need a battery for the 540... what to buy?!

[SharkmanBMW]

The battery is toast!
Showing a yellow dot in the eye.

Which battery for the 540 is cheap?
The car is for sale so I don't want to overdo it!

Walmart is closest... am I dreaming they would have the right model??!!

advice please.

[SharkmanBMW]

for the record, there are no V8 battery threads in the search!

Can i use the same as a 6 cyl?

[Russell]

Think aftermarket sourced same battery for all e34s. Lot of people like the Autozone battery. Archives should have more data.

[DaCan23]

I got a Autozone 49D I think it is, make sure it has the vent tube with it. Bout $70

[SharkmanBMW]

No autozone in Canada... I am not certain where to get it... we have Canadian Tire, Walmart..... there are no real parts dealers here like autozone.:(

[Dash01]

A couple weeks ago I bought a nice battery for my 535i at Costco, pretty cheap.

It has a 100 month warranty, with 100% replacement at no pro-ration of price for the first 36 months. Works fine so far. $5 core charge on the old battery.

I'm hoping for some sort of minor glitch every 35 months, so as to always have a 100% warrantied battery in the car.:D

Measure the height of the battery bay under your back seat, and look at the Costco batteries with recessed terminals in correct position to fit your cables. I did all this in the parking lot, then got my $5 refund for the old battery, in ~15 mins. :)

[DaCan23]

Check their website maybe they'll ship to canada?


No autozone in Canada... I am not certain where to get it... we have Canadian Tire, Walmart..... there are no real parts dealers here like autozone.:(

[DaCan23]

Also Interstate batteries has the same one, manufactured by same company, just pricier.


No autozone in Canada... I am not certain where to get it... we have Canadian Tire, Walmart..... there are no real parts dealers here like autozone.:(

[SharkmanBMW]

A couple weeks ago I bought a nice battery for my 535i at Costco, pretty cheap.

It has a 100 month warranty, with 100% replacement at no pro-ration of price for the first 36 months. Works fine so far. $5 core charge on the old battery.

I'm hoping for some sort of minor glitch every 35 months, so as to always have a 100% warrantied battery in the car.:D

Measure the height of the battery bay under your back seat, and look at the Costco batteries with recessed terminals in correct position to fit your cables. I did all this in the parking lot, then got my $5 refund for the old battery, in ~15 mins. :)


how much was it? Costco is not too far, thanks

[Qube]

Costco or Sams Club is your best bet. Walmart only sells Energizer and Canadian Tire hypes their own brand. You can try Princess Auto if you have one.

[DueyT]

Chris, do you have a PartsSource? I just got a Champion 49D from them a few weeks ago for about $100 and got $5 back for the OEM core return! :)

The group 49 came with the vent kit...fit with only a slight bend to the tie-down bar (as I think group 49 is slightly higher...3/8"? than the OEM).

Cheers,
Duey

[SharkmanBMW]

I found this for Johnson batteries, the main mfg of most brands... if walmart sells energiser, then they have the one I need, a 49L
use the batt finder for details.

http://www.autobatteries.com/brands/index.asp

does anyone know if walmart sells energiser in Canada?
the same mfg also makes these that apparently fit...
EverStart, Energizer, Power Connection, DieHard, Duralast

[SharkmanBMW]

Chris, do you have a PartsSource? I just got a Champion 49D from them a few weeks ago for about $100 and got $5 back for the OEM core return! :)

The group 49 came with the vent kit...fit with only a slight bend to the tie-down bar (as I think group 49 is slightly higher...3/8"? than the OEM).

Cheers,
Duey


No parts source here as far as I know... Quebec is the land of the french, they only sell half of what is available everywhere else!

No Taco Bell either if you can believe that!!! No one wants to translate the menu to french!
Maybe I'll open one... what does it cost for a Taco Bell restaurant set up?

[DueyT]

Trying to remember the name of the garage/indy way out on Taschereau I used to go to and get work done and by stuff from...past the Jack Astor's...he sold all sorts of stuff at pretty good jobber prices...it'll come to me, I hope...otherwise, perhaps "Pneu Canadien"? ;)

Cheers,
Duey

[Qube]

Did you read my post? Heh. YES Walmart sells Energizer. In Ontario anyway.

[Traian]

Not sure if anyone posted this yet, but neither Canadian Tire nor Walmart have a battery for the 540i. Napa has it, but it's like $140! (CAD)

[SharkmanBMW]

Not sure if anyone posted this yet, but neither Canadian Tire nor Walmart have a battery for the 540i. Napa has it, but it's like $140! (CAD)


that makes me sad:(

[Dash01]

I dunno what battery your 540i uses, but my '90 535i was not listed in the Costco fitment book at the battery rack.

So, I just measured the height of the old battery and noted the position of the terminals, and found a Costco battery of similar height and sufficient amperage. It had recessed terminals so the cables would reach and not have a chance of a short circuit on the seat assembly, etc.. (I suppose your E34 battery bay under the back seat is probably the same as mine.)

It was around ~$60 and (as noted before) the Costco battery has a 100 month warranty. On a life-cycle-cost analysis, this battery/warranty has got to set some sort of record for $$ to longevity ratio.

[SharkmanBMW]

I ended up buying a Delco, same size, vent tube...

$115 Canadian, fair I guess!

[joshua43214]

I ended up buying a Delco, same size, vent tube...

$115 Canadian, fair I guess!

HAHA, I would have recomended a delco but you said you where selling and implied you wanted cheaper. Delco damn near best battery you can get IMO, seen 7 year old 5year batteries easily pass the load test. They are very good in BMW's since they don't over load the battery with acid, fewer problems with them leaking every where.

Only thing I don't like about them is the case breaks too easily.

I put the cheapest Delco battery I could get in my '76 chevy 1 ton truck almost 8 years ago. Dunno how long it was supposed to last, but the truck gets driven maybe 5 times a year, and it still starts the truck, though I had to charge it last weekend.

[BillionPa]

Interstate is the US OEM batt supplier for BMW i think, or at least used to be.