Genuine Mercedes battery tray just will NOT fit my 190e 1.8

[StrangelySane]

Just taken delivery of a second-hand 1991 registered 190e 1.8
At some point, the owner had ditched the battery tray and not replaced it - leaving the battery to wander about in the compartment.
I bought a genuine replacement tray, part number A 201 626 04 45, and just tried to fit it. It was a hell of a struggle to manoeuvre amongst the various aircon pipes and electrical cables, and bodywork.
Incredibly difficult! And when I finally got it in, I found that the mounting holes were a good finger's width out from where they need to be. There's no more room for movement as the tray jams against the engine bay. Pretty annoyed given the price of the thing at £60 All sources say I've got the right tray - it's just that my car strongly disagrees. It looks as if I will have to buy a kit car after market tray and adapt it. Has anybody else had this issue?

 

[Judder]

@StrangelySane I just had literally exactly the same problem - I have the correct part according to Mercedes but there is no way I can get it to fit in the battery bay (passenger side of car on RHD) and from measuring with my eyes it does as you say look like the left hand side of the tray is going to be about 1 - 1.5cm too wide from the mounting screws

I'm guessing that is the right part for the LHD cars as they have the battery mounted on the other side (our driver's side) and there looks to be more room there

My next strategy is to metal saw off about 1.5 cm from the LHS of the tray and try and fit it that way - at least then it will hold the battery safe and should fit fine

Thoughts from anyone else?

 

[grober]

Bit of re-engineering would appear to be the best bet. check battery cable reach/length and closed bonnet/hinge clearance if this is likely to be a problem

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[neilrr]

Post a picture of the tray in question pls.

 

[StrangelySane]

@StrangelySane I just had literally exactly the same problem - I have the correct part according to Mercedes but there is no way I can get it to fit in the battery bay (passenger side of car on RHD) and from measuring with my eyes it does as you say look like the left hand side of the tray is going to be about 1 - 1.5cm too wide from the mounting screws

I'm guessing that is the right part for the LHD cars as they have the battery mounted on the other side (our driver's side) and there looks to be more room there

My next strategy is to metal saw off about 1.5 cm from the LHS of the tray and try and fit it that way - at least then it will hold the battery safe and should fit fine

Thoughts from anyone else?

I pondered on the matter, and decided a modified original item would still be a better bet than a universal tray. So I got a bit of card, placed the tray on it, traced around it, and marked the mounting holes. Then I cut out the template and then stuck my battery on top. I have a battery within spec, but most likely not as wide as some of the more powerful battery options. It was clear to me that I could lose about an inch off each side. Just to double-check, I modified the template and trial fitted it before cutting the actual tray. It fitted OK, so using an angle grinder with a cutting disc, I lopped off both ends. Then I rounded off all the sharp edges and painted with a few layers of stone chip paint.

BTW - I made a point of not cutting segments of the pressed reinforcement areas of the tray so as not to compromise rigidity.

 

[ChipChop]

Never had any issues with removing/ reinstalling the battery tray in my 190d recently after a fresh lick of paint.

Are you raising the bonnet to it's second vertical (inspection) position using the red button on the near side bonnet hinge? Makes access to the battery tray area much easier.

 

[StrangelySane]

Never had any issues with removing/ reinstalling the battery tray in my 190d recently after a fresh lick of paint.

Are you raising the bonnet to it's second vertical (inspection) position using the red button on the near side bonnet hinge? Makes access to the battery tray area much easier.

Yes, I had the bonnet bolt upright. It wasn't an access issue, rather that the ends of the tray jammed up against the engine partition and the wing side of the battery compartment. You could jam it in physically, but none of the mounting holes were anywhere near in line, being about 17mm away at best.

 

[ChipChop]

Yes, I had the bonnet bolt upright. It wasn't an access issue, rather that the ends of the tray jammed up against the engine partition and the wing side of the battery compartment. You could jam it in physically, but none of the mounting holes were anywhere near in line, being about 17mm away at best.

Maybe the factory air con equipped cars need a different tray?

 

[StrangelySane]

Maybe the factory air con equipped cars need a different tray?

Mine has only the very basic options. No airbags, no air con, no ABS, no sunroof, no electric windows - essentially the very best position to be in for a thirty odd year old car - no electrickery to go wrong / hard / expensive to source parts.

 

[Judder]

@StrangelySane Great that you chopped yours so neatly - I had a similar idea so measured the maximum length that the LHS of the tray could be on both the top and the bottom and then will use a metal saw to cut off the extra from that side

Here's the measurements I took for reference, and yes the tray is considerably bigger than my battery, and I don't think you would be able to shoe-horn a bigger battery in there as this one is already quite a squeeze to get in, even with the bonnet and 180 degrees!

Front center mount bolt



Back LHS mount bolt



Battery in engine bay (Bosch S4 008)

 

[ChipChop]

Mine has only the very basic options. No airbags, no air con, no ABS, no sunroof, no electric windows - essentially the very best position to be in for a thirty odd year old car - no electrickery to go wrong / hard / expensive to source parts.

Original post mentions air con pipes hence my reply.

Yep the more basic the better, cannot argue with that. The diesel 190's are so 'basic' you can remove the battery after the car has been started and the OM602 will carry on running regardless. The beauty of a fully mechanically controlled diesel engine with no electronics whatsoever, unless you count a glow plug relay

The correct battery size for petrol 190's is code 008 or diesels 096. Both batteries are the same size 278L x 175W x 190H but the diesel batteries have higher CCA.

Best of luck with your new w201. One of the best car ever made, imho.

 

[StrangelySane]

Original post mentions air con pipes hence my reply.

Yep the more basic the better, cannot argue with that. The diesel 190's are so 'basic' you can remove the battery after the car has been started and the OM602 will carry on running regardless. The beauty of a fully mechanically controlled diesel engine with no electronics whatsoever, unless you count a glow plug relay

The correct battery size for petrol 190's is code 008 or diesels 096. Both batteries are the same size 278L x 175W x 190H but the diesel batteries have higher CCA.

Best of luck with your new w201. One of the best car ever made, imho.

Ah. I see. Yes, they were an aftermarket fitment done when the original owner took the car to live in Cyprus for a while. I've since removed them as the system wasn't gassed up and getting it redone was just one more thing - that might not even have worked anyhow. I'm all about the slimmed down for simplicity.

 

[neilrr]

If you boys are looking for a basic, reliable & devoid of electronics 190s you might want to consider this, now reduced to £1250 - 1990 W201 190 Carburetor project car | Mercedes Cars for Sale

 

[ray_hennig]

Probably not much help as ours are LHD. But we fitted the wide tray for the huge, wide battery in a 201 and my 124. Same part for both.

Maybe more complicated with RHD.

Did you find the correct RHD MB part numbers? using your VIN on an EPC like this one;

https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine

RayH

 

[Judder]

FYI after measuring as above the amount of space I did have for my tray, this is the amount I needed to cut off for it to fit in place (I used a jigsaw with a metal blade and that was still hard work as this is tough metal!)

Caveat: I've not actually fitted it yet but from my measurements this should be correct

Also, not sure if I will need to do the same with the RHS as well but won't really know until it is fitted

Lastly I painted the whole of my tray with Hamerite on top of the coating to ensure that it has every chance possible of not rusting!

 

[optimusprime]

Looks like a W124 tray to me .

 

[StrangelySane]

Looks like a W124 tray to me .

Are W124 trays larger? I'm not sufficiently au fait with Mercedes yet. According to the part number, it's correct for the 190e. The listing on the advert I purchased from being:
"NEW GENUINE OEM Mercedes 190 W201 W124 Battery Frame Tray Holder A2016260445." If those fitted to W124s are different, then I can say with experience that they aren't interchangeable. I chopped mine down at both ends. I now have about 1/4" clearance twixt the engine bay partition and the same again from the wiring that runs down the inside of the wing. In taking a good bit off, I found I was also fortunate enough to miss the raised reinforcement bump on the floor of the compartment (nearside wing), otherwise the battery tray wouldn't sit flat and would rock on it.

 

[optimusprime]

This is what i find 2 sizes from what i can see

 

[optimusprime]

This is for the small one .

 

[ray_hennig]

My list shows 2 for the 201: Battery Frame: A2016200218 62-92 AH: A2016260445

And the second one is the same for my 124.

But these are LHD.

R