Tip! Getting the Most From a Battery

Bobster said:
I think what they are talking about is to "register" (code) the battery in the PCM which requires the special tools and extra time which costs extra money...
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PCM=??
 
Racer88 said:
So what's the bullshit about "registering" the battery?
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LINK I've never paid much attention to it because I buy off-the-shelf, non-OEM batteries.

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Bobster said:
LINK I've never paid much attention to it because I buy off-the-shelf, non-OEM batteries.

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Gee, I thought that was what the voltage regulator was for. Silly me.
I'll just keep doing like I've been doing for the last 35 years and still get 7-8 years out of a battery. :rolleyes:
 
Racer88 said:
So what's the bullshit about "registering" the battery?
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While I've not been in the industry for quite awhile now (I left around 2000), and not at this level of modern tech, it seems there is some sort of "registration" that is done into the PCM through a programmer tool or laptop with the program to do so. It's not "hokum", but I cannot tell you how much it makes a difference or not. It's a given that the vehicle will indeed function with or without the input. But yes, it's real.
 
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One Ping Only said:
While I've not been in the industry for quite awhile now (I left around 2000), and not at this level of modern tech, it seems there is some sort of "registration" that is done into the PCM through a programmer tool or laptop with the program to do so. It's not "hokum", but I cannot tell you how much it makes a difference or not. It's a given that the vehicle will indeed function with or without the input. But yes, it's real.
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Is it a BMW thing? The quoted text seems to indicate that. Or is it other marques? All cars? I've never ever heard of such a thing.

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ETA: I've been researching my own '24 Subaru. No such procedure / "registration" is mentioned anywhere.
 
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I don't think every marque uses it, and I'm assuming it may be the upscale brands. but I cannot be sure. like I said, its been 24 years since I left that industry. Our 2003 530i I THINK had that in the programming, but I'd never been faced with swapping-out the battery while we had it. I did a number of maintenance projects on it- plugs, etc (and others I farmed-out), but that wasn't one of them. It does sound familiar, and perhaps my Foxwell scanner for BMW/MINI has that capability, But I never looked.
 
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So I saw this ad for a LiFePO mower battery. Claims 5 year warranty. $150.
Now that battery chemistry is the current tech for electric cars and other uses, and it is very good indeed. But I just bought a conventional lead acid mower battery from Wal-Mart for $30. Got 6 years out of the one that came in the mower. Even if this one and the next 4 only lasts 4 years, that LiFePO battery would have to make it 20 years to be worth it.
I'd like to have one, but the price is going to have to make the math work out.

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