bzliteyear

Hi all,

I think my battery's dead due to age (2006), and I'm wondering if people are buying their replacements at MB dealer or if there's a better option.

FYI, I tried calling O'Reilly but when I got there to look, the battery looked WAAAY too big despite the guy's insistence that it would fit.

Thx in advance.

Patrick

ambit

$167 for my CLK55 battery from the dealer. Not too bad.
It is a huge rectangle.

waveterrorist

has an AGM version
grab a discount code and order online
its heavy but install is next to nothing

omega48er

I would go with a diehard platinum

mguerrero

167$$ ??? no way! Just got mine replaced at the dealer - its a 2003 clk55 and it was 283$ installed!

omega48er

daMMMmm, would never pay that much!

does any one know who makes the battery for benz and whats the CCA on it??

FFXF1

I drive an 06 CLK 55. I went with the Exide Edge FP-AGML5/49 Flat Plate AGM Battery. Plug & Play - no problems. Had my local Indie shop install and run a star check following. Everything reset perfectly.

MarcusF

The current MSRP on a dealer battery is $167. $133 with a discount. Dealers that charge $200+ may be charging labor for installation. The OE battery supplier for Mercedes-Benz is Varta and the cold cranking amperage may depend on the Mercedes model. If you have an OE battery, it will have the word "Kaltstarstrom" followed by a number. The literal translation for Kaltstarstrom is "cold start current". Based on the tag on my battery, mine has 450 CCA. In colder climates, the higher the cold cranking amperage rating, the lower your chances of getting stuck someplace and freezing to death. In warmer climates, buying batteries with double or triple the original cold cranking amperage rating is a waste of money. That's because in hot climates, reserve capacity is king. Reserve capacity is frequently referred to as RC. Reserve capacity is the number of minutes a fully charged battery at 80 degrees F can be discharged at 25 amps until the voltage falls below 10.5 volts. Under all circumstances, more RC is better. Why? Because something has to power the clock, alarm, courtesy lights, delayed headlamps, defective seats (that never go to sleep), radio, and all those other electrical gizmos that require power after the car is turned off.

Why would anyone buy a battery from a dealer versus Wal-Mart, Pep Boys, Batteries-R-Us, etc? Because Varta batteries supplied to Mercedes-Benz are allegedly Silver-Calcium and will last longer than lead acid batteries. I drank the Kool Aid and always buy from the dealer. Even if they're fleecing me, it's not by much.

Lastly, Johnson Controls owns Varta. Johnson Controls is the largest manufacturer of lead acid batteries in the world. They have contracts to supply Interstate, Wal-Mart, Pep Boys, AutoZone, Advanced Auto, GM, BMW, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, VW, and probably several others that my notes don't cover. But they allegedly don't ship lead acid to MB.

mguerrero

+1

in case y'all were wondering - the seller ended up paying for the battery since when I was buying it and took it to dealer for a moonroof reset, battery died at the dealer!! LOL - needless to say he was pissed! I paid for it so I could get the warranty but I discounted it from the price

mguerrero

AND you are correct - Calcium batteries are acid batteries, however the lead plate is impregnated with calcium rather than antimony as in a conventional lead acid battery. Antimony and calcium are used to strengthen the plates as lead is relatively soft. Both calcium and antimony batteries have disadvantages and advantages. The main advantages of a calcium battery are longer shelf life (they self discharge very slowly), more resistant to vibrations, higher cold cranking amp ratings, less prone to sulphation. The disadvantages of a calcium battery are they are more expensive, harder to recharge once flat, shorter service life, older vehicles cannot charge them properly and they require a certain type of charger to recover them.

I had a 2003 CLK320 back in 2006 and my alternator went out on a trip - the car worked on battery alone for 300+ miles until it no longer had any juice in it - this is how good MB batteries are! So YES I drank the Kool-Aid also!