BATTERY INDICATOR ON LION BATTERY

[johnsco]

A simple question .... If you know the answer !
My recently-acquired 2005 C200 Kompressor suffered a flat battery recently - Not sure why - I'm still learning plenty about this car.
I removed the battery to charge it.
The battery is a Lion 100 ... First time I've ever had a Lion battery - I usually fit Bosch.
On the battery top there is a little indicator window.
When I'd charged the battery, the indicator appeared colourless.
When I moved the battery, it intermittantly flickered between green and colourless.
I'm guessing that this means that the battery acid level is low. (although the battery is fully charged).
I'm inclined to add a small amount of distilled water in the hope that this will raise the level slightly so that the indicator will work.
Any thoughts guys ??
Advice appreciated.

While I had the battery out, there was a pool of rain-water under the battery tray.
I removed the battery tray, broddled out the drain hole, and all the water ran out.
I washed the area with clean water to get rid of leaf residues and general gunge.
It was good to see that there was no corrosion in the area - Not always the case under battery trays !
It's only a couple of weeks ago that I had to clear all the drain holes and tubes from the area in front of the windscreen.
I'm afraid that this car has been pretty-shabbily maintained.

As said - I have usually chosen Bosch batteries in the past.
Lion are certainly much cheaper.
Does anyone have any good or bad experiences of them ?

Thanks.
John

 

[grober]

The Truth About Car Battery's Magic Eye | CARPUT

The magic eye of a car battery is there to check on the condition of your car battery. But how reliable is the magic eye indicator?

carput.my

 

[Deesidecars7]

A simple question .... If you know the answer !
My recently-acquired 2005 C200 Kompressor suffered a flat battery recently - Not sure why - I'm still learning plenty about this car.
I removed the battery to charge it.
The battery is a Lion 100 ... First time I've ever had a Lion battery - I usually fit Bosch.
On the battery top there is a little indicator window.
When I'd charged the battery, the indicator appeared colourless.
When I moved the battery, it intermittantly flickered between green and colourless.
I'm guessing that this means that the battery acid level is low. (although the battery is fully charged).
I'm inclined to add a small amount of distilled water in the hope that this will raise the level slightly so that the indicator will work.
Any thoughts guys ??
Advice appreciated.

While I had the battery out, there was a pool of rain-water under the battery tray.
I removed the battery tray, broddled out the drain hole, and all the water ran out.
I washed the area with clean water to get rid of leaf residues and general gunge.
It was good to see that there was no corrosion in the area - Not always the case under battery trays !
It's only a couple of weeks ago that I had to clear all the drain holes and tubes from the area in front of the windscreen.
I'm afraid that this car has been pretty-shabbily maintained.

As said - I have usually chosen Bosch batteries in the past.
Lion are certainly much cheaper.
Does anyone have any good or bad experiences of them ?

Thanks.
John

owning a taxi business i can tell you Lion are terrible battery's, get you're money back and buy decent,

 

[E55BOF]

You get what you pay for.

 

[johnsco]

Thanks Guys.
You can see why I asked the question.
I didn't buy this battery - I inherited it with the car.
I puzzled how could the magic eye check all cells in a multi-cell battery.
Now I know it can't.
My next battery will be a Bosch.
As said ...... You get what you pay for.
Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[johnsco]

Strange thing about the Lion battery ...... There doesn't appear to be any indication of the date of manufacture or fitting.
That surprises me.

 

[Wolfie1]

I have a goliath battery in my other car, been in for 8 years now and its been faultless, had 2 boschs before that and they lasted just out of their 2 year warranty then died so i just bought a cheap battery and its a big thumbs up from me

 

[E55BOF]

The Varta in my CLS 350 lasted eight years; the one in my CLS 63 is still going after seven and a half. Bosch AGM batteries come with a five-year warranty, Varta with four.

 

[grober]

The top Bosch batteries are rebranded Vartas!

 

[merc estate]

A Varta lasted 15 years on an E class i had

 

[davymead]

‘Farta‘ or Bosch … can’t go wrong.

 

[johnsco]

The top Bosch batteries are rebranded Vartas!

I didn't know that about Varta.
I've always fitted Bosch in my various E-Class MBs.
Never had to change one of them afterwards.
They always outlived the cars.

 

[Gazwould]

Yep , twins .

 

[markjay]

I sold my W203 when it was 11 years old with the original MB-branded battery (made by Varta) still going strong.

And the original MB-branded battery (again, made by Varta) on my W204 is still in good working order at 8 years old.

I don't know if the Varta batteries made to MB's spec are of the same quality as the ones sold under the Varta and Bosch brands, they may or may not be, but either way, based on my experience I would say that an MB-branded battery is a safe bet.

Them again, if you don't intend to keep the car for another 10 years or so... then any brand of battery with 3 years warranty should be fine.

 

[BlackC55]

Lion batteries are cheap and cheerful. Nothing fundamentally wrong with them but they are not the best. We generally only fit genuine MB batteries (when they are not on back order) because they are the best. Made to MB spec as Mark says. I had one that lasted 13 years....

 

[Petrol Pete]

Posted this before. I replaced the original MB battery on my 2006 C class at around 125K miles as a precaution rather than a need. It was still going strong but I got a little nervous when I saw the date stamp on it as I used to leave the car parked at airports for as long as a month at a time but it never let me down.

I had topped it up with battery water just once ...old skool