Forum Announcement

no. AGM just a technology how the battery holds the power. like I said, as long as the power requirement are met by the battery according to the manufacturer, its okay already

I have MB W245 and W176, both on century marathoner. W245 already on its 2nd battery after 5 years of ownership. normal battery only can last around 2years max for my case. Meanwhile my MB W246 are still on Varta AGM which they previous owner replace it after 4/5 years I guess because there is a date stamped on the battery stated 2017.


both MB W245 and W176 I think could only last another year max. then maybe I will change back to Varta, but not AGM series. maybe EFB only. I don't have the luxury to use AGM batteries lah…

for the MB W246, I will wait the AGM to finish, then move to EFB. depends on the budget lah that time haha...

Well... from my research, if you use normal batteries (no agm), then you have to disable your stop start feature. I’m ok with that.

By right and in theory, as long as you meet the battery power criteria, then it should be no problem. I’m driving a Beemer F10 and they advise me to stick back to agm batteries as you’ll need to code it back to your car. Anyway, I’ll need to do more research on this.

ok. with my limited knowledge, I think BMW came with different technology regarding battery. so better stick with AGM and get it installed at reliable indie.

just buy the battery by yourself to save a bit of money, then ask indie to install it for u.

btw your warranty already over?

Hi bro... yeah, BMW is a different story. However, I've heard owners ditching the AGM and going for normal batteries. So far, they didn't complain on it

But still it's a risk. That's why am looking at testing the CTEK on whether it'll be a worthwhile investment to prolong the batteries.

I did some quick google lah yesterday. yes, some move to lower tier battery but they didn't state the brand and model. however, some members are advising to move back to AGM as the iDrive will produced battery related errors. the error was resulted from he installed the battery at the indie BUT didn't calibrate the battery with the BMW iDrive. iDrive, is this what they called for BMW system?

in the varta website, there is battery guide. put ur car model in it and it will shows recommended battery. IMO, it still will recommended AGM batteries because of the Ah and CCA since the car came with AGM battery. the CCA is different with Varta EFB series although Ah is the same. I don't know how significant the CCA numbers towards the vehicle.

as for my car, on W176, it didn't produced any error upon checking with DAS - XENTRY. W245 much more easy, just plug and play. maybe because of the older and simple system.

CCA is important more towards cold countries, the first "C" is the abbreviation of cold.

But generally, if the engine is large capacity, it will require higher cranking amps to start the engine. Fitting a higher than required CCA batteries will benefit slightly from faster crank starting.

On your old batteries that you replaced with century, it was quite a waste as AGM batteries can be easily revived through a proper charge, don't even need to fork out money to replace the battery.

This post has been edited by wkc5657: Jan 17 2019, 03:13 PM

mmmmm thought so. so can I just use EFB battery instead on the next change? because this varta efb series half of the price of varta agm. all these cars are 1.6 only.

anyway, I bought all of those cars, used. so upon receiving the car, the battery already century. I just maintain the battery brand and model as it never gaves me problem while using it. just one car still with varta agm. for this agm, I think I will follow u and how to revive it and make it longer lifespan.

maybe IamAHuman can follow too, instead of replacing it.

This post has been edited by hafiez: Jan 17 2019, 08:24 PM

Yeah bro.. Was thinking of investing in ctek but that's the thing. I don't want to spend Rm500 to get a product which will only perhaps prolong the AGM battery for another perhaps 6 months? If so, might as well, I go replacing the whole battery instead. The idea of recharging the battery at a shop is a good idea but it does mean I'll have to leave the car.

Haih.. Decisions decisions...

hehehe...your agm battery around 1.8k. It could last like how many years, 6/7yrs? I’d go with it. Or else just go with EFB (half the price), re-calibrate the battery and u r good to go. From what i understand now with BMW is, u need same Ah battery and calibration. If thats it, good enough. No need agm.

Yup, that's true but with EFB, the stop start function may not work properly. If I'm going to that route, then I might was well change the whole battery to a proper AGM one.

maybe u can browse here:

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4436937/+40?hl=varta

Cool... Thanks bro..

I guess i didn't make myself clear enough, the likeliness of AGM recovering from a depleted state is much higher than normal batteries (including EFB). If you're on the fence, just pay a small sum to battery shop to help you recharge if you don't want to buy a battery charger. Then recheck the battery condition after being charged, the shop will likely do it complimentary for you.

You save even more money from not getting a new battery and/or a battery charger.

Understand bro. The only thing is that I need to leave my car for them to recharge my battery rite? Hence, not so viable without a car to use.

I've bought a ctek battery charger/condition. Will see how it goes when the product arrives.

Hi, I'm renting my own CTEK Original Charger and Reconditioning MXS 5.0 latest version out. Please see my thread created in Automotive thread - CTEK Rental and Sales. PM me if you still need to rent or even to buy new units.


Thanks.

Just loan my CTek charger to my bro over the CNY. Battery bought in December but drained by his new car radio/CD player. Was able to recharge the battery and it’s good now. I think its more convenient having one at home.

Wow. You should have said it earlier so that I could loan and test it out first. Anyway, thanks bro!

Just curious.
Im driving Exora turbo.
However when replacing batteries they recommend using Euripean spec Din 55D23L when i used NS70 and it works well.
In fact the CCA is higher (and battery is bigger) and yet much cheaper than 55D23L .

If NS70 is so much cheaper then whats the advantages of using DIN55 which is smaller yet CCA lower.

I know its a Proton badge but as i know they put some European electronics inside.

That's very nice & kind of you to do that.

However, what if it malfunctions when it was rented out ? Will you hold the individual who rented your charger liable under such circumstances ?

Well, as I mentioned in my post that it's a mutual agreement and should be responsible for the unit. Anyway, I do have a few new units to be sold if there's a need.

Am just doing it so that people would get an experience on the battery charger/reconditioning.