Is this a record for battery life.

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
What prompted me to replace it was on a few occasions last summer the car - when very hot after a 'spirited' drive - had real trouble cranking over , just like you would expect to experience in only the coldest of mornings. The first time was after the car stood for about 10 minutes after re fuelling, it felt like I might need a jump start right there by the pump ! but she fired up.

This was not excessive cranking al la CPS fault as I had already replaced the CPS a few weeks before, but very slow ,flat battery style cranking.

The C55 AMG holds a LOT of heat under the bonnet and that got me thinking , this was the first time for me that any vehicle I have driven or ridden had trouble cranking over when hot. A quick search on the internet promoted me to change the battery.

A battery that had never hinted that it would ever let me down in the very coldest of conditions ...but might fail me when hot.

As soon as the new battery went in the 'fault' went away.

I remember when you posted about that originally. A very strange issue as a battery's internal resistance normally drops as temperature rises, and voltage increases! I can't think of a logical explanation (but I'm not doubting what happened!).
 
On that basis we should see a huge difference between the lifespan of batteries mounted in the engine bay (where they are exposed to high temperatures whenever the vehicle is driven for any length of time) and those in the boot (which aren't)??

Yes there must be some difference. Most cars spend the majority of their time parked up so ambient temperature may have a bigger overall impact for infrequently used vehicles. The manufacturers thought about battery location a long time ago as our batteries are not mounted directly in the engine bay, they are sealed off in a separate compartment which will provide some protection from engine bay temperatures. I'm not familiar with every model but I'd bet it's at least 30 years since MB openly mounted a battery in the engine bay.
 
Agree and I have a solar charger but it doesn't work when it is under a car cover to keep the endless pigeon sh*t off.
The trick for that , which has been done by others , is to cut a small rectangular hole in the car cover , just enough to allow sunlight to hit the solar panel ; at worst , you just need to clean a small area of glass when you want to use the car , but your paintwork will be fine . Either that , or connect the solar panel and attach it outside the cover at one end or the other .
 
On that basis we should see a huge difference between the lifespan of batteries mounted in the engine bay (where they are exposed to high temperatures whenever the vehicle is driven for any length of time) and those in the boot (which aren't)??
My 2001 Vauxhall Omega had a soft 'jacket' that covered the entire battery except for the terminals. The manual referred to it as 'thermal insulation '. Presumably someone at GM thought it was a good idea to keep the battery temperature down?
 
Last edited:
This is what it looked like, BTW:

71jnK72EE8L._AC_SL1500_.jpg


711r9JoB9RL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
My 2001 Vauxhall Omega had a soft 'jacket' that covered the entire battery except for the terminals. The manual referred to it as 'thermal insulation '. Presumably someone at GM thought it was a good idea to keep the battery temperature down?

Yes, sure. I can see that long-term exposure to high under-bonnet temperatures would be bad. I'm just not convinced that the ambient temperature in a typical UK summer is high enough to be a significant factor.
 
Yes, sure. I can see that long-term exposure to high under-bonnet temperatures would be bad. I'm just not convinced that the ambient temperature in a typical UK summer is high enough to be a significant factor.
Well it kept the battery clean.... :D
 
Ambient or 'parked'high temperature will not be an issue here in the UK . I have lived in hotter climes and had never heard of the hot battery 'problem' until I googled it. having said that the vehicles I drove were simpler back then !

Just my own personal experience . Next time I go out on hot day I might take a few under bonnet & battery area temperature measurements , just to see whats's what.
 
I have lived in hotter climes and had never heard of the hot battery 'problem' until I googled it. having said that the vehicles I drove were simpler back then !

Just my own personal experience . Next time I go out on hot day I might take a few under bonnet & battery area temperature measurements , just to see whats's what.

IIRC all my older cars had the battery just sitting there in the engine bay too, completely exposed. Maybe modern sealed batteries are more affected in some way? Mind you it used to be quite normal to check & top up the battery with distilled water ... presumably replacing what had evaporated.

Only our C Class has the battery in the front now - the R129 one is in the boot, and it's under the passenger seat in the W639.
 
Our holiday car (which we finally scrapped this year) was parked near a beach in the very south of Italy (near the border between Puglia and Calabria) for the past 12 years, with the battery disconnected while we were away. It still has the battery I bought in the UK back in 2005. I am not suggesting that ambient temperatures do not have an effect on battery life, just that whatever the effect is, it's probably not very significant in the bigger scheme of things.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom