New battery, does the car need programming

No, it should be fine is the car having issues since the change? I have seen voltage spikes play havoc on some cars when changing the battery.

Please get back to us.

Cheers, Ken

No. It has not had an issue yet but I am waiting for the 120 amp 12 volt alternator to be delivered. And I do believe the final stage resistor or alternator was having a parasitic draw on the battery.. If that makes sense for common issues for BMW.

Yep, alternator can go bad draining the battery. Here is a guide to show you what you are in for when changing the alternator out and diagrams to help you see how on your car below:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-an-alternator

Check out the diagrams (below). Please let us know what happens.

Cheers, Ken