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SI M61 01 02
General Electrical Systems

April 2015
Technical Service

This Service Information bulletin supersedes SI M61 01 02 dated May 2014.
designates changes to this revision
SUBJECT

Battery Maintenance Requirements: Battery Care
MODEL

All (new vehicles in MINI dealer inventory)
SITUATION

Proper battery maintenance is vital when MINI vehicles are in your dealer’s inventory. Allowing a vehicle’s
battery voltage to drop below 12.0 volts (12.0V) permanently reduces the battery life expectancy and can
cause premature failure of the battery.
We provide a flexible battery maintenance system every MINI dealer can use in accordance with their
particular needs. This bulletin explains the 2014 Battery Charging calendar, charging systems and a simplified
tool and battery voltage checking procedure below.
INFORMATION

To transition the reimbursement of the battery maintenance step from the QCI to the new Battery Care
Program described in the procedure section, a reduction in the QCI time allowances was necessary.
For more information on the updated QCI payment and the related claim submission information, please refer
to SI M01 01 08.
Your dealer will receive a separate payment for properly maintaining batteries on in-stock vehicles
through miscellaneous billing.
PROCEDURE - 12V BATTERY SYSTEMS

New Vehicles Arriving at Your Dealer
Upon receipt of a new vehicle, remove the battery log form (see attachment) from the glove compartment and
complete section “A.”
IMPORTANT: Check also if the car is due for charging according to the charging calendar (car is assigned
to the color of the current week!). If yes, please check the State of Charge (SoC). If it is below 71% (12.5 V),
please recharge the car before it goes into storage.
Definitely check the instrument cluster for battery-related check control messages to determine the condition
of the 12-volt battery.
Open the vehicle and make sure it is in transport mode. Press the Start/Stop button and wait until all check
control messages are displayed. Refer to the chart below for all applicable check control messages.
Vehicle Check Control Displays and Actions

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For F56 (Cooper/Cooper S) vehicles:

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If an indicator shows that the battery is less than 30% SoC (12V), perform the following steps:
1. Enter a comment with the VIN in the Bill of Lading (Delivery Receipt).
2. Perform energy diagnosis to check if there is a vehicle malfunction.
3. Submit a warranty claim with the comment: “Battery was delivered heavily discharged.”
Using a fluke meter upon delivery is not recommended, because an accurate voltage value is only guaranteed
after the 12V battery has been sitting for at least 4 hours.
The maintenance tracking system provides for 3 distinct options:
1. The vehicle goes into storage (back lot) or in a new vehicle display (not in the showroom)
• The vehicle may or may not be in Transport Mode.
A four-week charging cycle and calendar have been established for these cases.
The vehicle arrives marked with a color-coded round sticker on the windshield. Do not remove this
sticker under any circumstance until the vehicle is retailed. The respective color (four options) indicates
that the vehicle’s battery voltage must be checked in accordance with the new calendar on a fourweek cycle.
Recharge whenever the battery voltage is less than 12.5V or 71% SoC. MINI recommends using the
LED 12V Charging Indicator to determine if a certain vehicle has to be recharged. (For testing and
charging equipment, refer to SI M04 08 09.)

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This LED indicator has to be connected to the vehicle permanently, and eliminates the need to unlock
the vehicle for measuring the SoC of the 12V battery. The colors below apply to the charging
calendar’s SoC thresholds, and are as follows:
Green: Voltage is > 12.5V (71% SOC)
Yellow: Voltage is between 12.0V and 12.5V => Recharge
Red: Voltage < 12.0V (30% SOC) => Replace battery on new cars
Every time a battery is checked, record the voltage in section “B” of the BATTERY LOG FORM.
IMPORTANT: The LED indicator has to be connected to the car for at least 4 hours in order for
it to indicate the correct battery condition!
2. The vehicle goes into the showroom, or a similar display area
• The electrical system is “Customer ready,” and
• The vehicle has been taken out of Transport Mode using the MINI Diagnosis System.
When in the showroom display, energy consumption is frequent and unpredictable because of the
showroom traffic. A four-week charging cycle will not suffice, due to the increased current draw
imposed on the battery. This is because of frequent usage of the vehicle’s electrical components
(demonstrations, product familiarization, etc.).
To ensure the battery charge is maintained, connect the battery via the underhood charging terminals to
a suitable power supply (SI M04 08 09).
If the showroom vehicle battery has to be disconnected due to state regulations, check the battery
voltage on a regular basis to ensure the state of charge is maintained above 12.5V. Record when the
battery is recharged in section “C” of the BATTERY LOG FORM.
Note 1: For those MINI dealers which have established their own working battery maintenance
procedure which fulfills MINI guidelines, Section C can be used to track the charging of those vehicles.
3. The battery draw has been minimized for storage purposes
• The vehicle battery has been disconnected.
With the battery draw minimized, a 12-week charging cycle can be followed. Use section “D” of the
BATTERY LOG FORM to document when the charging has been performed.
The columns on the form are identified by the colors white, red and green of the 12-week charging
calendar, designating the months when the vehicles are to be charged. The windshield labels can also be
used to track these vehicles, with the exception of the 4th color, yellow. Therefore, vehicles received
with a yellow label will need to be reassigned another color.
The 12 week charging cycle requires the battery to be recharged at every check.
Since MINI uses only maintenance-free or AGM batteries, DO NOT ADD DISTILLED WATER!
If, at any time, the battery open circuit voltage should drop below 12.0V, or a battery replacement is indicated
during the CBS handover inspection, perform Energy Diagnosis (refer to SI M61 06 07) to determine the
cause. Any necessary repairs should be carried out and the battery MUST BE REPLACED. The replacement
battery must be registered using the service function in the diagnosis equipment.

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Dispose of all batteries properly, observing legal regulations.
Charging Procedure:
Battery charging must be performed using an approved battery charger (recommended charging voltage
14.8V). Refer to SI M04 08 09 for recommended chargers.
For an optimized charging procedure, the ambient temperature should be between 60°F and 75°F. Under
these conditions, the battery can be considered fully charged when the charging current has fallen below 2.5
Amps.
Charging below 60°F should be avoided if possible, since the capacity of the battery to take up current is
reduced and the charging time is extended considerably. However, if provisional charging below 60°F is
performed, the charging voltage must be set to 14.8V. Charging shall be discontinued no earlier than when
the charging current falls below 1.5 Amps.
New Vehicle Delivery
The CBS Handover Inspection must be performed as the last process step, immediately before delivery
to the customer! Refer to the Service Information entitled “New Vehicle Preparation and Maintenance
Requirements” for the vehicle model concerned.
IMPORTANT: In addition, a final check with “Battery Care D” has to be performed.
“Battery Care D” is a tool available in the ASAP Portal: Dealerspeed>ASAP
Portal>Service/Technic>‟Battery Care D”

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Based on key data, the tool checks if the battery was ever heavily discharged. Also refer to the Warranty
Information section below for reimbursement information.
The system requires internet access and a MINI Key Reader (no workshop server connection is needed).
Perform this check using the steps below:
1. The vehicle key has to be updated as follows:

2. Let the Key Reader read and store the key data.
3. Open “ident car” and press the “Take over key data” button.
4. When the application shows “Battery OK” or “Charging battery” in the “Description” field, the
battery was never heavily discharged (SoC < 12V) in the past.
5. Double-check if the right car is displayed and press “Save.” If the Save button is not displayed, the
key data was either not updated successfully or a key with old data was provided.
6. Finally, press the “Log off vehicle” button when the car leaves the inventory upon customer delivery.
If the battery application shows “Replace battery,” the battery was heavily discharged in the past and must be
replaced. After that, new key data has to be recorded in Battery Care D. The status has to be switched to
“Battery OK” again.
Upon the sale of a vehicle, its BATTERY LOG FORM should be removed from the BATTERY CHARGE
LOG (binder) and filed in the vehicle file, to be available for future reference.

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Make sure that the car will be handed over with a minimum state of charge of 12.5V or 71% SoC. To ensure
that the battery remains fully charged, start the engine before demonstrating the operation of components to
the customer at the time of delivery.
GENERAL INFORMATION

Note that the procedures outlined above are meant to be guidelines to assist MINI dealers in assuring a
sufficient state of charge of vehicle batteries at all times. Following these procedures, however, will not
guarantee a sufficient state of charge on all batteries: there may be exceptional cases of excessive current
draw through very frequent movement of back lot vehicles, for example, which may call for more frequent
recharging than otherwise necessary.
The above guidelines for proper battery maintenance are meant to provide maximum flexibility for every
MINI dealer. Regional MINI personnel will be happy to assist with setting up an effective charging and
monitoring program.
PARTS INFORMATION (LABELS, FORMS ETC.)

Refer to the attachment to this bulletin for the procedure flowchart.
Item No.

Description

Quantity/Price

MD 20-008

Windshield labels-white
(reusable)

10 per sheet/$1.00

MD 20-009

Windshield labels-red (reusable)

10 per sheet/$1.00

MD 20-010

Windshield labels-green
(reusable)

10 per sheet/$1.00

MD 20-011

Windshield labels-yellow
(reusable)

10 per sheet/$1.00

MD 20-012

Battery Log Form

pad of 25/$3.00

MD 20-015

Battery Charge Log Binder with
separators & 75 forms

1/$40.00

These items are available online at MINI TIS, under Materials Ordering. Refer to bulletin SI M10 01 02 for
instructions on how to place an order.
WARRANTY INFORMATION

When a new vehicle is reported “sold” with an in-service date, Warranties will review the corresponding
battery maintenance information from the Battery Care application and the required key data.
•

The required and qualifying key read data must be obtained from the vehicle during the period of
10 days before and 20 days after the in-service date (-10/+20) that is reported in DCSnet (RDR).

Under this program, after the first delivery, dealers will receive two (2) FRU for properly maintaining a
new vehicle’s 12V battery while in inventory.
•

Dealers will receive credit for one (1) FRU reduction, originally included in the QCI labor
operation, and one (1) bonus FRU.

Battery Care payments for qualifying vehicles will be issued quarterly on your parts billing statement
through miscellaneous billing.
Vehicle battery failures due to improper or lack of maintenance are not covered and do not
qualify.

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Dealer-Traded Vehicles
It is your responsibility to evaluate the battery’s condition on vehicles traded from another center upon
arrival. Any issues relating to improperly maintained batteries must be addressed by the centers involved.
Demo Vehicles
Dealer demo vehicles are required to participate in the new Battery Care Program, including
“Specialty 8.”
ATTACHMENTS

View PDF attachment M610102_2014_Battery_Log_Form.
View PDF attachment M610102_Flowchart.
View PDF attachment M610102_Process_Flyer.
[ Copyright ©2015 BMW of North America, Inc. ]

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