Jerzeyjoe

I have a 2010 E350 that isn't driven regularly. Sometimes it's in the garage for 3 weeks or longer. I am thinking about putting a trickle charger on it. Good or bad idea?


Also, if it's a good idea, should I connect it to the battery under the hood or somewhere else?


Thank you for your help, I don't want to fry any of the electrical.

Alex.currie44

I have an SLK 320 2001 and it is stored all winter on rock hard tires with a trickle charger connected cyclically to keep the battery charged. I leave for 8 weeks March 1 usually and take it off. I don't like chargers on while I am away.
The car starts fine after 8 weeks with no charger and the battery is 4 yr old so I wouldn't be too concerned with a trickle charger if your battery load tests OK.

looney100

Technology has improved a lot from the trickle charger days. If you're storing a car, consider a smart charger. You leave it on and it cycles power as needed.

sghokie

Is there one where I don't need to worry about disconnecting the negative cable? I have a regular battery charger and I always remove the negative cable. I would like to find one that I can bolt onto the battery terminals and when I pull into the garage just plug it in.

Alex.currie44

This is the one I have. Cheap, works good and as you can see it does have the connectors you can put under the nuts and just plug into the charger to connect it.
As Looney100 points out it has up to date technology. Disconnecting it while I am away is my personal preference.
Battery chargers often can be the source of a fire so it is a precaution.


http://www.canadasmotorcycle.ca/batt...nOEaAptg8P8HAQ

Airmousam

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Battery-Te...arger/15779492

Fully automatic. Have two in use now, one on my golf cart and one on my CLK550. They work awesome, never had an issue

Alex.currie44

Great minds think alike. Note the difference in price up here. Even at today's exchange rate of 18% your price is $30.56 or about 90%.

Redryder

Read the reviews and bought this one seeing as how we'll be gone for the month of February and didn't want to come back to a dead battery given the phantom electric draws. Figured I could also use it to keep our lawn tractor battery charged during off season. Been very pleased with it thus far.

Airmousam

That's the one, works awesome! Stay warm!

KEY08

That's a great trickle charger and I saw them at Costco last week. I use a Ctek charger and they are terrific as well. Most Exotic car manufacturers use the Ctek charger and brand them with their name (Lamborghini, et al). There is no harm in using these smart chargers and you can hook them up directly to the battery or the external jumper posts, which is what I do if I'm away for longer than a week. and yes, it's a cold **** here in Chi-artica. -8 this morning.

noka

I bought a Ctek (7002) on Amazon for under $100 based on good reviews but haven't used it yet. It's certainly more expensive than the Battery Tender. A Mercedes-branded Ctek is on their web-site as an option ($150) and appears to similar to those used by Ferrari, Maserati, etc. (perhaps Ctek 800 or 3300). This a review from 2011: http://www.stevejenkins.com/blog/201...tery-chargers/

PeterUbers

Just hooked up my CTek 3300 to my E63.... Positive red clip goes on the external jumper post and the black negative clip goes on one of the metal motor hook holes

looney100

For the Canadians on the board, Canadian Tire has Noco smart chargers currently on sale. Their entry level model is now on for $32.

sghokie

What I would like to do with my w212 is connect up the battery tender under the hood and be able to connect it up to power without having to open the hood.

Any ideas for how to do that?

mleskovar

I ran the trickle charge connector from the battery to the passenger end of the cowl in front of the windshield where there is enough space to pass it outside (it's capped). The charger is permanently mounted above this spot in the garage and the cable drops down for easy connection every two weeks or so when I want to top off the battery.

sghokie

Which charger do you have?

mleskovar

Black and Decker. Trickle chargers are not rocket science and pretty much generic. I did have to lengthen the cable connection going to the battery posts though.

noka

I would disagree with that on a technical level but if what you have works for you,... I cannot argue.

1guitar

I have a 2010 E350 that I drive about once or twice every week or so. I can recommend to you that firstly you should get a high quality battery charger otherwise your battery won't last more than 2 or 3 years. Also, I have been using a brand of battery charger made by CTEK for the last 10 years, there are several ways this charger can be hooked up to the battery, you cannot charger the MB E350 thru the cigarette lighter 12 volt as the 12 volt receptacles when the car is turned off as they are off as well. I just pop the hood and using the alligator clips hook up the positive lead to the positive terminal for the battery which is located under a sliding red plastic sleeve that is hooked into the battery and the negative clip to the brass colored negative battery hookup post on the passengers side of the engine compartment. Your battery will last at least another year instead of just letting the battery get run down after letting it sit for a few weeks. As an aside, the W212 series engines sold in Canada come with an engine block heater as standard at least when I last bought one in 2010. If you have the extra money ($350 for the parts) it is well worth the expense. I live in NJ and believe me anyone living north of D.C. will tell you it gets just as cold in the Northeastern US as it does in Alaska, sometimes worse. In any case, every MB I have ever bought I have always called up the MB dealer in Halifax, NS Canada and ordered the parts for the engine block heater and had my local MB dealer do the install, if you dislike the cold believe me this option that isn't an option in the US is worth every penny, nothing better that starting a car and turning on the heat and hot air comes out the vents right away, instead of 10 minutes later when you feel like a human Popsicle. It surpriese me the engine block heater isn't standard on the "S Class" at the very least.
Doc in NJ

Sgooter

+1 for the CTEK Multi US3300 battery charger for around $60. Same as the Mercedes charger - but for a lot less.

schorert1

battery tender on my clk63...jumps to life when I start it during the off-season.

Arrie

I have an old pick-up truck that I drive less than 200 miles / year. Just a week ago I put the charger on the battery and it has been on it since, actually about ten days now.


This charger has an AMP gauge up to 10 Amp, It usually starts at about 6-7 Amp and then slowly goes down as the battery gets charged.


The question: Does this charger somehow damage the battery after it has been on charging for 10 days and the AMP meter shows almost zero amps?



The charger has been on for two weeks now. Anybody think it ruins my battery?


If not then why is a trickle charger needed?

Ferris_E550

check this link out .

noka

Any opinion on Ctek 3300 or more recent Ctek 4.3? Latter one is more advanced and has increased charge current. Also, the 4.3's recondition mode (higher voltage) could potentially damage electronics, unless battery is disconnected first.
Any clue if the Eco battery in the trunk (in later model E-series) would also be charged if Ctek is connected under the hood (e.g. are the two in a parallel arrangement)?

thefisch

I recently purchased the Ctek 4.3 over the 3300. It was about $10-15 more on Amazon and I thought the recondition modes and additional steps would be useful. It is supposed to have all the tech of the 7002 except for the supply mode. Turns out not all the steps will run away so not sure those with the 3300 would benefit from an upgrade. But they would both be very easy to use. It is literally set and forget.

I used recon mode once so far and did disconnect as you mentioned to protect the electronics.

No idea about ECO battery but I would think they are all part of the same system. You should be able to tell by checking the trunk ECO battery with a multimeter while the charger is on the main battery. If the voltage doesn't go up then it would need to be charged separately. And you may want to remove it first in that case just to be safe.