Quote:
Originally Posted by dangeris
It's your money but Do yourself a favor and just put out the extra cash on the OEM battery. Here's the reason, My son has a 05 E46 and the battery needed to be replaced. Like you, he didn't want to spend and "arm and a leg" on an OEM BMW battery so he went to Autozone. They replaced the battery right there in the parking lot. Unfortunately that's as far as the car went. You see, they forgot to do something like saving the configuration of the car PRIOR to removing the old battery. Anyway, autozone fried his electrical system which pretty much covered the computer, lights, and sound system. The car was flatbeded to the local BMW dealership 50 miles away where it stayed there for almost a month while the wiring was replaced as well as other components. Autozone paid for the some of the repairs but not all of it. Up to this day my son had to retain the service of an attorney to help re-coupe the losses; loss time at work, car rental,t etc.
The one thing you might want to try is to have the car running THEN replace the battery. The car should be running on the alternator so swapping out the battery shouldn't hurt it...at least I wouldn't think. Maybe someone can chime in on this. Frankly, I'm not sure why BMW made battery replacement harder than it should...
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I'm sorry for the experience you had... but I think the issue you experienced was caused by people who didn't know what they were doing. Honestly, they probably hooked up some kind of "backup battery" to preserve the "memory of the seats/radio station" and that can cause all sorts of issues on these bimmers. NEVER USE BACKUP BATTERIES when changing out a battery.
Secondly, please do not give the idea of leaving a car running as you disconnect the battery or replace a battery... you are putting peoples lives in danger. NEVER have the car running or powering devices when disconnecting the battery (Very bad idea)!!!
All you really need is to make sure you get the correct type of battery (AGM or non-AGM) as the one you are replacing. Next... make sure the Reserve Capacity is as close to the battery you are replacing. If you got those two done... then you are covered.
Issues you can have from DIY battery replacement... you might mess up on the positive terminal and get the airbag light triggered. Someone could hook up a backup battery to the car which will cause the speedo/tach to blow it's 5Amp fuse and you will need to figure out which one it is in the fuse box to get it to work again.
If you don't feel up to handling the DIY, find a good Indy mechanic to replace and register your battery for you (Should be a lot cheaper than the dealership). Even with the dealership... you can ask your SA nicely to see if he can get you some discounts on the part/install/registration... i asked my BMW SA recently and was quoted about $350-$400, my Indy would do it for $200 Out-The-Door all inclusive (Parts/Install/register).