S211 - water in battery tray - ideas?

[Londonscottish]

Hi all,

Just put (another) new battery in the 211 estate and found the battery tray to be swimming in water.

It had a new hatch in the summer as part of a insurance job and presume that this may have introduced the problem.

Any idea how to diagnose/trace the leak/unblock drains/etc?

 

[DSM10000]

I doubt that there are drains in that area as water is not supposed to get there in the first place. Why not try the simple approach of folding down the seats and sitting in the boot area whilst someone sprays water from a hose on the tailgate and lights?

Does the tailgate seal sit correctly and show signs of even pressure?

 

[Londonscottish]

I doubt that there are drains in that area as water is not supposed to get there in the first place.

Oh yeah, good point......

Why not try the simple approach of folding down the seats and sitting in the boot area whilst someone sprays water from a hose on the tailgate and lights?

Good idea

Does the tailgate seal sit correctly and show signs of even pressure?

Good suggestion. When the car came back from the bodyshop (with a new tailgate) I noticed that they had refitted the old seal. And the previous tailgate had been out if alignment. Wouldn't be surprised if that's the culprit.

Thanks.

 

[Dec]

Could this be battery acid from the battery vent hole?

Dec

 

[Major774]

Could this be battery acid from the battery vent hole?

Dec

Probably not, new batteries from Mercedes are AGM.

 

[Londonscottish]

Could this be battery acid from the battery vent hole?

Dec

Doubt it - the breather was connected up so presume any acid would exit that way

 

[Londonscottish]

probably not, new batteries from mercedes are agm.

agm?

 

[DSM10000]

Absorbed Glass Mat- The electrolyte is held in the glass mat rather than as a free liquid in older style batteries.

 

[Dec]

Doubt it - the breather was connected up so presume any acid would exit that way

The have a vent hole at the opposite end of the battery too, it will/should have a plug in it.
It’s just a possibility, the battery would have to have been tilted quit a bit.

Dec

 

[grober]

Were the tail light assemblies removed for repairs? Their seals another known source of leaks.

 

[Londonscottish]

Were the tail light assemblies removed for repairs? Their seals another known source of leaks.

They would have been - the bodyshop cut out an replaced the area between the back of the bumper and the beginning of the boot floor. Presumably everything would have been stripped out.