Replacing OEM battery S4 B8

[Crucible35]

The Absorbed Glass Matting in the battery acts like a sponge, absorbing the lead acid in the battery to keep it stable and cohesive to the lead plating in the battery. By keeping the acid stable, there is less deterioration in the battery over time due to the acid sloshing around and losing it's cohesion with the plates. It's a superior battery technology in these applications due to the inherent vibrations/movement of the car. The lead plating in the battery can be thicker or thinner depending on the quality and size/footprint of the battery....but, yeah, that's where the 58 lbs comes from....sounds about right.

[BucDan]

What size battery is recommended? H8?

[Jroyalty7]

Yes, but I used an h9 it fit just fine

Sent from my SM-G955U using Crapatalk

[plev72]

I just decided to pull the trigger and get a new battery as well. I've got the originally battery still fine in my 2012 S4 (bought November 2011). I've had the "low battery" pop on occassionally over the last year or so - but as the car still starts strong haven't worried about it. Moving to Morocco in July and figure if I don't replace the battery it will be dead by the time it gets there. If anyone is interested, I also went with the Advanced Auto Platinum, the H8 and H9 are the same price - but I keep getting a 20% off popup - so $152 + tax and core with free shipping to the house. I'm assuming the battery reset on my VAG tuner will sort the battery out.

[BucDan]

For those that recode, are you guys recoding after the new battery is installed, or before to pre-set it up? I feel like an idiot for asking this question.

[ni4nibaby]

For those that recode, are you guys recoding after the new battery is installed, or before to pre-set it up? I feel like an idiot for asking this question.

Well I have the same question. I plan to install the new OEM battery and then drive it to the dealer to have them recode it. Dealer want to charge me $80.00 for recoding. Now I'm searching to see if I can recode the battery using OBD 11.

[Matthew_VA]

Recode after new battery is installed.

[Leifmb]

MerkurRS - VERY good to know the Autocraft are basically Varta batteries in our case! It looks to me like an improved version with a Hydrometer Eye also. My thought is as long as it has the BEM code, I'll be good to go once my battery craps out!

Leif

[LeadToRome]

Hadn't even been thinking about this but with an '11, delivered Sept. '10. it's time. Thanks.

[Q5OnTheMove]

Maybe we start posting what each persons battery info is, CCA, Ah, agm or not?

This way others can easily code there cars to batteries correctly (including upgrading them if they want, H8 to H9).

[audistealth]

Maybe we start posting what each persons battery info is, CCA, Ah, agm or not?

This way others can easily code there cars to batteries correctly (including upgrading them if they want, H8 to H9).

If people do this, please mention if B&O audio as well

[ModItNow]

Not sure if anyone could give me any pointers but for the life of me I cannot seem to get the control module thing back in place. It mounts to the back of the battery with a bracket. Can't figure out how to attach it.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Audizine mobile app

[Midnight_Rider]

Thanks for this thread. I just went through this. I'd like to add for others in the future.

My OEM (2014) is dying slowly for about three weeks where the gauge needle would either slow to turn on or slow to climb up. Then one day, it just wouldn't start. Here is what I went through:

1. Went through all the threads.
2. Find out the difference between AGM and Flooded (About $50 in cost difference).
- AGM: Absorbent Glass Matt:
a. Still needs Venting
b. It does better with Vibration: Flooded will slush around
c. You require this if you have STOP AND START feature in your car - This is also where the battery management comes in addition to low power management
d. No Maintenance - don't have to pour water in or check water level due to the weather

- Flooded: Water in battery
a. Still needs venting - Vent and vent hose for AGM is provided for B8.5 OEM battery
b. It doesn't do so good with Vibration and side to side - Like in racing. This is why you use a sealed vented box for racing - unlike AGM
c. You can't use this if you have STOP AND START feature in your car.
d. If it gets hot, you probably need to top off it with water. Read that it does well until about -15 degrees, but not 100% confirmed

I purchased the Advance Auto Gold 95R/H9 -110 Amp, 950 CCA/ 950 crank amperage (50 less than AGM Gold) for $130. I would have purchased the AGM, but it was going to take 5 business days, and I need the car.

I hope this helps. I'll update everyone to see what happens when I put this in tonight if I need VAGCOM changes or not.

[purelife]

My 2014 S4 battery is still fine after almost 5 years. My next battery probably will be a higher Amp Hour so my dash cam can last longer in parking mode.

[achilleas101]

Going to add my experience to this thread.

My OEM battery is slightly different than others, basically the code ends with E instead of F. Its 95ah and 450 amps (is that the cca?) and 760 regular cranking amps? i assume that's what the values mean. Anyway, mine's smaller i guess because i dont have Nav, so it doesnt require as much juice. Either way I upgraded to the Advance Auto platinum agm h8 which is also 95ah but 900 cca.

Recoding was an adventure. Cant find a code anywhere that fits all the parameters. So just changed a digit in the serial number and the life values reset (look at the can gateway-19, measuring blocks, #022, the last value forget the name). I figure the 95ah was the most critical value to match up. I think that how life expectancy is calculated (ah x 50). So after you set a new code it resets the life use and therefore calculates how much is left. The various codes i tried seem to alter the Ah value but the others were read from the battery. So that's where i drew my conclusion from.

[SFWhiteS4]

So anyone know what the size is for the b8.5 s4? Was looking at autozone and it says h6,h7,h8,h9 all fit. Anyone buy autozone ones? and what size did you use

- - - Updated - - -

My 2014 S4 battery is still fine after almost 5 years. My next battery probably will be a higher Amp Hour so my dash cam can last longer in parking mode.

What you end up using for battery?

[LmG7119]

Can somebody post a part number for H9?

[Atrevido]

I bought an Advance Auto Parts "AutoCraft Gold" H9, 950 CCA. Part # 95R/H9. Ordered it online with 25% discount for $123 plus tax. Thanks to previous words of wisdom on this forum I also bought
a battery tender to keep all the juices flowing while removing and replacing the battery. I did not recode the battery: no error codes to report.

AutoCraft Gold H9-950 CCA.jpg

[Turnpipe]

You didn't have to recode?

[jsh139]

Bought the same battery. Got the same discount. No recoding. No problems.

[Atrevido]

You didn't have to recode?

No recoding involved. I read a bunch of threads on this topic: half the folks said it was necessary, and the other half said it wasn't.

[kristokes]

Setting the correct adaptation is recommended to prevent premature wear on the new battery.

[Atrevido]

An excellent point. Given the Florida heat, there's no reason not to extend the life of my new battery and protect my investment.
Just recoded a few minutes ago with OBDeleven.

[c spoke]

Replacing my first battery on this car (2014 S4) Bought an AutoCraft AGM H8 from Advanced Auto Parts (or at least that's what I payed for). When I got home, I noticed there were labels hiding underneath the outer labels. Just curious if this would this be concerning to any of you?
https://imgur.com/KC8GBm7
https://imgur.com/SjWN90N
https://imgur.com/wLFA2bH




I realize that AAP bought out CarQuest, but that was back in 2013...

[sacandagaD]

Replacing my first battery on this car (2014 S4) Bought an AutoCraft AGM H8 from Advanced Auto Parts (or at least that's what I payed for). When I got home, I noticed there were labels hiding underneath the outer labels. Just curious if this would this be concerning to any of you?
https://imgur.com/KC8GBm7
https://imgur.com/SjWN90N
https://imgur.com/wLFA2bH




I realize that AAP bought out CarQuest, but that was back in 2013...

Nah, wouldn't worry about the rebranding itself, but I'd wonder about the manufacture date of the battery, has it been sitting on a shelf for several years?

[c spoke]

I was thinking the same thing. There's a sticker on the side with a date of 04/19, but now I have trust issues with these labels lol.. they could have just slapped that on there too, trying to get rid of old inventory perhaps?

[sacandagaD]

I was thinking the same thing. There's a sticker on the side with a date of 04/19, but now I have trust issues with these labels lol.. they could have just slapped that on there too, trying to get rid of old inventory perhaps?

Yeah, doesn't instill a lot of confidence, but probably OK. If you haven't installed it yet, you could go back to AAP and say "hey, WTF"?

[c spoke]

Yeah, doesn't instill a lot of confidence, but probably OK. If you haven't installed it yet, you could go back to AAP and say "hey, WTF"?

Was the very first thing I did when I noticed this. Of course I got a canned reply from the guy who answered the phone at AAP, telling me about how they are the same brand etc.. When I pried further into why it would even have a CarQuest label on it with an AutoCraft label carefully placed over it (but not perfectly), considering they acquired CQ over 6 years ago, the guy got impatient with me and let me know that he had no idea at all. He said look for a round sticker on the side with a date and you should be good to go then hung up.

Here's a square label I found on the side instead:
https://imgur.com/knfiA6p

Kind of annoyed at this but I guess there's nothing I can do really. I'll just keep a close eye on the battery levels going forward. At least it comes with a 3yr warranty...

[Novarider]

Was the very first thing I did when I noticed this. Of course I got a canned reply from the guy who answered the phone at AAP, telling me about how they are the same brand etc.. When I pried further into why it would even have a CarQuest label on it with an AutoCraft label carefully placed over it (but not perfectly), considering they acquired CQ over 6 years ago, the guy got impatient with me and let me know that he had no idea at all. He said look for a round sticker on the side with a date and you should be good to go then hung up.

Here's a square label I found on the side instead:
https://imgur.com/knfiA6p

Kind of annoyed at this but I guess there's nothing I can do really. I'll just keep a close eye on the battery levels going forward. At least it comes with a 3yr warranty...

I wouldn't accept that. Take it back and ask for another one. If they refuse call your bank/cc company and file a claim.

[Teamnct4]

Can you recode new batteries with Carista as well, or just OBDeleven?

[c spoke]

I wouldn't accept that. Take it back and ask for another one. If they refuse call your bank/cc company and file a claim.

Because I was in a bind and needed to get somewhere after being unable to start for a few days, I went ahead and installed it anyway. I figure if it's an artificial manufacturer date they slapped on there, it will show with premature wear and I'll call upon the 3 year warranty it came with.

To make matters even worse, the damn thing has no BEM sticker on it so I didn't do any recoding after install. OBD11 is showing the battery levels at less than 30% which isn't surprising as it still shows the OEM codes in there. I imagine this is bad and the system will try to overcharge the hell out of the new battery?

There's a tiny QR code on the side that, when scanned, just shows the numbers printed next to it. I can't find any manufacturer code anywhere which is what it looks like OBD11 needs to code this.

Have any of you out there self installed and coded an AutoCraft AGM Platinum H8 in this vehicle? Any tips would be super appreciated! I've read through more recoding threads than I can count but still can't do this right...

[c spoke]

http://imgur.com/gallery/zbFuvAl

Image of the small QR that's on the H8 battery side, and image of what OBD11 is looking for to recode... Still showing OEM parameters from old battery.

Any ideas? Is it true that these batteries made by Johnson Controls so could I potentially use JCL as the 3 letter manufacturer code? And can I just make up a bogus number for the serial? It looks like the BEM number, ending in F, is actually there on the battery side..?

Why the F is this such a ridiculous gray area lol it's comical..

[evanb]

To make matters even worse, the damn thing has no BEM sticker on it so I didn't do any recoding after install. OBD11 is showing the battery levels at less than 30% which isn't surprising as it still shows the OEM codes in there. I imagine this is bad and the system will try to overcharge the hell out of the new battery?
.

Just change the last digit of the old BEM number and you should be good.

[Mike-s4]

Just change the last digit of the old BEM number and you should be good.

I have upgraded battery to AGM. (pep boys has 25% off. Bosch $148 before tax). So, there is no BEM with Bosch. Does the BEM contain certain data about battery stats? If I used old code with 1 digit difference will it create an improper match if battery is different type/amps etc?

[TC_S4]

When you change a new battery, you do a battery adaptation to tell de computer that you have a battery and regulate the voltage in consequence for the charging. The question is what happen, if you never did the adaptation when you changed the battery, and in a year or 2 two, bought a vagcom cable and you decide to do a battery adaptation. Will the computer, know it's not a brand new battery or it will charge the battery like it was new?

[S4'ed]

I just changed my battery too...the original 10 year old was still fine, but I didn't want to live on borrowed time anymore.

From all I have read, and guessed, all the Battery Management system "cares" about is the AH capacity of the battery, I don't think it cares about the Cold Cranking Amp rating (DIN or SAE). So, if the new battery is the same AH rating as the old, then you can just change one digit of the original BEM code (the serial number portion) to reset the Battery Management System. But, if your new battery is a different AH rating than the old, there is more to change in the BEM coding. The system needs to know the new AH rating, in addition to the serial number change for the system reset. I don't think the system cares whether it is an AGM or wet cell type.

So, how do you code the AH rating of the battery? ...follow along...a little techno-trivia...
There are 3 versions of the Battery Energy Management system used during B8/B8.5 production, depending on the year. The versions are:
#1 has a separate Battery Management module which shows up in the VAGCOM module list as "Battery Regulation"
#2 is integrated into the CAN Gateway Module with "CAN" communication protocol
#3 is also integrated into the CAN Gateway module but uses the newer "UDS" protocol.

For version #1 and #2, I think the system gets the AH rating from the battery part number portion of the coding. The module must have a part number "lookup" table inside. So, if you change the AH rating, you need to change the part number to correspond with the new AH rating.
For version #3, there is a VCDS adaption field to enter the AH rating, labeled "Battery Size".

So, if you have version #1 or #2, here are some factory battery pns and AH ratings, with a BEM code, in case your new battery has no BEM code sticker, and is a different AH rating from the original battery. All "0" are zeros..not ohs...
8K0915105D AH=80 BEM = 8K0915105D MLA 190723N0A6
8K0915105E AH=95 BEM = 8K0915105E MLA 180319JWV0
8K0915105F AH=110 BEM = 8K0915105F VA0 390729T0R3


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJAScg6JrYI

[Dr GP]

You didn't have to recode?

Re-coding is not necessary. I ran a poll a while back. No one who did not re-code their battery ever reported having an issue. The Smart electrical system will adapt on its own. If you have a vag- com or similar and want to do it, go for it. If you don't, no problem.

[S4'ed]

If your car went into "Battery Protect" mode (because the battery is basically on its last legs), then you must do a recode to reset the system, to get it out of the protect mode.

[LmG7119]

I just changed my battery too...the original 10 year old was still fine, but I didn't want to live on borrowed time anymore.

From all I have read, and guessed, all the Battery Management system "cares" about is the AH capacity of the battery, I don't think it cares about the Cold Cranking Amp rating (DIN or SAE). So, if the new battery is the same AH rating as the old, then you can just change one digit of the original BEM code (the serial number portion) to reset the Battery Management System. But, if your new battery is a different AH rating than the old, there is more to change in the BEM coding. The system needs to know the new AH rating, in addition to the serial number change for the system reset. I don't think the system cares whether it is an AGM or wet cell type.

So, how do you code the AH rating of the battery? ...follow along...a little techno-trivia...
There are 3 versions of the Battery Energy Management system used during B8/B8.5 production, depending on the year. The versions are:
#1 has a separate Battery Management module which shows up in the VAGCOM module list as "Battery Regulation"
#2 is integrated into the CAN Gateway Module with "CAN" communication protocol
#3 is also integrated into the CAN Gateway module but uses the newer "UDS" protocol.

For version #1 and #2, I think the system gets the AH rating from the battery part number portion of the coding. The module must have a part number "lookup" table inside. So, if you change the AH rating, you need to change the part number to correspond with the new AH rating.
For version #3, there is a VCDS adaption field to enter the AH rating, labeled "Battery Size".

So, if you have version #1 or #2, here are some factory battery pns and AH ratings, with a BEM code, in case your new battery has no BEM code sticker, and is a different AH rating from the original battery. All "0" are zeros..not ohs...
8K0915105D AH=80 BEM = 8K0915105D MLA 190723N0A6
8K0915105E AH=95 BEM = 8K0915105E MLA 180319JWV0
8K0915105F AH=110 BEM = 8K0915105F VA0 390729T0R3


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJAScg6JrYI

So for Champion AGM Battery, Group Size H8 Part #: H8-900CHAGM https://www.pepboys.com/champion-agm...roduct/2071679
what should I use?

[S4'ed]

That is a 90AH battery, so I would use the 95AH BEM code: 8K0915105E MLA 180319JWV0