I'm about to go get a new battery
(Disclaimer: I just got the schwaben scan tool to do some of the reset. It's a nice unit actually)

I came across this:
Before disconnecting your battery, remove the remote key from the vehicle and store it in a safe place and note the radio presets. When the battery is reconnected or loses its charge, the following items may need attention (depending on vehicle equipment). You may have to reset your clock, enter the radio presets, initialize power windows, initialize the sunroof and normalize the steering angle sensor. Once your battery has been replaced, you will have to register the new battery with the vehicle's computer system. This tells the DME the age and health of the battery to ensure proper charging.

1 - What's this "normalizing the steering sensor" ? What does it involves?
That's the one that worries me most...

2 - What's the radio presets? What is it I would want to make sure not to loose? Aside from the radio station. I can't actually think of what that might be (I don't have the entertainment system, just you basic system)...

3 - How does one re-initialized windows? Is it as simple as keeping the button up until the system detects the windows are up?

 

I've thought about using a DLC memory saver to avoid losing all the goodies when swapping out the battery. Really don't know the effect it would have without updating the dme.

Something similar to this:


Ran across this:
https://www.bimmerscan.com/bmw-intel...ry-sensor-ibs/

 

Yeah, That's interesting. Though it have to be safe to the system. Some cars shots off power briefly to radio and such when starting so to not overload the accessories. I don't really know on the MINI how is the power managed. But one wouldn't want to override that protection. It's certainly something to consider.

I didn't find that reseting the clock and radio preset was a big deal. But I have a basic radio...

 

this entire 'register the battery' thing really pisses me off

I've never seen such a thing on any other car ..... is this a typical BMW thing???? My current daily driver is a Focus ST and it is every bit a 'wiz bang' as my R-59 but does not have something so silly as a battery registration requirement

and given that FEW owners know of this site OR read their owner's manual (much less pay attention to anything there in) to know of this requirement ....

and given that most MINI owners DO replace their battery from time to time .....

one must ask HOW MUCH DOES THIS MATTER???

If you buy the right battery what the heck does "registering" do??????

I've seen a lot of posts that say "I think it does this" or "it extends that" .... I toss the B.S. flag until someone presents FACTS.

Until then I offer two options .....

1. get the group size (which is a physical size if you did not already know) as mentioned in owner's manual or on old battery, and as as many amps u can afford/are willing to buy (I tend to just get 'the best' aka most amps) and forget the register crap. (price tween cheap battery in group x and great battery in group x is AMPS .... and you can not have too many AMPS ... too few is bad, too many is not possible)

2. bite the bullet and just go to the dealer for a new battery where the stupid service charge on top of crazy battery price WILL handle 'registration'

(hmmmmm ..... if you replace with a MINI battery ..... is there a fee for 'registration' ?? .... Why? If you buy a battery with the same spec's ... why would it need new registration.)

 

References have been posted to the BMW technical documents for the process. Not going to do a search again but it exists.

 

yes

posts to the process

few to

what happened if I didn't

I remain on the B.S. side .....

 

I teach Intro Electrical in the Heavy Diesel Program at a local college here in Georgia. One of the sections we cover is Heavy Equipment Charging Systems & Batteries. To get the longest life out of a battery bank/pack, the charging voltage, amperage and temperature are monitored by various black boxes on the vehicle. Is it truly needed for a single battery? Not in my book, but when you consider fleets of trucks with 5000 units - each having 3 batteries, battery costs can be considerable.

As a battery ages it sulfates & the grids will deteriorate - this will change the batteries internal resistance and rate of charging it can handle without being overcharged.

Now this is all for a wet cell (lead) battery. Throw in an AGM battery, which is a different animal, now you have moved into smart/intelligent chargers. So, take advantage of the system if you are using AGM batteries.

 

I fully hear your frustration.

Honestly, imo it's one of those added technology that is specifically meant to appeal to owners of premium vehicle under warranty. It's an other way to further add to the care free maintenance to those customers. They don't know it's there. And that's the point.


It most likely does help the longevity of the battery. Is it significant? I doubt it.
However where they cross the line, imo, is when the registering is not readily available to average users. Which is just an other way to force people to use the dealership service. I think it's a basic maintenance item and users should have the ability to do so without the need for a special tools. But obviously BMW doesn't see it that way.


Registering in itself isn't BS. overtime performance of the battery decay. The IBS system account for it in order to help the battery last longer, and keep systems unaffected the longest possible. We had no warning when our battery died after 5 years. It's good and bad. But I must say nothing was affected prior to not being able to start the car. The other part of me would have rather have some sign ahead of time. It also does help diagnostics, since the IBS does monitor the battery charge cycle. One other sensor data point that didn't use to exist.

Registering the battery just reset the data to account for the new battery un-compromised charging performance. That's all it is.

Is it utmost necessary? Not really. But the new battery will get a hit if not registered and when the car is fitted with an IBS system. It could over heat, or not get a full charge. Now why do some minis have the IBS and some others don't. I don't know, but if I had to guess I would say that it has to do with the power consumption on different models (or fitted with different functions), and BMW MINI not wanting to deal with various battery size in their line-up (weight, space available, connections, different calibration, etc.... So they throw in that component and it takes care of that.
It may force some owners to go to the dealer, then all the better. It may help reduce the amount of car serviced under warranty, then all the better . . . for them

 

Interesting stuff.
I bought an 05, S back about 3 months ago. Believe it or not, it still had the original battery in it. But it NEEDED to stay on a charger to run the engine/car.
I had a new battery waiting to go into another car and decided to, put it into the Mini. I thought about the older method of connecting a 9v battery before disconnecting the main battery, but against all rational thoughts, I removed the BMW battery and installed an Optima in its place.

With the exception of an oddly, slightly rough idle, nothing changed. As noted above, the radio presets didn't change, no key problem, nothing but the idle. In driving the car later in the day, still an odd idle. BUT, a couple of days later, next time I drove it...the idle went back to normal. Been about 3 months, no problems that I am aware of.

Mike