Replacement Battery - Excide/OEM/Bosch/Braille -?

[Pip1968]

I just thought I would start a new thread on car batteries. As per a post on another topic I did mention that after having my car at BMW for a week they brought it round from the holding car park for me to take it home and having turned the engine off it would not start. They then brought a battery pack over and it started fine. Of course this could have been caused by them starting and stopping it as they moved her around.

A week later after a longish run (100 miles) to Stansted I packed some jump leads expecting her to need jumping after being parked up for a week. Actually it was left for nine days in the snow and started without a problem first time.

Anyway the other tell tale for me is the trickle charger that it always sits on. After connecting it up it usually has the orange LED on for a short while which then turns to green. The Porsche whose battery was subsequently replaced seemed to have the orange LED on for increasingly longer periods before it went green. The CSL seems to be going through a similar thing. That said I have had no battery lights on the dashboard as some have. Not too bad I suppose considering I have had her since 2007.

I have trawled through the old posts on batteries and just wondered what most have done. Just to emphasize I do not want to buy a caravan battery that will last for ever unconnected to a trickle charger. That would be just wrong almost like replacing the CF roof with a metal one (sorry CSL Spurs ). BMW went to great lengths to lose the weight so why stick a fat cow in as a passenger .

Some have posted that the OEM BMW one (55Ah 480A - h185mm x w175mm x l240mm) is made by Exide and the Exide 065SE (56Ah 480A [CCA]) retails at £50 including delivery (supaprice.co.uk). I am not sure what the OEM BMW goes for but it must be at least £100 having seen the older posts. Are BMW likely to make a fuss with the warranty if it is not the OEM one (by the way why oh why is the battery indicator 'light' on the battery itself completely obscured by the bracket which holds it in... as well as its capacity and cranking Amps ????). I have seen some Varta ones with similar output - is Varta any good??? Then there is of course a Bosch 027 (56Ah 480A) at £80 (alpha-batteries.co.uk).

Finally on batteries there is mention of the Braille battery 8317 although I cannot find it on their site under that number reference and I have no idea how much they are although as it is a 'special' lightweight one it must be fairly expensive. I am not sure how many use them and if they have a short shelf life or are a good buy if you/I are willing to commit the funds and want to lose weight. It seems to need a modified clamp being so small presumably. Will a normal CTEK charger cover its maintenance - ??? Any other pros or cons aside from price and weight?

I do track her with occasional trips to the shops et al.

So what have most got in their little pride and joys now as I assume that there cannot be many original batteries still in use as we reach the 10 year point. Any other non OEM makes worth looking at. I am not willing to stretch to the Voltphreaks alternative (circa £1000 - ).

I may just be a cheapskate and pinch my wife's OEM Mini battery and buy her a new one if there is an issue with warranty and postpone the decision .

Pip

[LeinsCSL]

I'm on an OEM Mini one still, which I believe could be the original one. AFAIK it's lived on trickle chargers for most of its life, and still does, so I won't be moving from one of those

[Steve B]

I just bought the biggest battery that would fit in the hole.... 350mm long, 80ah and 700amps. I'd rather know it's going to start than worry about weight (I still have the std battery to go with the car when she has a new owner).

[karbonkid]

OEM CSL Battery (Mini Cooper) - 61218377139 - £102.07 Before discount

I run a Braille B2317RP - £128 + VAT

First one lasted a year and never seemed to hold charge. Sent off to Braille, tested and replaced me with new one.
Had new one 16 months and not missed a beat.

I use a Ctek xs3600 and its fine. Battery still going strong.

Battery Weights

OEM Battery - 15.6kg
Braille Lightweight - 7.7kg = 7.9kg Saving

You can run standard Battery brace but modify it. (see below)




This is mine with an aluminium brace I fabricated, whilst on the weight saving program.

[glendog74]

I bought an Exide replacement last year - does the job spot on:

http://www.cslregister.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8934

OEM battery manufacturer without the BMW price hike!

[jibm]

Originally Posted by glendog74

I bought an Exide replacement last year - does the job spot on:

http://www.cslregister.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8934

OEM battery manufacturer without the BMW price hike!

thats what i did bought one from Eurocar parts, an Exide mini one. It was identical to the one i took out apart from the BMW stickers. So i pealed them off and stuck em on the new one, job done

[Pip1968]

Originally Posted by jibm

thats what i did bought one from Eurocar parts, an Exide mini one. It was identical to the one i took out apart from the BMW stickers. So i peeled them off and stuck em on the new one, job done

Excellent . British ingenuity at its best.

Pip

[shimmy]

Originally Posted by jibm

thats what i did bought one from Eurocar parts, an Exide mini one. It was identical to the one i took out apart from the BMW stickers. So i pealed them off and stuck em on the new one, job done

excellent even perfect (apart from the posting on a public forum bit )

i bought a relacement oem battery in 2009 after original one failed. In 2010 i bought a braille 2317R.

both are in god shape and held on Ctek when on the car most of the time. I tend to fit the OEm for winter months and braille for track season but i have no data to say tha braille would not work fine in winter. my concern with braille would be constant use at night/dusk and short runs and then no ctek.

[sailorbaz]

Before you do buy a new battery, try a battery conditioner, see if that helps. I've read good things about them and seem to be the job, don't know personally never needed to use that function of the CTek but they seem to sell it well.

Just a thought, I managed to get a new battery 3 years ago from BMW for around £70, should've kept my old one now and tried the conditioner. Never mind.

[Jonnymaz]

Just an idea, but if you're concerned about the effect on the warranty, just keep the old one. Should be able to charge it and swap it if needed?