Battery to boot - touring

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Jozi
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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 5:16 pm

Anyone done it before? I was just looking at the wiki and comparing to the touring and there's no ground point for the batter on the quarter panel like in this pic:

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Could it be bolted up to the bumper mount bolt? Or drill a hole on the lip for a new ground?

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The tray fits but obviously the cover won't. Can anyone tell me how the battery should be secured as well. I have a long bolt and a little bracket like the front battery but I can't see how they should work.
penton08
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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 6:11 pm

You really need to find someone fragging a 325ix for the proper cover. The clamps and earth point can be taken from any car with a battery in boot, or you can bodge the earth on to the bumper bolts :D
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Jozi
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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:29 pm

I might bodge it onto the bumper bolt :D I didn't know the ix's had them in the boot, gonna be some mission to find a cover from one of them! (Was there one on here being fragged recently?)

I'll get onto the painter about welding in a bracket that can be used as a earth as with the saloon.
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Brianmoooore
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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:34 pm

Battery needs a vent pipe connected to it as well, to prevent hydrogen building up to explosive levels.
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Jozi
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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:36 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:Battery needs a vent pipe connected to it as well, to prevent hydrogen building up to explosive levels.
Any more on this Brian? Where does the vent pipe go on the battery? I read in the wiki about something and I assume it's the square little box with the tube on it in the pic:

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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:02 pm

I used the loom from my old sport. But my touring is stripped and caged so imounted it between the rear arches. Will post some pics when I can.
M30 Tech 1 Touring on gas.
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bmw9818
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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 9:37 pm

the battery can explode without that little box? 8O

ive just left it out, to seat it you have to hammer out the indent,

the plastic box seats underneath the tray and the vent pipe goes into the small black vent flappy thing on the side..
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Brianmoooore
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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 10:17 pm

It's not the battery that can explode - it's the car, after you've filled the boot with hydrogen.
You can adapt the more simple vent pipe from many later BMW models (pipe just goes through a rubber grommet in the floor to the open air) if you don't have the box. Needs a little plastic elbow that plugs into the end of a suitable battery and pushes into the pipe.
I discovered that batteries produce hydrogen many, many years ago, when I disconnected the crocodile clip of a battery charger from the battery (under the driver's seat!) of a mini pick up. Spark from the clip, a sort of dull reddish light, a blast of heat and a 'Whummmph' sound. Fortunately one of the front doors was slightly ajar, and the blast blew this wide open instead of doing more serious damage.
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Jozi
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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 10:23 pm

Any links to what this looks like? I don't think my battery has the provision for such a elbow unless you can get something that can screw into one of the screw caps of the battery? I'd like it in the boot but I rather not risk all my hard work exploding on me.
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Brianmoooore
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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 10:27 pm

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Jozi
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Post Wed Sep 26, 2012 10:39 pm

I missed the battery one earlier when I looked. I just checked and my battery has a little elbow, I might just stick a bit of washer tubing on it and let it vent under the bumper to be on the safe side.
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Jozi
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Post Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:13 pm

Anyone know can I use one of these cables: http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/store ... ||Price||1

4awg/20mm seems to be the heaviest they stock, only it says ground cable, surely power and ground can travel through the same cable?