Jazziette

I have had my CLK in storage for several months now. I didn't disconnect the battery and put the charger on it for about five hours.

It seems to be charging back up now and is trying now to respond. After five hours it still doesn't have a sufficient charge to start but is showing more signs of life.

How much longer can I safely charge it? Anyone know?

Thanks!

~ Jazziette

HighEndOne

It could take 12 to 24 hours to get a full charge in that battery. Also, is the charger automatic? What I mean is will it taper off the amps as the battery reaches full charge? You want to be careful not to boil it...

If you really let the battery go totally dead, it may never come back. A new on may be your only way out. So give it 24 hours on an automatic charger. If it does not start, or is really weak, I would a new one pronto! Getting stranded is no fun.

Jazziette

Hi HighEndOne!

I really appreciate your response! The charger has two settings and I now have it on the 'trickle' setting.

I didn't know what else to do but try that as I didn't want to 'fry it' either. I'm hoping I don't have to get a new battery but it could be that since I let it completely drain out I have no other option. I could call for 'assistance' but I'm trying to fix it first.

I'll let you know what happens!

Thanks again!

~ Jazziette

HighEndOne

And does the charger have a meter on it? How about the word "automatic"?

Trickle will take quite a while...

Jazziette

It isn't automatic.

It has a six amp 12 volt setting and a 2 amp 12 vote setting.

The Charger stated in the manual it isn't automatic and so after reading your post I decided to put it on trickle instead of the six amp because I don't want to overcharge it. Also, I thoroughly read the charger manual this time and it did state that a battery that's been completely drained should be charged up more slowly to get it to take the full charge. At least that's what it said.

It's been charging now on the 2 amp trickle for about 12 hours now and the last time I tried to start it (about an hour ago) it finally made an 'ughhh' noise. Just one 'ugghh' noise and then stopped. I didn't try to force it but it was the fist sign that to me that there was a possibility of success. My manual did say that if the battery had been completely drained it could take quiet a while to recharge it, if at all.

But I have renewed faith. I think I can safely let it charge on trickle overnight. What do you think?

Sorry for the long post. It's a woman thing I guess!

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and helpful responses!

I'll keep you posted!

~ Jazz

PS.....The charger does have a meter on it. It's showing around 75 percent on the low amp reading currently. The manual says it should be just under 100 percent. It's a Schumacher Charger.

xmodrelic

Just an idea, now that you have the battery juiced up enough to get a small response why not try and jump it with another vehicle?

Also since your charging your battery for so long you should look into checking the water/acid level. As a last resort if the charging doesn't hold you could try adding water, theses are maintenance-free but I think you can still add water, kinda like our maintenance-free trannies.

good luck

sfclk

id call MB for a free jump.

HighEndOne

It can't hurt it for a limited time. As the battery charges, you should see the meter drop down closer to zero.

Yes a jump could get it started, but if you go out with a bad baettery you are likely going to get stranded somewhere. You would need to drive the car for a couple of hours straight on the highway to really charge that battery. Plus, you are in AZ where the A/C will be running and loading down the charging system on the car.

If it won't hold a charge, get a new battery. NOW.

Regards, JM

Chappy

How old is the battery? They usually only last 4 or 5 years.

If you have a weak or erratic battery, it could negatively affect other sensitive electronics in your CLK.

Jazziette

Quote:

Originally Posted by HighEndOne

It can't hurt it for a limited time. As the battery charges, you should see the meter drop down closer to zero.

Yes a jump could get it started, but if you go out with a bad baettery you are likely going to get stranded somewhere. You would need to drive the car for a couple of hours straight on the highway to really charge that battery. Plus, you are in AZ where the A/C will be running and loading down the charging system on the car.

If it won't hold a charge, get a new battery. NOW.

Regards, JM

Hey JM!

Good news! I continued the charge overnight on the 2 amp/12 volt trickle. It charged a full 24 hours per your recommendation. This morning the meter needle was at 100 percent fully charged. I also checked the water/acid in the battery and all the cells were still full.

I did get some error messages but after I let it run for a while and then shut it down and restarted it they went away. It's also interesting that the clock was still set to the correct time.

Anyway I drove it to the closest full serve station and got the air in the tires checked. They were pretty low. All else under the hood checked out great. The car only has 12K miles on it. I need to drive it more! LOL

Next trip.....to the dealership for an routine exam!

Anyway....I really do want to thank you for all the information and encouragement you gave me. I think my battery is okay but if not I have an extended warranty on the vehicle that will cover it.

I would highly recommend to anyone that leaves their car sitting for any period of time to recharge the battery just as you recommended. Slowly and for 24 hours.

But I would also say......don't let it drain completely down! Not ever if you can avoid it!

Thanks again so much. Hope you'll be around the next time I have a question!



~ Jazz

Jazziette

Hey there and thanks for the response! The reason I didn't want to have MB come out and jump it or someone else is that I wanted to try to get a full charge on the battery if I could. I did check the water/acid level and all the cells were full. Thanks for the suggestion! I might have had it jump started if I had a 200 mile trip planned or something but under the circumstances I wanted to make sure the battery wasn't damaged first.

It's running great now. The 24 hour slow tickle charge did the trick!

Thanks so much! Have a great day!



~ Jazz

Jazziette

Thanks SFCLK! I pretty much answered this with my last post but the reason is that just a jumpstart wouldn't have solved my problems. I wanted to get a full charge on the battery.

Thanks again!

~ Jazz

Jazziette

I don't know how old the battery is actually. But I'm pretty sure it's the original. I'm the second owner of this vehicle. And it still has only 12K miles on it. I bought it a year ago and had it shipped from MD. It's truly beautiful! Bright Red cabriolet!

Perfect and without a blemish! Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the original battery made in Spain. I've heard they can last longer. Is that true?

I'll probably spring for a new one anyway if my dealership recommends it. The thing about here in Arizona is when they go.....they just go!



Thanks so much for the response! I'm so happy it's running again and I can drive it in this incredible weather! Nothing makes you want to put the top down like 112 degrees!

Have a good one!

~ Jazz