Hi, I've looked around a good bit and see a few posts on this. I've also scoured the rest of the internet (yep, the whole dang thing) and find everybody saying you can never have too many Cold Cranking Amps. I have a good background in electronics and have done a good bit of mechanic-ing and, for the most part, I fully agree with that statement. BUT, I've also found out the things aren't always as they appear with Mini's, so I wanted to ask about this.

One service station recently replaced my battery to fix an EML light. They said they replaced it with a Mini/BMW battery and charged me an arm&leg. The EML light came back on three weeks later so I took it to an actual Mini dealership this time for service. They said the other guys put the wrong battery in (600 CCA as opposed to 420CCA or so recommended) and that it "could" be a problem. I'm trying to get this thing ready for my daughter to take to college so any "coulds" have to be absolutely fixed in my mind.

So, my (long winded) question - is there a problem with replacing a stock battery with a battery with 600 CCA?

Thanks!!

 

I have an Optima battery in mine for 2 years. It has over 800 CCA. So I would beg to differ on that being the issue.

 

More CCA is not worse for the car. LESS could be a problem (it might not turn over), but MORE just means that the battery can handle UP TO that amount if required.

 

Thanks Zig and Bram, that's my understanding as well. More CCA than OEM shouldn't be a problem in my book but again, I'm new to Mini's and am unsure if there are other considerations. Appreciate the feedback!

 

I seem to recall some BMW models require that you tell the car a new battery was installed (some sort of reset), so that it knew to treat the new battery as new, insofar as how to charge it.

 

If you have a good background in electronics, you should know that a device won't draw any more current than it needs. Using a battery with a higher CCA rating doesn't mean that components are then subjected to more current. The person(s) at the dealership don't know what they're talking about. I put the best battery I could find in mine (an Optima) and it has a considerably higher CCA rating than the original. All that means is that I have a better chance of starting the car in really cold weather and I can run the radio longer without the engine running. It's a plus all around.

 

Not our rides. Replacing a battery is straightforward.

And the more CCAs the better.

Rich

 

Won't hurt a thing... but depending on the year... you might want to look into this:

http://www.munichmotorsport.com/wordpress/?page_id=164