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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Charge battery message
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      01-04-2018, 03:38 AM   #45
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BMW F10 'Charge Battery' warning

Hi All,

Wondering if anyone can help..

I have a 2011 BMW F10 520d that has been coming up with the 'Charge Battery' warning sign. (44k on clock)

Initially it started in the winter and sorted itself in summer however over the past year and a half (approx) the warning sign has probably gone off only a few times. I did a 150miles trip up to scotland but hasnt seemed to have cured it. I have tried trickle charger which also hasnt worked.

The battery reads 12.5v when engine is turned off, drops to around 11.7 when i start the car and then shoots upto 14.5/6 and drops to 12.5 again when i turn the car off (even if i leave it to run for a bit)

The car always starts first time even if it is left to stand for a few days.

Is it a knackered battery or could there be another problem? dont fancy paying over £400 for a battery.

Thanks
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      01-04-2018, 04:02 AM   #46
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wass.K View Post
Hi All,

Wondering if anyone can help..

I have a 2011 BMW F10 520d that has been coming up with the 'Charge Battery' warning sign. (44k on clock)

Initially it started in the winter and sorted itself in summer however over the past year and a half (approx) the warning sign has probably gone off only a few times. I did a 150miles trip up to scotland but hasnt seemed to have cured it. I have tried trickle charger which also hasnt worked.

The battery reads 12.5v when engine is turned off, drops to around 11.7 when i start the car and then shoots upto 14.5/6 and drops to 12.5 again when i turn the car off (even if i leave it to run for a bit)

The car always starts first time even if it is left to stand for a few days.

Is it a knackered battery or could there be another problem? dont fancy paying over £400 for a battery.

Thanks
Your battery is reading a bit low it should be 12.8v. I would put it on a nice long trickle charger again and see if you can top it up. Driving the car won't really charge the battery properly, I put mine on an AGM charger every year and it takes quite a few hours to top it back up.
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      01-04-2018, 04:24 AM   #47
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Thanks for your response.

Any recommendations on AGM trickle charger?

Also is it best to connect directly to battery or are the terminals in the engine bay as good?
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      01-04-2018, 06:39 AM   #48
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I use a CTEC MXS7.0. You should always use the engine bay terminals this way the IBS knows what's happening to the battery and it isn't bypassed.
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      01-04-2018, 07:52 AM   #49
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Perfect - Will try this over the weekend.

Thanks for your time.
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      11-27-2021, 12:17 AM   #50
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HUMMM, this is truly interesting. I just today got a message on my dash saying that the "Battery voltage Low". This is while the car was running. I left it running and my wife in the car while I was doing something on my Sister-in-Laws alarm system. My wife shut the car off and when I got in the car and started it there was a message saying something to the effect the charging system is low and a small yellow triangle on the dash. I shut the car off and restarted it and the yellow triangle went off.
First of all, my car is a 2011 BMW 535i X Drive M Package with about 60K miles. The car is 11 years old and never had the battery changed since new. I think this is really unusual for an original battery to last this long with no problems. It has never had a battery charger or a trickle charger hooked to it whatsoever, regardless of temperature.
I have a BAFX WiFi OBDll diagnostic Interface that I have paired to my iPhone, that I purchased for use on my 2010 Silverado truck to check gas mileage. Just for the heck of it I hooked it to the BMW and it works and can diagnose and clear codes. FYI, I only paid $27 for it through Amazon and about $10 for the app (OBD Fusion).
To clarify something I read on this thread, running in SPORT mode doesn't put out any more from the alternator than it does at an idle. The built-in voltage regulator WILL NOT let it charge more regardless of at an idle or at 5000 RPM.
My 535 puts out 13.7 volts average regardless of RPM. I am an Aircraft Machinist but have worked as a Technician at three new car dealerships. I have never heard of having to register or program a battery in my 75 years. That does not mean it isn't so though. When I replace my battery it will not be registered or programmed. I may be old and outdated but I think that is a bunch of BS and a way to get money. I have never seen or heard of an alternator that will put out any more than the voltage regulator will allow regardless of programming or registration. The alternator does not change output because of the age of the battery.
I suspect my problem tonight is probably caused by the fact that my battery is 11 years old. I was basically interested in finding what the average age of a BMW battery is why I am on here.
Ed

Last edited by hurst01; 11-27-2021 at 12:40 AM..
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      11-27-2021, 01:02 PM   #51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hurst01 View Post
… I am an Aircraft Machinist but have worked as a Technician at three new car dealerships. I have never heard of having to register or program a battery in my 75 years. That does not mean it isn't so though. When I replace my battery it will not be registered or programmed. I may be old and outdated but I think that is a bunch of BS and a way to get money. I have never seen or heard of an alternator that will put out any more than the voltage regulator will allow regardless of programming or registration. The alternator does not change output because of the age of the battery. …
Ed
You didn’t mention if you understand & included the function of the IBS (intelligent battery sensor) which is also part of your BMW’s power management system….in your decision to disregard the instruction to register or code & register a new battery.

You probably can get by without registering…but you should have an understanding of how it fits into the power management system. That way if you start experiencing odd electrical gremlins…you’ll probably be able to tie it back to not registering your new battery.
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      11-27-2021, 01:18 PM   #52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hurst01 View Post
To clarify something I read on this thread, running in SPORT mode doesn't put out any more from the alternator than it does at an idle. The built-in voltage regulator WILL NOT let it charge more regardless of at an idle or at 5000 RPM.
My 535 puts out 13.7 volts average regardless of RPM. I am an Aircraft Machinist but have worked as a Technician at three new car dealerships. I have never heard of having to register or program a battery in my 75 years. That does not mean it isn't so though. When I replace my battery it will not be registered or programmed. I may be old and outdated but I think that is a bunch of BS and a way to get money. I have never seen or heard of an alternator that will put out any more than the voltage regulator will allow regardless of programming or registration. The alternator does not change output because of the age of the battery.
I suspect my problem tonight is probably caused by the fact that my battery is 11 years old. I was basically interested in finding what the average age of a BMW battery is why I am on here.
Ed
Things have changed in the last 20 years. BMW use an "intelligent" charging strategy (it's in the OM) and the alternator doesn't charge the battery 100% of the time (obviously controlled by the voltage regulator) like American cars. The alternator only charges when the IBS says it needs charging. IIRC, the IBS likes to keep the charge around 80%; which makes no sense to me.
This offers an explanation on replacement.

Quote:
Why is battery registration important on BMW?
The electrical system of BMW models manufactured after 2002 got very sophisticated, as it started to adjust charging to the age as well as the type of the battery. If you’re changing your BMW battery for a new one having different capacity or type, your DME has to be updated with this info. It happens for example when you’re switching between batteries with lower and higher cranking ampere ratings or swapping a Liquid Lead Acid battery for an AGM battery. However, swapping your old battery for an identical one also doesn’t free you from the obligation to go through a BMW battery reset procedure, as your vehicle has to program the battery capacity again.

What happens if you don't register BMW battery?
Registration is required so that your car knows about the changed specifications and can adjust to the new battery settings. Otherwise, if you don’t properly code BMW battery, it could result in many electrical problems; the battery life may decrease, you could overcharge or undercharge your battery, or in the worst case scenario, cause considerable damage to your vehicle’s alternator and electrical system — at this point your battery may fail prematurely.

What are the electrical errors that might occur? Certain modules of your BMW may turn off as a consequence of your car presuming that the battery life is low and wanting to save it. So, at that point your windows and mirrors may not close/open, your radio and interior lights might not work properly, or other modules not needed for starting or driving a car can fail.
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      11-29-2021, 06:55 AM   #53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc View Post
The alternator only charges when the IBS says it needs charging. IIRC, the IBS likes to keep the charge around 80%; which makes no sense to me.
The easier to understand bit of the equation is that less alternator load = less fuel burned. Even at >80% SoC the system voltage will target 14.8VDC when you are "coasting" (and that blue bar pointing to the battery lights up on the cluster) and ~13.5VDC the rest of the time.

The missing part of the equation may be the following - I've been reading that full top up of AGM batteries to 100% is very slow. The last 20% takes hours, even at the max allowed voltage of 14.8V. The absorption rate/current accepted by the battery slows dramatically above 80%. I can confirm that my CTEK MXS can spend a lot of time in phase 4 (which is this slow top up to 100%).

So - the decision process may be that running max voltage for several hours struggling against physics to attain full 100% just isn't worth the drop in fuel economy tests (e.g. CAFE).

To the anti-registration folks - it's your car, you do you. But don't try to convince the world that battery registration is some conspiracy to make BMW money, you're the only one who sees what's really going on and we're all suckers. It's not hard (two or three taps on a smartphone) and there's more than a few ways to register a battery for free. DIY toolkits for post E46/E39 era BMWs need to be prepared to deal with the computer systems or you're going to waste a lot of time and do some things incorrectly.
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      11-29-2021, 07:08 AM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hurst01 View Post
HUMMM, this is truly interesting. I just today got a message on my dash saying that the "Battery voltage Low".
The situation you describe sounds more like the battery in the key remote, not the vehicle battery. (car running, you left the car with the key in your pocket) Watch the icons and the exact text of the message.

There are only a couple of messages that relate to the vehicle battery and charging system and they all mean different things. Most posters online confuse them all together and think a new vehicle battery is the solution for all of them. I don't believe I have ever seen any mention of the message "Battery voltage low" - perhaps take a picture of it next time it happens, if there is a next time. That all being said, different revisions of the car and software could have different error messages.

"Charge battery" means just that - charge battery. Your driving habits and weather conditions have not been adequately recharging the battery. No need to replace anything unless your charging system has failed.

"Replace battery" with the standard battery icon means the IBS has determined your battery has reached the end of it's useful life. Just replace it, and register the replacement, or prepare to be stranded eventually. I don't think people see this one very often, but ISTA can pull shadow codes which authorizes dealers to replace batteries under warranty with no further questions asked.

"Remote control: replace battery" means your key fob battery needs replacement

"Discharging while stopped" and similar means you have a fault in the vehicle, or accessory left connected, which is causing parasitic drain when all devices should be sleeping. Power was cut to one or more circuit branches in the car so that your battery would not go dead and you are able to restart it. A full disconnect/reboot might fix it (sometimes computers get confused), otherwise you need BMW tools like ISTA to help track it down

Red battery icon on the dash - usually a broken serpentine belt or failed alternator. This is pretty much never an error about the battery itself (and a broken belt is often a death sentence for an N55, but that's a different story).
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      11-29-2021, 10:57 AM   #55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Surly73 View Post
The situation you describe sounds more like the battery in the key remote, not the vehicle battery. (car running, you left the car with the key in your pocket) Watch the icons and the exact text of the message.

There are only a couple of messages that relate to the vehicle battery and charging system and they all mean different things. Most posters online confuse them all together and think a new vehicle battery is the solution for all of them. I don't believe I have ever seen any mention of the message "Battery voltage low" - perhaps take a picture of it next time it happens, if there is a next time. That all being said, different revisions of the car and software could have different error messages.

"Charge battery" means just that - charge battery. Your driving habits and weather conditions have not been adequately recharging the battery. No need to replace anything unless your charging system has failed.

"Replace battery" with the standard battery icon means the IBS has determined your battery has reached the end of it's useful life. Just replace it, and register the replacement, or prepare to be stranded eventually. I don't think people see this one very often, but ISTA can pull shadow codes which authorizes dealers to replace batteries under warranty with no further questions asked.

"Remote control: replace battery" means your key fob battery needs replacement

"Discharging while stopped" and similar means you have a fault in the vehicle, or accessory left connected, which is causing parasitic drain when all devices should be sleeping. Power was cut to one or more circuit branches in the car so that your battery would not go dead and you are able to restart it. A full disconnect/reboot might fix it (sometimes computers get confused), otherwise you need BMW tools like ISTA to help track it down

Red battery icon on the dash - usually a broken serpentine belt or failed alternator. This is pretty much never an error about the battery itself (and a broken belt is often a death sentence for an N55, but that's a different story).
Glad someone brought this up as I was going to post about the battery. I have a 2012 BMW 528i, so my car is now almost 10 years old. The original battery was replaced by the dealer in year 4 I believe, so this battery is now 5-6 years old. So, should I wait until I get the "Replace Battery" message to replace the battery? Will I get the warning with enough time to replace the battery, or be proactive and replace it now?
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      11-29-2021, 04:41 PM   #56
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In my opinion, batteries are like tires. You don't know when they will fail, but you don't want to be stuck on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck because you wanted to squeeze a few more miles out of them. If the cost of a battery is not a biggie at this time, get a battery.
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      11-30-2021, 07:30 AM   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigKutta View Post
Glad someone brought this up as I was going to post about the battery. I have a 2012 BMW 528i, so my car is now almost 10 years old. The original battery was replaced by the dealer in year 4 I believe, so this battery is now 5-6 years old. So, should I wait until I get the "Replace Battery" message to replace the battery? Will I get the warning with enough time to replace the battery, or be proactive and replace it now?
IMO only it depends on how it is treated. There are failure modes of batteries that you can't see coming. Shorted cell is one of these - one day you come out and the battery voltage is 10.4V, it doesn't start the car or accept a charge. You're done.

Other batteries "wear out" and one time when it's really cold or something was left on you have a "close call" or it won't start. Then you got some "warning" even though the car didn't tell you to replace it yet.

I haven't heard of many people seeing a prompt to replace battery, but I'm pretty sure that I did in 2014 or 2015 when the dealer replaced mine. If you can scan the car with something that understands BMW stored codes (ISTA preferred, perhaps MHD or one of the BMW-centric scanners) you may be able to look for lots of good preventive info like water pump issues or logged battery issues and act accordingly.

Other than that it's rolling the dice. How often do you drive? What state-of-charge is your battery normally kept? Is it cold/what's your climate? Are you likely to get stranded alone (leaving the night shift of a desolated job) or would there usually be people around to help if you had a no-start one day?

Using ISTA you can grab the current state of charge and a histogram of time spend in various state of charge buckets over the last several months I believe. The general consensus out there is that batteries can have a very long service life if they are not subject to high heat, high vibration (our trunk mounted location is ideal) and if they are kept fully charged almost all the time. There are people with trickle chargers and 11 year old batteries still going strong. I plug my F10 into my CTEK MXS charger frequently - I could have years left. Or maybe not

Testing is a reasonable way to be sure it's dependable. What's your overnight resting voltage? How low does the system voltage dip while the starter is cranking during a start? You could get the battery load tested at a shop. You can buy a little tester like a Solar BA9 which uses a few simple tests to give you an idea of where your battery sits in its service life.

This turned into a long post. If you do nothing to observe and care for your battery (testing, trickle charging, voltage measurements), I probably would not push your luck with replacement after 4 years or so. Get it tested. If you are the kind of person who does some of these other things and has driving or car care habits which keep a high state of charge, you might have years left. It all depends...
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      02-01-2022, 01:36 PM   #58
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Charge Battery warning- came on 2011 535 6 Speed manual

Strange as it has never happened before
as someone mentioned on a 10 minute ride-message just appeared this morning-never before.
So driving home 20 miles-I will see if the message comes on
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      10-29-2023, 02:27 PM   #59
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Battery discharge to Check Engine

So in my case took my M5 to dealer for yearly state inspection. After they were completed the battery discharge error began to display. I told the service rep that they must have left the ignition on and he agreed. Service rep said it would go out after driving, it didn't. I charged the battery and it still not came on. Then a check engine error appeared and the charge error went away. Cleared all errors and the battery charge has not reappeared.
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      10-31-2023, 05:53 PM   #60
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I got the message today I charged the battery on Friday. I went to my car my interior lights turned off when I came in the car. Do I need to get a new battery or change the battery?
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      10-31-2023, 05:55 PM   #61
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Will an e60 battery work for f10?
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      11-01-2023, 07:42 AM   #62
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Quote:
Originally Posted by razfrankel View Post
Will an e60 battery work for f10?
What battery class size is the e60 battery and is it an AGM battery? Is it the same size & type as in your f10?

See the East Penn Battery class size chart below. Most 5 series BMWs for the US market uses an 49/H8 class size battery...which usually has anywhere from 90AH thru 95AH rating. But sometimes (depending on options) you may have a larger 95R/H9 battery. But the best way to tell is look at the battery in each vehicle to see if they are the same class size.

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