mecgmecg

Just had to replace my original car battery and went with an Audi dealer purchased Enertec battery (for maximum Battery Energy Management compatibility) and couldn't find a single thread anywhere on how to do the coding in the car's computer with VCDS as it does not have the BEM sticker that the stock battery has on it. And, yes, it would seem it IS important to code it correctly in the computer so the Battery Energy Management system can properly manage the power going into and coming out of the battery. Will your car run without doing the coding? Probably. Will your new battery last as long without doing the coding than it will with the coding? Maybe not. Perhaps even probably not. With the old battery information in the computer the BEM system will undoubtedly do what it's supposed to do with the knowledge of the old battery and not the new one. Seems to me, as a computer software guy, that this will not bode well for the new Enertec replacement battery. At the VERY least the date the battery was built (which is part of the coding) should be changed so the car knows how old the battery is. This in contrast to what I've read many times - just change one of the characters and let 'er rip. Yeah, that will make everything work but.......

OK, let's get coding:

1. I got to the current BEM code in VCDS under 19-CAN Gateway -> Long Adaptation -> Channel 4 -> Battery Identification/Replacement. This code should reflect the info from the last installed battery. Just as an FYI, if the code here is different than the BEM on the old battery you know that it hadn't been applied the last time the battery was replaced.

2. I applied the BEM code in the following manner:

- (N) Part number - (11 digits) - Enter in the part number that's in big letters on the sticker on the battery. Note that the Enertec battery's part number starts with 000. This just means it can go into either a VW or Audi. Keep/use the "8K0" instead of the 000. Also, your Enertec battery MAY have an 11th character. Mine had one. My number has an H as the last/11th character. VCDS ignored it completely and left that character a space, so if your part number has the 11th and VCDS does the same thing roll with it and let it stay a space.
- (V) Vendor code - (3 digits) - in this case it's JCB for Enertec as it is actually Johnson Controls that makes the battery (who also makes several other good brands, like Interstate and Sears batteries).
- (S) Serial number (10 digits, with the first 6 as the manufacturing date of the battery and the last 4 as part of the serial number of the battery.)

This is what the string will look like: NNNNNNNNNNN VVV DDMMYYSSSS


OK, I'll use my Enertec battery swap as an example so hopefully you can follow along.

1. On my battery, the part number was 000 915 105 DH. As mentioned above, I kept the first 3 digits as 8K0 instead of the 000 on the battery. Make sure to skip the spaces between the number groups in the part number and enter in your number like this: 8K0915105DH.
2. The Enertec battery is a Johnson Control battery, so the vendor code is JCB.
3. This last one involves using a QR label reader to read the QR label on the side of the battery. Mine came out to: 205# 000 915 105 DH #0803800#588119201#15031611*205EMC3G3F00WX*=. That's a lot of gobbledygook. The first part we need is the first 6 numbers after the 4th #. In my case, that's 150316. That's the date my battery was manufactured - March 15th, 2016. So, the first 6 numbers of our serial number is 150316. Even if you don't enter in all of your battery info you should at LEAST enter in this mfg. date into VCDS so your car knows the age of your battery. The next part is the a few characters of the last batch of numbers. From what I've seen on other folks batteries and what they entered as well as compared my own you need the 10th thru the 13th characters the finish out the serial number. In my case, that was F00W. You can disregard the rest. This completes the serial number, which is your equivalent of: 150316F00W.
4. I tested all of the above and VCDS was happy. Now save it and you are done!


Before anyone asks me, no, I do not know how to input other batteries that are not sold by an Audi dealer (Sears, Interstate, etc.). I pieced the above info together with tidbits of a few other threads on the net as well as my own experimentation and observation and trial and error. If you are lucky enough to get one with a BEM sticker on it your work is done for you.

As always, YMMV.....

porschetech

Thank you so much for this article. I have been going nuts trying to code a new battery with no BEM sticker. Even Ross-TECH wasn't helpful this time.

All the best,
Kurt

A8skyhawk

Just wanted to add to this thread as I think it has some incorrect information - namely that the BEM code is formatted as follows: NNNNNNNNNNN VVV DDMMYYSSSS. In short, I don't think DDMMYYSSSS is the correct format for the serial number of the battery. Just google BEM codes and you will see many have serial numbers with nonsensical dates (if they were formatted in the way the OP advertises). Take the following BEM code for example:



A date of 320531 doesn't make any sense...

I do agree with the OP in that the batteries have to be coded. However, a battery purchased from Audi direct for a car equipped with a BEM system should have the BEM sticker on it.. There shouldn't be any need to make up a serial number for an original OEM battery purchased direct from Audi.

mecgmecg

Yeah, I've learned since I posted my original message that the BEM coding may be different for different years or trim levels of your car. My instructions are what works for my 2013 A4 Premium with the 8 speed Tiptronic. Other years and/or trim levels (and therefor different sized batteries) may vary.

porksoda

He almost had it, date IS encoded in the BEM code, to extract the date you can read the bem code or you have to scan the QR and work with in (Source: AZ user SDF1)

e:g the this following battery:

QR Scan: 205# 4F0 915 105 E #1 #3324863349 #25091038 *205 JCB1A9P08P-*
Listed on Battery:


after the fourth # is the date code: so, 25091038 (MMDDYY)
To Create the BEM code:
1 - JCB (Last String first 3 characters),
2 - Date code in reverse order YY DD MM so 1A0925, &
3 - Last six digits of the last string and drop last character, so P08P-*, here drop the * and - is not alpha numeric so drop that as well.

We Get: JCB1A0925P08P

Seems to work with a lot of codes, only thing was i had to change 10 into 1A which maybe a problem but seems to work with the MLA batteries well enough.

nightrider77

Seems my JCB (JCI) battery has different BEM coding.

DataMatrix on label states:

And serial is JCB48110441LL

captain_video

Lots of aftermarket batteries don't have BEM codes on them. I researched this a while back when I needed to replace the battery in my '14 A4 Quattro. I bought the battery from Advance Auto Parts and it didn't have the sticker. The general consensus is that if you don't have a sticker, just go in and tweak the serial number. I just went in and changed a single digit using my VAG-COM. So far I've had no problems with the battery replacement after almost a full year. You just need to make sure the replacement battery is the same capacity as the OEM battery so it doesn't over or under charge it. I believe that when you change the code it's just telling the system that you installed a new battery.

apoelistas

When upgrading the battery to a different amperage you have to follow a different approach, especially if there is no bem code . This is what I did in the past and happy I upgraded to 100 amps battery but used a bem code that its CCA and amps are under that (I think coded to 95 amps bem code if I can recall).

audi-art

maybe a little further explanation serial number puzzle:
the year number "10" you had to change it into 1A

the qr code on my battery gave this reading : 205# 4L0 915 105 #1#332486349#15091137*205 JCB1B9F0IP.*=
so for the date is 150911 so the year of fabication was (20)11
on my bem code the serial is JCB1B0915F0IP ...
deducting the 1A (YEAR 10) and the 1B (YEAR 11) in my bem code i get the idea that :
0=A
1=B
2=C
3=D
4=E
5=F
6=G
7=H
8=I
9=J

still puzzling on the last part of the bem code how that is made up in combination with serialnumber

audi-art