jbeditor

I have a 2001 CLK55, 260K miles. I've had a problem where the car starts perfectly when cold and runs great all the time. However, if say I'm running errands and am stopping and then restarting the car, it seems to barely crank and turn over. Weird because I can leave the car for weeks if I'm on a trip for instance, and when I go to start it, it fires right up. But once it warms up, if I turn the engine off and then go to restart it, it sounds like it's barely going to turn over, and even dims the interior lights. Last night on my commute home, I stopped for a few minutes to get a refreshment, and I had been driving for about 30 minutes in mostly bumper to bumper traffic, so engine was hot, but no temperature warnings or other engine lights have ever come on, and when I got back in the car, once again it seems to just barely have enough to turn over and start. I noticed my "after start" and "after reset" mileage readings had been reset back to "0", which was very odd. This morning when I went to start it up, no problems, fires right up. I haven't tested the battery yet, not sure how to do that exactly, although I do have a trickle charger at home, maybe that can give me a reading. It seems that the battery is solid, it's an OEM battery that I replaced probably 10 or so years back, so it could be an issue. From what I've read elsewhere, the starter could be the culprit. If so, I would entertain replacing it myself if I could fine a good DIY somewhere. Any thoughts or advise if much appreciated!

blackopal

If you last replaced the battery 10 years ago then I think your battery should win an award! I typically change mine out around the 3-4 year mark, depending how much I need to rely on the vehicle. By five years I would think you should just swap them out no matter what. Then you can pop them in your old tractor like I do!


I would say it's your battery, don't bother testing it, just replace it.

jbeditor

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to replace the battery and see if that remedies the situation, it certainly couldn't hurt.

jbeditor

Problem solved, whether there are other issues with starting the car after the starter gets hot, they don't matter with the new battery. Fires right up even after running for hours in the heat. The old battery actually had the date written on it - 10/26/06, so almost exactly 10 years of battery life from the OEM battery. Thanks for the response Black Opal!