Trickle charger for W204 C63

[IanSampson]

Hello everyone - I have a couple of questions regarding trickle charging. I have checked other threads without success, but apologies if these have already been addressed somewhere. I would like to use the charger that I had for my previous fun (i.e not driven much over winter) car. It is an Artic 4000 smart charger and worked brilliantly on my previous car. I now see that not all chargers may be suitable but, from what I can gather, this should be OK for my 2012 C63. Before I do anything rash though, it would be good if someone with more knowledge of these matters than me could confirm, especially if they are using the Artic 4000 already. Second is the embarrassing question: I am not sure whether there is a particular point in the engine bay where the negative lead should go. The positive point with the slider cover is fine but I am probably missing something really obvious for the negative lead - if anyone could point it out in terms that a six year old would understand, I'd be very grateful. Thanks a lot in advance. Ian

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Look for a brass type peg , 2 inches high with a capped top. If your battery is agm you'd probably need a charger to match , but not always , if using it just now and then.


I've just googled arctic 4000 and its 4 amp . Also does agm so it'll be ok to leave on all the time.

 

[IanSampson]

Look for a brass type peg , 2 inches high with a capped top. If your battery is agm you'd probably need a charger to match , but not always , if using it just now and then.


I've just googled arctic 4000 and its 4 amp . Also does agm so it'll be ok to leave on all the time.

Thank you!! That is really helpful, and very much appreciated

 

[jasonh]

I agree with the advice above. My main concern would be the maximum voltage the charger uses. That's not a problem if charging a battery off the vehicle. Some chargers can use up to 19V to desulfate a battery. That is really not good for a lot of car ECU's - it will destroy them. Absolute max I'd want to see is 16V and ideally under 15.5V.

Your battery won't be AGM if it's standard.

The datasheet for your charger doesn't mention the max charge voltage which isn't ideal. However, the good news is your charger isn't one that tries to be too clever and it doesn't have a desulfation mode so I'd be happy charging on the vehicle. In fact I use a Ring 4A charger on my C63. But I don't use the "Cold" mode because that pushes up the charge voltage another 0.5V which I don't want.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

I agree with the advice above. My main concern would be the maximum voltage the charger uses. That's not a problem if charging a battery off the vehicle. Some chargers can use up to 19V to desulfate a battery. That is really not good for a lot of car ECU's - it will destroy them. Absolute max I'd want to see is 16V and ideally under 15.5V.

Your battery won't be AGM if it's standard.

The datasheet for your charger doesn't mention the max charge voltage which isn't ideal. However, the good news is your charger isn't one that tries to be too clever and it doesn't have a desulfation mode so I'd be happy charging on the vehicle. In fact I use a Ring 4A charger on my C63. But I don't use the "Cold" mode because that pushes up the charge voltage another 0.5V which I don't want.

I've had mercs from a 2004 to 2017 , everyone has had agm as standard .

 

[Spider10]

On your c63 the earth is on top of the suspension arm and yes you can leave it connected no problem I did mine last winter

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[jasonh]

I've had mercs from a 2004 to 2017 , everyone has had agm as standard .

Thanks, looks like I'm wrong on that point. AGM is usually for cars with stop/start (which the C63 hasn't got) and my C63 with a full dealer history hasn't got an AGM battery. Looks like someone swapped it out at some point.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

AGM batteries are safer for use inside the cabin (or passenger compartment) which is why Mercedes (and other manufacturers) used them prior to stop-start becoming the norm.

 

[IanSampson]

Very helpful responses: I definitely came to the right place. Luckily I can set the A4000 at 13.5v trickle charge, so hopefully a winter of content awaits the old girl
Thanks again