cre8value

Hello!

Car is a 2009 S8. I'm seeking advice on how to code a non-Audi battery with no BEM sticker. I recently replaced the OEM Varta battery with a new AGM battery (95RPLT) which is listed as a direct replacement.

Reference 1: Ross Tech Manual - 61-Battery Regulation using CAN

Cannot use this ^, my new battery does not have a BEM sticker, nor does it have a 10 or 11-digit part number.

Some threads here on AudiWorld suggest incrementing the serial number by 1 in the VCDS battery recoding screens:

Reference 2: Battery replacement....

However, I read elsewhere on AudiWorld (cannot find that link right now) that the BEM system in the car will "misbehave" if the battery is not coded correctly, including non-VAG batteries.

Anyone have knowledge or suggestions on this? Thank you in advance.

Redd

I've just recently done the same thing on my Q5, replacing the 75A original AGM with an H8 (95A) under a different brand label. "Ignore the man behind the curtain."
After going through all the hoops, I found an Audi BEM for a 95A AGM battery, which actually showed as a Landrover part with a slightly different 92A Varta as the Audi part. Apparently Varta contracts with JCI in the US, and the JCI battery is 95A by US numbers, rather than the 92A of a German Varta.

SO after going in mad circles, because it sure as **** looks like all those numbers in the VCDS mean the battery management system has the information you'd only need for "smart charging" tailored to the battery....so far I found nothing to support that. In fact, AoA has said the car is only using all that information to figure out how to power things down, to conserve the battery when the car is off, and to warn you with an estimate (not based in reality) of when it might need replacement.

IOW, use the closest BEM you have. Just increment the existing serial number by one digit or, as I did, recode it with a date string as a reminder. All the "MUST BE RECODED!" stuff is apparently FUD.

Yes, my car has fully charged the newer bigger battery without complaint. And the last battery apparently dies young because whatever the car is doing for power management after parking, it still isn't actually doing a proper charge and power down, it is just doing "This is how you should operate our car". Apparently having the specific serial number and BEM in the car also allows the dealers to check that when you are claiming a battery warranty failure, that the battery cleverly coded into the car actually is the one physically installed there, in case you decided, say, to swap your new one out for your friend's old one as a favor. Nonsense.

Perhaps if I used the smaller 75A BEM, the car would power down FASTER (do I care if the keyless entry goes to sleep sooner?) and that would actually help conserve my battery all the more. Hmmm.

Incidentally, I found:
LANDROVER: 95Ah
BRAND VARTA
MPN 595901085D852
Product Key Features
Oberflächenbeschaffenheit
NEU
Referenznummer(n) OEM
0092S5A130, 595901085D852

VARTA WEB SITE:
Silver Dynamic AGM 595 901 085 Specs
Model: 595 901 085 <<<----aka BEM
Capacity: 95 Ah

--Red

cre8value

Red, thank you very much for the information! Very helpful!

Audi-S5

Hey there, did you get it fixed?


I have a 2011 Audi S5 Cabriolet which had a non-OEM Varta battery from Battery World in it when I brought it second hand. A couple of times I received a "Battery Weak, Please start the car" message on the MMI system - once whilst driving, ended up cutting all the systems and nearly caused an accident - After 30 mins the car was back to normal. It happened again whilst the car was off and I was listening to the radio for literally 2 mins. Thought it could be an alternator fault so took it to Audi for a diagGnostics check. They said the battery was not managing the systems correctly as it was not coded and could not be coded to the car as it had no BEM code. Ended up forking out $950 for a new one which did include Audi performing a diagnostic check. Would be good to know for future reference 😊

Redd

"Ended up forking out $950 for a new one which did include Audi performing a diagnostic check. "
WTF?!
And I thought the $400 my dealer wanted to install a new battery was beyond ludicrous. For the same $400 (actually, $350) I bought the Ross Tech VAGCOM software AND a new higher capacity battery made by the same actual maker, JCI. Oink Oink.
OK, add another hour of labor (sure, right) for a diagnostic scan (although they could have said "run it and see if this fixes it) but that's still a criminal amount of money to charge for a battery replacement. There's absolutely no reason--beyond arrogance--that they couldn't just enter the BEM code from a battery they already had in stock, or had in any other car on the lot.
Especially since all the "Varta" OEM batteries in the US are apparently just private labeled JCI batteries, and JCI make batteries under many different brand labels, presumably the same (on the most part, if not entirely) aside from the label.



That's WAY above book rate for a battery replacement, and worth a complaint to AoA and to your local Consumer Affairs department, whatever they call it there. CC'd to the dealer principal, to see what creative excuse or apology they extend to you.

Audi-S5

Confirming this was $950 AUD which would be around $650 USD. Still damn expensive! Looked to be no other way around it, until reading this article 😊

Redd

Even with the AU$ conversion, wow. And here I thought our US shop rates had gone way past ballistic. At that price I guess the mechanics can afford weekly haircuts, daily manicures, and fully bespoke coveralls. Which is, after all, what one might expect from any luxury car maker. (Sigh.) I confess I remember when $75 an hour was a high dealer shop rate and $100 was shocking. Then again...$3500-5000 bought a lot of car back then, too.

Audi-S5

Hey there, this is AUD - still a complete ******* rip off 😊

Cacique

By the way JCI is now CLARIOS : Former JCI battery business re-launches as Clarios to focus on advanced battery growth - Batteries International

2ducs

So what happens when a new battery is installed in a D4 S8 without coding of any sort? As in swap old with new.