Recent content by ericycle

Update: So a couple of days ago, trying to start the car, and there's only a CLICK sound, no cranking whatsoever. The lights and radio and on, but no cranking, only a single, rather audible CLICK. The old car battery finally gave out. I replaced it with the Bosch S5 013, as recommended here...

According to this article: Mercedes Benz shifter stuck in park or won’t move, if the brake light itself is working properly, than it's not the brake light switch causing the problem, but then it might be the brake shift interlock solenoid. And indeed, the clicking sound isn't there every...

There is another symptom, I believe is related. Other than the intermittent inability to shift to anything other than between D and N, the safety mechanism which disallows shifting without pressing the brake pedal or shifting with the car off doesn't seem to be working at all. I can shift at any...

Hi, The last several days, the following issue happened about 3 times. When parking the car after a drive, upon moving the lever from Drive into Park, the lever would not go past Neutral. It would encounter some kind of barrier, limiting its movement upward into Reverse and beyond it into...

Is there any risk of damaging something by mixing up these 3 wires, or can I safely use trial and error until I get it right (in case I do not find the numbers you mentioned).

When I try to view the image in a large view, there is an error and it fails to display (I've tried both Chrome and Explorer). Would you be able to upload it elsewhere as well, where the full size view would be accessible? Thanks so much.

Firstly, thank you! This is definitely a step in the right direction. But how do I know what's what? I just have a few wires, and I have no idea what they belong to. Can anyone offer practical advise on how to proceed from this point?

Hi, I hope someone can help me with the following: I was trying to connect the ashtray connector when I discovered it's missing and in fact, there are some cut wires, so it appears it was cut off entirely. I'm not certain the cut cables belong to the missing connector, but it seems logical...

I'm getting the sense that relying on the alternator alone to charge the battery isn't enough, or is not optimal? I've never ever seen anyone actually use a battery charger, and so I'm trying to understand, why anyone would, when is that necessary, and how is it different from going for...

I've found this very interesting article on the effects of age in batteries on the CCA and their capacity: BU-806: Tracking Battery Capacity and Resistance as part of Aging ? Battery University According to the research they present, the vast majority of batteries fail due to...

One last clarification, if I may... Now that we've established that the minimum for this car is 74AH 680A. Does this mean that anything above that is fine, as long as the dimensions work out?

Thanks a lot for all the replies. I'm starting to get a clearer picture of the actual benefits of a higher capacity battery. This will be very useful, as I plan to replace it this week.

I'm just trying to understand, what would I actually lose, in a real bottom line way that I would feel, by downgrading to a 74Ah 680A battery? How would I ever really feel this difference? Especially if I don't need to start the car in particularly cold weather, nor need to run a stereo...

There is actually quite a difference in their dimensions. The Varta is significantly smaller than what's in there now. I was wondering about that as well.

It's a 2006 W203 C200 CDI with over half a million KM. I'm sure it has been through many batteries. How can I find out what the original battery spec is, or even just a minimal or acceptable spec for this car? Although the E11 Varta comes up pretty consistently in many catalogs and shops...