Hi, I'm new to this community and I just bought my E31 today.
The previous owner told me that i had to plug my car into an outlet so that the battery doesn't die.
Does anyone else do this, or is it just me?
moved to E31 forum
Shogun tricks and tips for the E32 series are HERE!
We had a custmer with the two battery's we ended up using two battery tenders now it's always ready to go, also we installed agm battery's
Yes, a lot of E31 owners use battery tenders - which indeed plug into the wall outlet.
Mine is under the hood and connects into the posts under there.
You can use a single Ctek MXS 5.0 on either battery (or connected to the jump-start points under the hood) and both batteries will be successfully charged - you don't need two chargers as the batteries are connected in parallel.
More information on battery drain here:
https://www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/E31_Ba...iagnostics.htm
Information on changing batteries safely here:
https://www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/E31_Ba...eplacement.htm
Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i
My BMW Repair YouTube Channel
My Current 840ci Sport Individual
My Current 650ci Sport Individual
My E31 Repair and Information Website
My E38 Repair and Information Website
My E63/E64 Repair and Information Website
Chase - Heroes to a generation
1998 e31 840ci Sport, Individual. 2008 Aston Martin DB9. 2016 4.4 SDV8 Range Rover Vogue.
1959 Triumph Bonneville, 1969 T120R Triumph Bonneville, 1975 T160 Triumph Trident, 1990 Harley Davidson Fat Bot Grey Ghost, 2009 Triumph Bonneville 50th Anniversary model. 2014 Suzuki Gladius.
When in Rome, do as the Roman's do!
Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i
My BMW Repair YouTube Channel
My Current 840ci Sport Individual
My Current 650ci Sport Individual
My E31 Repair and Information Website
My E38 Repair and Information Website
My E63/E64 Repair and Information Website
Chase - Heroes to a generation
1998 e31 840ci Sport, Individual. 2008 Aston Martin DB9. 2016 4.4 SDV8 Range Rover Vogue.
1959 Triumph Bonneville, 1969 T120R Triumph Bonneville, 1975 T160 Triumph Trident, 1990 Harley Davidson Fat Bot Grey Ghost, 2009 Triumph Bonneville 50th Anniversary model. 2014 Suzuki Gladius.
If this is your daily driver, you probably don't need to keep it on a tender (but still good to do every once and while). I do it when I don't drive it for a while during the summer, and through most of the winter (I'm in the northeast and don't drive it in the winter). The car is kept outside under a cover, so it's kind of a pain to run an extension cord across the driveway. In the winter, I park it close to an outlet and keep it plugged in.
For oil, I that is what I used. But it does depend on your driving. I struggle to put 500 miles on a year, so wasn't that concerned about viscosity, just wanted synthetic.
My Cars - 1991 BMW 850i - mine for fun, 1993 Saab 900c - mine for fun, 2008 Lexus is250 - my daily driver, 2003 Dodge Durango - my wife's, 1994 Acura Legend - gave it to kid
I have been using the black and decker charger which is a lot cheaper than Ctek and it is working fine. There is a how to on this here.
For battery drain, GM needs to be removed and rebuilt or RM module needs to be replaced.
Oil is a long discussion, but I like Motul Xcess 5W40
I've tried quite a few oils in the V8, but have settled on this one because of the reduction in lifter noise:
https://www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/BMW_E3...ter_Change.htm
Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i
My BMW Repair YouTube Channel
My Current 840ci Sport Individual
My Current 650ci Sport Individual
My E31 Repair and Information Website
My E38 Repair and Information Website
My E63/E64 Repair and Information Website
Chase - Heroes to a generation
i had battery drain with the oem alarm installation. When that was removed , batterys stayed OK ! I even installed now a battery switch to be safe during long parking inside . Switch is in the trunk , where the batterys - connect to the cars body. I only may not forget to not close the trunk...so i have a towel in there , to use to prevent the lock working with the trunk "nearly" closed.
And yes, they are in parallel... so if one battery go's bad it pulls the other also down.
I also use conventional oil in my 840. I use Castrol GTX 20w50. I don't drive the car in winter so I don't really car about the low end of the viscosity. I find it interesting that the owners manual also recommends 15w40 which is mostly a weight used for diesel engines. I have considered using Shell Rotella T4 15w40 but only if I can't find the Castrol 20w50. So far I have been able to find it pretty reasonably.
I also feel pretty safe using the 20w50 on a day like today when I was red lining the motor while driving around like a "menace to society" passing anything and everything. Just sayin'.
Exide Extreme L5/49/H8 batteries at, believe it or not, Home Depot for $119
900 Cold Cranking Amps
1080 Cranking Amps
180min Reserve Capacity @ 25 Amps
I just picked up 4 of them.
'91 Dinan 860 Stage III (new 6L engine)
'91 Dinan 850 TT stage III (brand new engine) 21st Century Tech meets 18th Century Dinan...
'91 850i 6sp (mint) (sold)
'90 Dinan 750iL TT stage III (Guido - The Beast)
'94 850 CSi The Detroit Auto Show car (restored to factory perfect) (sold)
'96 850Ci, The George Carlin car
''73 3.0 csi, '08 535i, '03 X5 4.6is
...and a few other non BMW cars
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