Electrical System - Battery Maintenance Requirements

Electrical System - Battery Maintenance Requirements

SI M61 01 02

General Electrical Systems

December 2012

Technical Service

This Service Information bulletin supersedes SI M61 01 02 dated January 2012.

[NEW] designates changes to this revision

SUBJECT

Battery Maintenance Requirements

MODEL

All (new and used MINI in dealer inventory

[NEW] SITUATION

Proper battery maintenance is vital when MINI vehicles are in your dealers inventory. Allowing a vehicles battery voltage to drop below 12.0 volts

(12.0V) permanently reduces the battery life expectancy and can cause premature failure of the battery.

We are providing a flexible battery maintenance system every MINI dealer can use in accordance with their particular needs. This bulletin informs

you of the 2013 Battery Charging calendar and the charging process.

PROCEDURE

Upon receipt of a new vehicle, remove the battery log form (see attachment) from the glove compartment and complete section "A". Check the

voltage of the 12V battery and recharge if less than 12.5V.

The maintenance tracking system provides for 3 distinct options:

1. The vehicle goes into storage (back lot), or in a new vehicle display (not in the showroom)

^ The battery main disconnect switch has been removed; and

^ The vehicle may or may not be in Transport Mode.

A four-week charging cycle and calendar have been established for these cases.

The vehicle arrives, marked with a color-coded round sticker on the windshield. The respective color (one out of four possible colors)

designates that the vehicles battery voltage must be checked in accordance with the new calendar on a four-week cycle.

Recharge any time the battery voltage is less than 12.5V.

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Each time a battery is checked, record the voltage in section "B" of the BATTERY LOG FORM.

2. The vehicle goes into the showroom, or a similar display area

^ The electrical system is "Customer ready"; and

^ The battery main disconnect switch has been removed; and

^ The vehicle has been taken out of Transport Mode using the BMW Diagnosis System.

When in the showroom display, energy consumption is frequent and unpredictable because of the showroom traffic. A four-week charging

cycle will not suffice, due to the increased current draw imposed on the battery. This is because of frequent usage of the vehicles electrical

components (demonstrations, product familiarization, etc.).

To ensure the battery charge is maintained, connect the battery via the underhood charging terminals to a suitable power supply (SI M04

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08 09).

If the showroom vehicle battery needs to be disconnected due to state regulations, check the battery voltage on a regular basis to ensure the

state of charge is maintained above 12.5V. Record when the battery is recharged in section "C" of the BATTERY LOG FORM.

Note 1: For those MINI dealers which have established their own working battery maintenance procedure which fulfills MINI guidelines,

Section C can be used to track the charging of those vehicles.

3. The battery draw has been minimized for storage purposes

^ Either the battery main disconnect switch remains on the vehicle in the "OFF" position; or

^ The vehicle battery has been disconnected.

With the battery draw minimized, a 12-week charging cycle can be followed. Use section "D" of the BATTERY LOG FORM to document

when the charging has been performed.

The columns on the form are identified by the colors white, red and green of the 12-week charging calendar, designating the months when

the vehicles are to be charged. The windshield labels can also be used to track these vehicles, with the exception of the 4th color, yellow.

Therefore, vehicles received with a yellow label will need to be reassigned another color.

The 12 week charging cycle requires the battery to be recharged at every check.

IMPORTANT:

Use a calibrated Fluke 87 multimeter or similar device to measure battery voltage.

On vehicles equipped with maintenance-free batteries (with integrated hydrometer - "Magic Eye"), under certain circumstances (vehicle

parked for an extensive period of time) due to electrolyte density stratification inside the battery, the internal hydrometer ("Magic Eye")

may remain black after recharging, even though the battery tester shows it to be fully charged. Such batteries are fully serviceable.

Replace the battery if the battery acid level is too low (Magic Eye light yellow).

Since MINI uses only maintenance-free or AGM batteries, DO NOT ADD DISTILLED WATER!

If, at any time, the battery open circuit voltage should drop below 12.0V, or a battery replacement is indicated during the CBS handover

inspection, perform Energy Diagnosis (refer to SI M61 06 07) to determine the cause. Any necessary repairs should be carried out and the

battery MUST BE REPLACED. The replacement battery must be registered using the service function in the diagnosis equipment.

Dispose of all batteries properly, observing legal regulations.

Charging Procedure:

Battery charging must be performed using an approved battery charger (recommended charging voltage 14.8V). Refer to SI M04 08 09 for

recommended chargers.

For an optimized charging procedure, the ambient temperature should be between 60锟斤拷F and 75锟斤拷F. Under these conditions, the battery can be

considered fully charged when the charging current has fallen below 2.5 Amps.

Charging below 60锟斤拷F should be avoided if possible, since the capacity of the battery to take up current is reduced and the charging time is

extended considerably. However, if provisional charging below 60锟斤拷F is performed, the charging voltage must be set to 14.8V. Charging shall

be discontinued no earlier than when the charging current falls below 1.5 Amps.

USED VEHICLES

Used vehicles in MINI dealer inventory should be monitored and recharged according to the above principles. There is no reason why the

battery maintenance should be neglected, since poor reliability of a pre-owned MINI may deter a customer from buying a new one at a later

date.

VEHICLE DELIVERY

The CBS Handover Inspection must be performed as the last process step, immediately before delivery to the customer! Refer to the Service

Information entitled "New Vehicle Preparation and Maintenance Requirements" for the vehicle model concerned.

Upon the sale of a vehicle, its BATTERY LOG FORM should be removed from the BATTERY CHARGE LOG (binder) and filed in the

vehicle file, to be available for future reference.

To ensure that the battery remains fully charged, start the engine before demonstrating the operation of components to the customer at the time

of delivery.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should a vehicle equipped with a battery disconnect switch be sold or delivered to a customer.

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GENERAL INFORMATION

If a vehicle is used as a demonstrator, the battery disconnect switch MUST BE REMOVED.

When reconnecting the battery, torque the battery nut by following the appropriate specification listed in Tightening Torque 61 21...

Under special circumstances where the battery disconnect switch is not removed, extreme caution must be taken not to turn off the battery

disconnect switch while driving (for example, when moving the vehicle on the lot).

Note that the procedures outlined above are meant to be guidelines to assist MINI dealers in assuring a sufficient state of charge of vehicle

batteries at all times. Following these procedures, however, will not guarantee a sufficient state of charge on all batteries: there may be

exceptional cases of excessive current draw through very frequent movement of back lot vehicles, for example, which may call for more

frequent recharging than otherwise necessary.

The above guidelines for proper battery maintenance are meant to provide maximum flexibility for every MINI dealer. Regional MINI

personnel will be happy to assist with setting up an effective charging and monitoring program.

PARTS INFORMATION (LABELS, FORMS, ETC.)

[NEW] WARRANTY INFORMATION

ATTACHMENTS

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Flow_Chart.

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