Battery needs charging?

[c240amg]

Hi all,

X6 F16 (2016), delivered October. Got separate tracker and built in BMW advanced eye, and I think it's drawing a fair bit of power, as the BMW advanced eye told me today that the power was too low, and it was switching off.

From reading the manual, it says I should charge from the starting points under the bonnet.

When I normally charge a car battery, I disconnect the negative, and then clamp on the +ve and -ve on the battery.
My question is:
With this car, is there any sort of procedure in charging? i.e. connect +ve clamp first, then -ve and then set charger (ctek mxs5.0) to AGM, and leave it?

Thanks
Phil

[snrbrtsn]

There is a procedure that's a bit more involving

Charging the battery in your method doesn't tell the ibis that the battery has been charged.

"The BMW Intelligent Battery Sensor (IBS) is a mechanical/electronic device which is connected directly to the negative battery terminal. The IBS contains a micro-processor that is used to monitor/measure various battery conditions such as: Terminal voltage via measurement from B+ to gnd"

I have the ctek mxs7.0 c/w comfort leads
I removed the negative lead from the body and connected the eyelet (downstream of the IBS) and connected to the positive battery terminal, routed the extension lead to the LHS pocket (I've an E70)
Twice a year ill put the car on full charge cycle until the ctek tells me it's charged

The dealer method is to use the under bonnet starting points, though I guess it's a personal thing and I don't like the thought of croc clips being left!

Note: you'll have to adopt either method or your not telling the IBS the state of the battery charge!

[X5Sport]

In common with pretty much all BMWs over the last 10 years or more, you should charge from under the bonnet.  There is no need to disconnect anything.  It has said this in Owners Manuals since at least 2004 when I bought my first BMW (325ci E46 Convertible).

As above, for those with CTEK conditioners (same as used by BMW but without their 'badge tax', you can buy leads from Amazon (other retailers are available) with eyelets (Comfort leads) that go under the charging nuts under the bonnet and then have a simple plug in connector.  No crock clips needed.  They even have little LEDs that give an indication of charge state.

I just plug in, shut the bonnet, lock the car and leave it to do its thing 

[c240amg]

Thanks for the responses.

I've bought the clamps with the indicator now. I couldn't figure out where to connect the eyelets under the bonnet :/ Oh well... At the moment, am just using the standard clamps.

Routed the cables, as other have done (saw I guy with an M3 route it through the top of his bonnet) and shut the bonnet.

I plan to do this at least every couple of weeks, cos I travel *a lot* (4 weeks at a time), so I will have to figure out where the connectors for the eyelet are to make it easier to connect.

[X5Sport]

Does the F15 not use 17mm nuts to clip to?

I undid and removed the ones on our BMWs and put the eyelets underneath then it put the nuts back on.

[c240amg]

Clamps with indicators show that the battery flashing with orange, so I guess that's ok... At least it's not red!

I couldn't figure out where to connect the eyelets. The ground nut was pretty easy to find, though the connector under the red flap didn't have any nuts so unsure about that.

[X5Sport]

Helpful of them!  They used nuts for years and years!

Amber means it is going flat and could do with a boost  , but it can be fooled by the car being awake and revert to green once asleep.