if you are going to close your hood that everything below is out of the way...On my previous 645 it appeared that something was in the way when someone closed the hood becuase there was a sharp dimple in the hood like something tried to poke through it! What an eyesore it was....from the day I bought it! The alum is very easy to dent....
I also did not know about charging from the accy post under the hood instead of the battery in the trunk....I bought a charger and was going to connect it to the battery posts in the trunk but did not...I will connect the quick connetor to the accy post when I return home in a few weeks!
is there any problem using a ctek to connect directly to battery in the trunk/boot as the ctec monitors charging anyway?
obviously for jump starts/rapid charging use the connections at the front?
Connecting any brand charger directly to the battery may confuse the "Intelligent Battery Sensor", which is likely why BMW specifically recommends charging from the terminals under the hood.
I have the ctek and leave it on my car 24/7 on the jump points with the hood up while in the garage. Confirm you have an AGM battery with the black battery case if it's OEM. All M's should come with it, but if you're not the original owner, I'd check to make sure someone didn't put a lead acid battery (white) if it's a BMW battery in there. I select the snow flake option on the ctek which is for AGM.
Thank you. Will check the battery 1st. Been getting an increased discharge icon lately as I've been making lots of very short trips. Going to put the ctec in recon mode before considering replacing the battery
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