batteries...the bane of my life

[jonm]

Here we go again, leave the car for a few days..ok 10, and the battery is as flat as a pancake. So off it trot to the local and lordy lordy batteries for my 1999 clk are $160 a pop. So to the point, the current battery is MB branded is potentially 11 yrs old (ive only had the thing for 4 months)..in whcich case fair play. However, how do I find out if its 'maintenance free' and its knackered or whether it just needs a bit of maintenance...which I guess means pop a bit of distilled water in..before I go and get it 'tested' to prove 'yep..need a new one mate'.

Thanks

 

[Ted]

Pretty much all batteries these days are 'maintenance free', so I would guess it is.
To test the battery, it needs to be fully charged (on a charger), and then put on a high rate discharge tester. This is best done at a reputable auto electrician.

At this time of year, the battery is working its hardest, so is most likely to fail - not sure what the weather is like out there.

Also I'm pretty sure that if you look around, you could get a decent battery around the $100 mark.

Best to get it checked out though, as the battery may be a replacement, and fine, and you could have a permanent discharge (auto electrician can test this for you).

Also most batteries will have some form of date stamp on them - it might be worth having a good look at it to see its age.

hth.

 

[markjay]

Batteries give grief due to:

Faulty battery in need of replacement

Faulty electrical consumer that drain the battery (e.g alarm system)

Fault with charging system (faulty alternator, slipping belt, etc).


If you see an auto electrician he will have a battery tester. And on balance, given that this does seems like an original 11-year old MB battery, it is very likely to be the culprit.

 

[BTB 500]

Batteries give grief due to:

Faulty battery in need of replacement

Faulty electrical consumer that drain the battery (e.g alarm system)

Fault with charging system (faulty alternator, slipping belt, etc).

Add in 'abuse' i.e. over-discharge via short trips, prolonged idling with lights & other electrics on (which discharges the battery faster than the alternator can charge it), etc.

Car batteries are designed to 'stand' fully charged, and if left partially discharged for any length of time start to suffer internal damage. This starts to happen below 12.4V, which is approx. 75% charge.

 

[jonm]

Thanks all, my guess is that it has probably had it...been to a few places and it seem the $160 mark is about as good as it gets, ah well.

I'll get it checked and see what happens.

Cheers

 

[jaymanek]

If you can wait I bet you could get cheaper on line... there are some large suppliers in the USA, all the names escape me now though!

 

[mbzclk]

If you can go into Costco see if they sell Bosch batteries there.

They are very good and they do ones to fit the merc.

 

[Ian B Walker]

If you can go into Costco see if they sell Bosch batteries there.

They are very good and they do ones to fit the merc.

Do they have Costco in USA? as that is where the OP is. But nice thought though.

 

[mbzclk]

Yep, Costco is in the states, dont know if they have the same products there as we have here but worth a shot...

Hope it helps the OP

 

[GordonTarling]

Ian - Costco started off in the USA. If you've never been to a USA Costco, you'll be in for a surprise - the stores I've been in are larger than here and seem to have a much wider range of stuff. Still haven't worked out a way to use my Costco card in the USA to get cheap fuel though!

 

[jonm]

Do they have Costco in USA? as that is where the OP is. But nice thought though.

yep, got costco here, very big as you would expect.

every now and then 'er indoors come home with 1000 nature valley bars, 400 litres of coke and 750 bog rolls///

 

[Ian B Walker]

Sorry guys, I did not know. No man knows it all as has been proven on this post. Thanks for the info and enlightenment.