Steve Richo

I'll give you the short version.

Car battery failed, had it started by the automobile club but halfway home every alarm know to man came up, and the car went into limp home, lost the gauges, and managed to pull over before it cut out completely. Had it flat bedded on a truck home but it took 40 mins to get it off, gearbox locked in park and steering locked as well.

Alternator and battery are U/S, but this is the best part, new alternator $800Aus, new battery $900Aus, WTF? Must be made of unobtanium!

Waiting on alternator ex Singapore, probably looking at $3K with service

Still love my car though, brings a smile every time I turn it over..........

Razzy

**** that sucks man. Any indication as to why and how this all happened?

aussie e55

sorry to hear about your prob. sounds as if you took it to a MB dealer if so search the internet or local mb club for a indi workshop good labour rate & parts cost most mb dealer w/shops charge $250 + gst per hour.

Quadcammer

$900 battery?

get the **** out.

get an interstate for $150.

that is insane.

norb

Everything in Australia is super expensive because their minimum wage is something like $20/hour.

rediesel

Prices don't seem that bad considering it's an Austalian dealer. Don't think my US would be that much cheaper.

-Marlin-

That royally sucks. Couldn't you have bought an aftermarket agm battery and a recond alternator to save about a $1000?

AutohausAZ-Mike

Ouch.
Australia is a beautiful place but also really really expensive.

jvanbrecht

Also.. All the wildlife and bugs in Australia can kill you

Also, regular interstate battery won't fit, you would need to modify the bracket slightly I believe. I cars have a weird shaped battery.

MarcusF

Is there any chance that the voltage regulator is a normal wear part like it is on the earlier cars? On my CLK, it wears out about every 75K miles. This link explains how to do it on a CLK. I don't see that part listed for our '09 C, so there's a good chance it's not.

Whenever an alternator itself (or starters) have failed on me, I've taken them to an electronics rebuilder. It takes them about an hour and the cost is under $100 (US naturally). The advantage to having a rebuilder do "my alternator" versus buying one at a chain store (Pep Boys, Kragen, O'Reily, etc.) is that the chain stores farm out the work to the lowest bidder. The lowest bidder fixes what's wrong, rather than installing a complete rebuild kit (regulator, brushes, rectifier, bearing).

abcut973

You are literally out of luck! Having that battery and alternator failing at the same time? Didn't you have some warning telling you the battery was about to give up?
Like the car was struggling to start from time to time. It could have bee an indicator

Critter

08 car, probably the voltage regulator is at fault but the 6 year old battery was not far behind. Also probably why the regulator went out.

sinape62

Once that alternator goes, there nothing charging that battery... So the battery even if it were new, would eventually deplete itself.

Critter

Yes this is true, but as stated the 6 year old battery would be running on borrowed time. For those that get mega years out of a battery, congratulations, but with power hog cars stable voltage is necessary. Old battery is like a giant resister, hard on the alternator and hard on the starter.

roadtalontsi

any signs of this going happen.... hmmmm 2008 car, most likely built in 2007 on original battery makes it 7yrs old that's the sign. a battery for our cars in u.s. is like 280$ from the dealer fyi

glennhl

Looking at the online parts places it appears that the C63 has the same battery as the C300. Can anyone confirm this? I had Mercedes Roadside Assistance come out last year to replace the battery in my wife's 2010 C300 and it only cost around $150.

EDIT: doing some more research, looks like the C63 has a slightly larger AGM battery than the C300. However searching for group 49 AGM batteries online I have found them ranging from $135 for a Sears Diehard to $200 for a Bosch AGM at Pep Boys. Autozone and O'Reilly were $175 and $185 respectively.

If I had to get a battery right now I'd definitely get the Sears Diehard for $135.

Of course, one important thing to consider is replacing it when you travel, so I always select a battery that is available everywhere. I may stick with Mercedes Roadside Assistance just for that reason as long as the battery is under $200.

roadtalontsi

yes they are different batteries - good edit. I cant lie though, the oem ones do hold up pretty good. I've seen the agm ones last 10yrs in some cases still trouble free. I think it just depends on how frequently its driven and the software for the battery management system not over charging it.

glennhl

I would also consider an Optima Red Top to save some weight. Is there a special kit to make them fit???

Merc63

Buy a generic battery and install that.

You need your head examined if your gonna drop $900 on a battery lol.

bhamg

Yup, the Sears AGM Diehard Gold is $135 right now. Most likely you won't see a better buy on a Group 49 AGM battery anywhere all year.

Critter

In Canada a 10 year old anything battery is most likely being used as a door stop for at least 3 years. Extreme heat as well as extreme cold effect the life of any battery. Anything after 5years is borrowed time and most likely is causing further issues with the electrical/electronics of the car. Think of a watch battery, they say replace every year, you do not then one day time stops. Usually a car battery will fail at the most inopportune time.

norb

Probably, the C Class and most MB's have longer than average battery life because its in the trunk away from the heat of the engine. Here in Houston, my other cars might need replacing after 2-3 years because its so hot, even after you turn your car off. So I can see the battery lasting 6 years in the C63. I'm still on my original and I bought the car in the fall of 08.

Critter

Contrary to some beliefs a battery does not get better with age. In Canada our load tests occur every winter.

roadtalontsi

The normal non amg c-class's have the batteries under the hood under the cabin air intake but this is where the ecu is on our cars. I think it really has more to do with the crazy battery management. They will intentionally discharge the battery not using the alternator to an extent. Then whenever coasting or braking it will turn the alternator back on to aid in recharging without using fuel. Also special relays that open up to prevent battery draining from certain accessories. I've never had much luck with optima's. The bluetop marine ones are supposed to be the best. I also believe interstate is involved with supplying the benz batteries. If your trying to save weight id go with a lithium ion battery to not sacrifice power output, but those are going to run you a good 1k$-3k$. the sls black series comes with one from the factory to shave off about 40lbs. The LI batteries are also supposed to last close 10yrs when properly maintainted.

Steve Richo

Thanks for all the replies guys appreciate it.

Car is still in hospital, alternator needs to come from Singapore

Obviously the battery is unique in shape, long and relatively thin (compared to normal). I didn't get much warning, battery alarm came up, I parked the car to go get a coffee, came out and no joy it was dead.

Pretty good run for a battery 6 years, being in the boot helps heaps.

Perhaps the cells contain unobtanium, pretty rare stuff!