Harris

My car's battery was completely drained out last month. The dealer tested my car and said "something" was constantly draining my battery. At first I thought it was my I.C.E. system, so I disconnected everything. They gave me a brand new battery. Yesterday, the new battery was completely dead again.

I am suspecting there's something wrong with the alternator??? If the alternator is faulty, which means the car will have to constantly get its power from the battery and causes it to die so quickly. Does it sound logical?

SiLvaC32

that does sound logical... my friend has the exact same problem on his A4. his optima will just die on him too.

noka

The dealer should be able to easily diagnose an alternator problem. Ask them if they checked it.

Rgds,
Norm

ardy6931

Hey bro,

Had the same type of problem a while back, happened twice and both times the dealer just changed the battery. Which means pretty much they dont know what the problem is, don't think its the alternator because if it were to be that i would think you would experience more frequent losses in power, not sure though.

ardy

JeT

That's very strange they didn't check the alternator when you took it in. You would think that would be one of the main things they check when you have battery problems, especially if the battery isn't that old.

KompressorKev

my c32 had persistent battery problems. roadside-assistance even gave me a brand new battery, and it ended up dying also. dealer said my alternator was fried, and that it was likely somehow caused by the hid foglights or my bixenon headlights (aftermarket-bought OEM retrofit).

noka

Maybe the answer is in Harris' signature:
C32AMG with LOTS of gadgets....

Rgds,
Norm

cntlaw

Your dealer should fix the problem and give you a new battery free.
It's such a damn thing to happen.

noka

One can hope for that outcome but the fact is that they will not (and should not) cover the repair or battery if it was found to be caused by some aftermarket accessories or wiring modifications (e.g. high resistance to ground leaking charge).

Rgds,
Norm

Fikse

last friday, I get in my C32 to leave work and nada... the dash lights flickered and that was it... I had someone try to jump start my car, and it wouldn't work... tried two differerent cars.... left them hooked up for 15 minutes and it still wouldn't start...

call MB roadside assistance.... 15 minutes later someone showed up from Bill Ussery with a new battery and all was good....

weird how I couldn't even jump start the car....

noka

An internal battery short could produce such a symptom. Not an uncommon failure.

Rgds,
Norm

BlackC230Coupe

Thats what you think! On my CLK430 i got stranded once and roadside replaced the battery. About 2 days later the car didnt start again. We had it towed to the dealer. And they checked the alternator and said it was fine and the battery they replaced it with was still no good. I got home that night and the car didnt start again with a new battery. Finally, towed back to the dealer and they had to replace the alternator. Which they said at first was fine. So, with that experience, its hard to me to agree that "The dealer should be able to easily diagnose an alternator problem." Although you would think they should.

noka

You provide only a single data point and dealer technical abilities have been known to vary widely. However, I will concede that some problems may be difficult to diagnose (e.g. an alternator with marginal charging capability or strange intermittent problem).

Rgds,
Norm

QINQIN

if i change the OEM bi-xneon will be have the battery problem too???

KompressorKev

not necessarily. i think it had to do something with my HID foglights, but not sure. also, i did not immediately have the ECU reset to "Xenon: Present" as i should have after installing the bixenons, and the HID foglights together. i waited a bit because there wasn't an open appointment to have this done. not sure if this was the problem, and i'm not sure if OEM bixenons caused the problem, but this was my case. i don't know for sure though

Wiedermann

Mr. Harris:

Please let us know what the resolution is on your prob. Will be interesting to see time frames on getting the part(s) (if needed) etc.

Thanks

Wiedermann

rcalcaide

I need a new battery every 4 months. I dont know whats up, neither does the dealer. Have any your dealers figured out this battery problem?

R

1313

Two possibilities:

1) Jump cables not thick enough. There are some jump cables in the market with thin copper wires inside.

2) The donor's car is a smaller engine (i.e. 4 cyn). Their amp may not be high enough to start a 6 cyl car. I experienced that before.

liquid7sid

I had the same problem with my car, and have diagnosed it to the seat control modules. Took it to the dealership, and had them replace both, have not had a problem since!

Harris

Guess what? After replacing two batteries and the seat control module. This morning when I started up my car, the battery seemed it is going to die AGAIN!! The car is in the shop again, I hope they are finally going to change the alternator this time.

amgdoc

i heard there was a recall on the alternator.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,...538401,00.html

could be related to your problem

Harris

They checked, but for some reason, my car is not on the recall list. Although it was built in July '01.

SLAM

this what happening to my car rite now too.. this thing happen even before i had my ice. this year alone already change 3 battery. any body know how much to repair this kind of problem?

Mono6

just replace the regulator (It's easy & cheaper), instead the alternator.

mine was replace 1 month before the warranty expires...(1yr 1/2 ago)..

trbo2nr

I'd connect an OBDII reader to see the output from the alternator. Since
you know the replacement batteries are good. Maybe a faulty/shorted voltage
regulator. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with it.