Changing a car battery is as routinary as can be. batteries dont last forever the reason you have to change them. mb did not design the elecrical system to be damaged when you replaced the battery. just follow the instructions in the manual in order to resynch the sunroof, doors and windows. esp can also be reactivated by turning the steering WHEEL all the way from left to right. no big deal. change my battery already and no problems encountered. easy as ABC.

 

Why dont you guys just leave the car running while you replace the battery, there only 2 terminals and a 13mm bolt stopping you (it wont take but 1 minute tops and you wont have to **** around with everything afterwards).

 

FIRST MAJOR POINT
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There is a severe risk of blowing the rear SAM (fuse box) when you reconnect. The rear SAM controls the following -

1/ Lock / unlock signal from the rear window.

2/ Braking lights

3/ Radio

4/ Rear window heating

5/ Alarm

6/ Parktronic

7/ Voice control

8/ 12V outlet


Plus a few more variants according to model.

It is recommended in the most recent methods to unscrew the assembly and remove the 200 AMP power feed into the rear SAM before installing the new battery. IT is simple to remove, just press two clips and pull back.

To unsrew you need a T30 tool. About 200 mm long so it can reach.

The front SAM tends to be more robust but it can be said that the same does apply. It takes a few minutes more but it saves risking major amounts of headache and having your car towed away.

Some have tried to use a battery charger to keep the car alive - doesnt work.

SECOND MAJOR POINT
=================
After trying to start the car on a flat battery most people are prone to leaving the key in the ignition. When you leave the key in the ignition and reconnect power the rear SAM blows instantly.

THIRD MAJOR POINT
=================
2000-2002 W203 rear SAM modules were prone to being unable to boot up again when powered down. The car would run fine for several years and get a new battery and then for no reason at all the rear SAM would not operate again.

WHEN DISASTER STRIKES
===================
- no locking features
- malfunctions in cluster
- errors galore in DAS
- cant start
- limited amounts of lighting internally or outside

 

All those features are front SAM related. Looks like it reset itself.

 

ok so by disconnecting the battery it would give me problems??? so if i get my sub connected to my car will i get the same thing?? because i remember that they didnt disconnect the battery on my 240sx just loosened it a bit to connect the cable of the sub, but then again that was a japanese car.

 

Does a 240sx have an intelligent fuse box ?

 

Someone care to weigh in on this? Seems like a BAD Idea to me. Don't know a whole lot of indepth information on Mercedes, but just common car logic would suggest that disconnecting the battery while the car is running would tell the alternator that the battery is dead (not missing) and the alternator would start driving power to charge it. Which would be a ton of AMPs and a shocking experience.

 

no the 240sx doesnt have an intelligent fuse box.

 

I agree that it sounds like a bad idea. I don't even think the car would continue to run without a battery to complete the circuit because the ground wire would then become a floating ground....if my electrical/electronic sense is correct.

 

There are no instructions in my manual on how to re-synch the headrests. The manual states that they need to be re-synched but the instructions are nowhere.

I didn't replace the battery, but my headrest stopped working. They power up/down if the seat is all the way forward. But not in the driving position.

How do I re-sych the headrests?

 

2 main faults i always occur when i disconnect MY battery.....

#1......WARNING for ESP no available will come up...it should go off after 5 min of driving.

#2......Window/sunroof failure/auto feature not working, etc........(windows).....put all windows down, and then put all 4 up at the same time and hold the window up buttons for an extra 15 seconds without letting go. this should reset the suto up/down feature. (sunroof).....open all the way. then shut and hold shut just like the windows, should reset this as well.

 

My C230 had been sitting for about 3 weeks and the battery was drained (not disconnected, not dead - just not enough cold cranking energy). So, I jump started it and got the following sequence on the MFD:
ABS FAULT
ESP OFF
TeleAide SOS FAULT
D2B Disconnect
PHONE ERROR
.....I ran the car for about 20 minutes at idle then took it out for a drive. For testing purposes, I hit the wrench icon button under the console lid and even though I had the TeleAide messages and phone error, TeleAid activated and made the call.

The woman I spoke with instructed me to pull off the road and stop, let the car idle - she sent a reset command instructed me to turn the car off (when I got to my destination), let it sit for at least 15 minutes and then start it again. Upon restart, all the error messages cleared and it saved me a trip to the dealer.

Did Microsoft design this OS? Why does this sound like XP-SP2.

 

Don't ever run your car without the battery installed. Your battery acts as an electicity dump and your car's electrical system dumps any unused current into the battery. When your car needs more juice than your alternator can supply, it draws the extra current from your battery....your car doesn't only use the battery when starting up!

 

The TeleAid person might not have had anything to do with the errors reseting, I just had the battery fail and when I had to jump start it or when I replaced the battery the first time it started there were errors: TeleAid SOS, ESP not functioning, Light sensor not working etc. but when I turned the engine off then back on again it cleared all the errors and then car's fine.
So my advice is if you have a flat battery or have to replace it, don't get too concerned about error messages until you've restarted the car as most seem to resolve.

 

After 5 1/2 years, my OEM battery died yesterday, and thus began my worries whether the car would be the same after I install the new battery.

I bought a MB replacement, took it home to the garage and did two things that I think helped. First, I moved the hood to the full vertical position (red button on driver's side hood prop), and then I removed the battery bracket before disconnecting the battery. The bracket is on the engine side of the battery, down low. It needed three socket extensions to get to the 13mm bolts. The idea was to minimize the amount of time the battery(s) were disconnected.

Only then did I loosen the battery terminal clamps. Neg, first, then Pos. Lift old battery out immediately (straight up, hood out of way), and immediately drop the new one in, install Pos clamp then Neg. The wires were unconnected less than 90 seconds. Reinstall battery clamp and cabin filter. done in 10 minutes.

Viola, no radio reset, fuel gauge problem or dead SAM module (the main worry). I did get the ESP MFD error (turn lock to lock fix), and I had to rezync just one of the windows and the sunroof. But that's it. I was relieved.

BTW, you should check with your dealer if they accept MB Club membership discounting. (MBCA.org $45 per year.) My $120 battery cost only $93, saving nearly half the membership fee immediately. I'm learning to always ask the parts dept what the MBClub price is on every potential purchase.

 

I took my 2001 C320 Sedan to the dealer for the 60K service. I didn't have any problems at all with my car when I took it in, just wanted to keep up on the regular servicing. They called me and wanted to give suggestions of what needs to be done extra. I couldn't believe the list, and I haven't had any problems at all to begin with. They said the battery was bad, change the spark plugs, change the caster link bushings, and service the transmission (they said it wasn't leaking yet, but looked like it might start leaking at the electric plug). I told them to just do the normal service which already was costing me $330.00 and I would address the other later when I could do without the car and/or schedule a loaner car. And they wanted right at $2000 to do this extra servicing.
When I drove away, it seemed to drive fine at first. But then something started flapping in the A/C area behind the dash. I figured it was because the battery was supposed to be bad. So I ran out and bought a new battery and replaced it myself (the dealer wanted $180 to put in a new battery, I bought one for $85 and put it in myself). But the clicking noise was still continuing after I replaced the battery.
So I surfed the internet to find out about the clicking noise. Most every site said it was a faulty stepper motor or broken flap in it. They said to take it to a dealer and have then take the dash appart and fix it. It would cost them around $700-800. But I figured it only started after the service, so it must have been something THEY did.

You said to resync Climate Control by pressing the defrost button and recirculate button at the same time. I did that and it brings up 2 different codes. At first it shows a "0" & "55; then it changes to "0" & "57".

Should I stop on one of those codes for my particular model of car??????[/
Or how does it work? Shoud I do it when the car is running or stopped? Do you know if I push any more buttons? And do you know if there is any website listing all of the codes for my car?

I think it might be fixed, but don't know if the code is correct for the car and if it might cause any problems if it's on the wrong code.
Thanks

 

I do not know what the codes mean. I posted about resyncing the stepper motors, because it was mentioned in another thread on the subject of battery changes. I don't think resyncing should not throw any codes (any more than resyncing a window).

The clicking noise is a known issue with weak parts within the stepper flap (the gearing can strip). It's a mechanical issue, not electronic. When mine broke, it did not throw any codes. It was replaced under warranty, but I see yours is a 2001 and probably is out of warranty.

 

I was just wondering if any of you guys use a voltage stabilizer box? I've seen many of these boxes sold at many autoshops, but i never really seen an MB driver use it.
Does it really make a significant improvement to the stability of the electrical current?

 

Holy **** mother of god
I accidentally disconnected the positive before the negative connector...
Now here's the problem:
trunk wont open
lock system is screwed
lighting is also weird
my gas gauge isnt working...

Am i going to have to face a $320 bill like gmzc320 ??? is there any chance of it just being sumthing else???

 

I had the battery replaced at the dealership (MB of San Diego) on my 02 C230 a couple of weeks ago as part of the 75K service. I tried to start my car yesterday afternoon and it'd crank but not start.

Turns out the rear SAM, fuel pump and some connector are dead and they're replacing it all under warranty (I'm so glad I paid for the extended warranty!) It worries me that there are so many issues with simply replacing a battery on my car....


Andy in San Diego
02 C230K (Die Silber Kugel)

 

My Interstate Battery that I have had for 5 years was getting a little weak (I do have an 800 watt stereo system) so I just replaced it with the almighty Interstate MTP-93 $116.00 with a whopping CCA: 850. CA: 1065. Like Bob said I had to do some re-sync tasks like my sunroof and a window or two and turn the wheel to get rid of the esp warning. It was piece of cake and I must say that I have always used Interstate Batteries and never have regretted it.

 

OMG please help. I was having problems the other day with my battery. I had to jump it a few times and then got it home and bought a new battery. Everything at this point ran fine except the battery. I changed out the battery. Now My car won't even run. It starts up.. revs high for about 20 sec then drop out and stalls. I try to press on the gas and there is no/late response and the rpms are all over the place. I'm driving 99 SLK230 with 56,000 miles. I have tried resetting the ECU by disconnection the battery but have no luck.. What could this be? What can I do?

 

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No problem at all

Windows: Pano roof: Place the key to position 2, hold pano roof button DOWN for 30 seconds. it's ok now.
Windows: hold the driver side window button up for 30 seconds. It's ok now.

ESP or ABS not working: (work it for some minutes on dyno mode and then on normal mode): turn the key to position 1, press reset button UNTIL you hear a Beep, on the left side of the steering wheel push the lower right button and then use the up down arrow to get to dyno mode screen and press +- keys to set the mode. start the engine and work it for some minutes.


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I HAVE A 2002 C320, IT SITS MOST OF THE TIME AND MY BATTERY DIES, IS IT SOME RUNING IN THE CAR THAT DRAINS THE BATTERY, THE BATTERY HAS BEEN REPLACE TWICE IN THE LAST 2 WEEKS. HAS ANYONE HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM, IF SO PLEASE HELP.

 

Maybe you can help me. I left my lights on and my battery is dead. firstly, It's a 2001 c-240 six speed manual. Can I roll it and pop the clutch? If the answer is no, what is the exact procedure I should follow that will not blow the rear and/or front sam when I remove the battery to charge it? what procedure should I follow to remove and replace the battery? I've read where the windows and such need to be resynced I can handle that. What I'm trying to avoid is having to replace components I don't have to replace if I perform the procedure properly. Also, where is the battery located? I've only had the car a couple of months. Please help!!!