nickspud

Hello,

As the title suggests, I had to leave my 1997 e320 in my friends parking lot for a family health emergency and haven’t checked in or started the car in over an year. So the battery is understandably drained or completely dead.

I tried to jump start it but nothing worked. The headlights seem to glow slightly (the first few times) while turning the key but nothing else had happened.


Any suggestions on what I can do next? Preferably something that doesn’t break the bank.


My options seem to be

1. Get a battery charger that comes with a power bank
Unable to find one at local Walmart. Can someone suggest one I can get my hands on quick and hopefully easy to return if it doesn’t work

2. Charge the battery (socket)
I have borrowed a 12V 2A battery charger/maintainer but it requires to be plugged in to a socket. Is the battery easy to remove? If so could someone please link me to a toolset I could get somewhere I can pick up like Walmart? Online delivery is taking longer

3. Try my luck jumpstarting again in the day (have no volunteers atm)

4. Call AAA/towers (no insurance)

This is in Mountain View, California if that’s useful. Happy to answer any other questions and thanks in advance for helping!

-A

MattCordell

pour fresh fuel to the tank and replace battery if you can unlock your trunk
then try start the car

nickspud

Thanks for the response.

I am able to unlock the trunk. Could you please point me to any video/guide to remove the battery, any tools I'd need and perhaps a link to buy a new battery?

Thanks

bbirdwell

You can pick up the proper sized AGM battery at a Sam's club or any reputable Auto parts store.
-ensure key fob is not in the ignition switch.
-remove rear seat
-disconnect negative cable at the battery in this case. during normal service you would disconnect the ground cable underneath the front of the rear seat.
-disconnect positive cable.
-disconnect vent tubes from the battery. These are intended to prevent a hydrogen gas buildup under the rear seat that could ignite and explode.
-remove old battery and install new battery preferably without throwing your back out because they're pretty darn heavy!
-follow the above instructions in reverse to start your car.

Main thing to remember is to never have the key fob in the ignition switch when you are connecting a new battery or attaching jumper cables to a flat battery. With key fob in the ignition, electronic modules are energized, and the voltage spikes will blow fuses and can damage modules. I've seen this on several occasions on others' cars.

One of the things I like about my w-210 versus my w211 is that the w210 has jumper connections underneath the hood where is the w211 I own does not.

nickspud

Thank you for the detailed response. I was able to pickup a portable charger/jump starter. I want to try charging it before replacing the battery. Can I use the positive terminal under the hood and any other non painted metal as ground for charging or reach under the rear passenger seat

raymond g-

bring a volt meter with you. if the static measure shows below 11vdc, I'm thinking that the portable power bank isn't going to cut it unless it has huge reserve capacity. They're designed mostly to provide decent-to-healthy surface charge. If the battery has undergone deep discharge, the only holistic approach is to perform a long and slow charge using tapered (plug-in-wall) charger. If you try to fast/boost charge, that may only provide superficial charge with no capacity. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound as though you'll be able to perform a dynamic, load test of the battery right now (e.g. check voltage while engine is cranking). That is the best method, not static test.

I thought the battery is under the rear seat. It should be pulled out and brought to a wall charger. It isn't unusual to charge for a few days at 2amp. Slow and low is better for the health of the battery.

The battery cables are attached via something like 14mm nuts so bring several open end wrenches with you around that size. There is a big bolt which secures a metal clamp holding the battery down against the cabin floor. Sorry if I'm incorrect and your battery isn't under the bench seat.

Yes, you should be able to use the posts under the hood in the engine bay.


(if you need the owner's manual)

nickspud

Thank you. I ended up getting a portable jump starter kit and I was able to start the car. However, after letting in run for 2 hours, I turned the engine off and it looks like the battery didn't charge at all. So, I'm not sure what to do next?

loden338

Local Mercedes dealer recommended this battery (minnesota winters!) interstate battery mtp-49/h8

nickspud

Thank you for the detailed response. Not sure why my reply wasn't posted.

I used a portable jump starter power bank and was able to start the engine but even after running it for 2.5 hours the battery didn't seem to charge even a little bit because when I turned my engine off, everything went dark instantly. So I'm not sure how to think about it. Is the alternator not running properly?


I took out the battery last night and tried to slow charge it. Voltage is 11.7V. But there seems to be an error when trying to charge it(red light). This morning it looks like it's charging again. I'm thinking to let it charge for 24 hours, but not sure how to check if its fully charged. Should I get a new battery?

raymond g-

It is my keyboard opinion that the battery has suffered deep and possibly irrecoverable discharge...likely sulfation build-up on the lead plates that it is currently not possible to hold a healthy charge. Further testing will be necessary to determine if long term trickle charging can reverse the process (talking about a week at 1 amp). Again, the car alternator of all modern cars are not designed to recharge a battery which has suffered catastrophic discharge.


You can identify the battery (e.g. make model #, battery type) to help with diagnosis. You can also help by measuring the voltage while the engine is being cranked. Another rough gauge is to turn on the headlight for a minute with the engine off. Then turn headlight off and measure the battery voltage. Generally, if the voltage is below 12vdc then the battery is in trouble.

https://www.goauto.ca/blog/how-to-te...attery-voltage