Gotta love the battery location...

[Mr Project]

Ok, so a while back I accidentally forgot to re-connect the 'chime' under the dash when I was working down there. Lately I've been glad I did because my washer fluid level sensor is bad. Enough said.

The down side, of course, is that if I leave my lights on, I don't get a chime when I shut the car off. So yesterday we were having an ice storm, and I left my lights on after lunch.

Rather predictably, 5 hours later when I was leaving work, the battery was totally flat. Cranked over twice heroically ,but that was it. So I got a jump from a friendly co-worker and when I got home last night I pulled my battery out to charge it up in the garage.

After I removed the battery from it's comfy little nest under the rear seat, I popped the top, added a little water (didn't need much) and put it on the charger. Then I noticed something. The 7 was missing from the purchase-year stamp. My battery is 8 years old!

It's been fine, it gets parked outside in -15 degree weather and always cranks right up in the morning. Maybe it's just too many years with air-cooled Corvairs, VR6 VWs, and hot-rod RX-7s, but I've always been lucky to get 2 or 3 years out of a battery around here. Kudos to BMW for putting the battery where it's not only a help to weight distribution, but protected from the elements!

So....anybody else experience this freakish long battery life in their E34?

[Qsilver7]

and your battery probably won't make it thru the winter!

[bahnstormer]

good story! heheh
i replaced the battery in my sisters 535ia and
it was not only the wrong size (too small) but
it was also manufac in 95...

the one i bought comes with a 7 year warranty....
autozone....

[Hector]

Interesting, one night I forgot to turn the headlights off my GF's Passat recently during a Vegas trip. The next morning we noticed that the headlights were left on. Man, I feared the worst. A dead battery in the middle of the hotel parking lot... !! Anyway, thought I try to crank the engine and viola, engine started with no sluggish hesitation. You won't find many cheap batteries that will do that.

[PhilipJCaputo]

so your saying that I could have put in some water, and kept my 10 year old battery alive!?! Ehh... oh well, the 70 bucks wasn't that bad, and now the car turns over 2-3 times faster than it did before.


At the time I was cursing the location of the battery, but I suppose being protected from the elements is a good idea....

[Aaron Bakos]

I'm still on the stock battery, mfg in 07/94, running strong!

[Mr Project]

I'm still on the stock battery, mfg in 07/94, running strong!

Unbelieveable! Seriously that's amazing. I guess my frame of reference is just way off.

[philbyil]

As the GQ doesn't get driven every day, I decided to use a Battery Tender Plus charger on her. I use BT's on both our motorcycles and also on the twin deep cycle batteries from my Motorhome.

My previous BMW battery (the original!) lasted 7 years without using a BT so, being impressed with that, I coughed up and bought a replacement BMW battery which turned out to be maintenance free! Anyway, I used the battery pigtail connector from the BT Plus and just ran it underneath the seat, just outboard of the RH clip. It only sticks out about 1 inch and isn't really noticeable. I then run the BT lead in thru the side of the rear passenger door and I just connect it up and close the door on it.

During our recent VERY cold spell, I used the GQ and I just disconnected the BT plus and started up the car as normal. Well, I can tell you that the difference is night and day...even at 2 above, it spun over and fired up like a champ!

So...you can find BT Jr's at $21.95 and BT plus at $39.95. Your battery will REALLY last for years and you will definitely notice the difference in colder climates!