Florida 210
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 462
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From: CT and FL
SL500 E320 ML350
Florida 210
I have a '01 E320 (25000 miles on the odo) that I keep in Florida for when my wife and I are in our place there. At times we are not there for 4 - 5 months at a stretch. I bought one of those "Battery Minders" that you hook up to keep the battery charged. I hook the leads to the poles available under the hood rather than directly to the battery under the back seat. Two questions: 1) Are these "Battery Minder" things any good? 2) Will using the poles under the hood be as good as direct connection to the battery? Anybody else doing this? (oops I guess thats three questions)! Thanks 
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Naples, FL
BMW X3. R33 skyline
go to a vw dealershiip and pick up one of these
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...936185908&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...936185908&rd=1
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 455
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From: Fl
92 500sel/01 320e wag
battery minders
The connection under the hood is a good one as long as no one disturbs it and knocks off the clips. The battery under the seat is a great place to put a "battery minder" lots of room but then there is the issue of the extension cord routing out of the car. There is probably no easy answer, routing a pigtail into the grille like they did with block heaters, is a pain in the butt also.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 462
Likes: 0
From: CT and FL
SL500 E320 ML350
You're right about the danger of clips popping off. I set up the "minder" before I left FL last time and it did pop off. As you can imagine (after 5 months) the battery was totally dead when I returned. Lucky for me it was still under warranty. MB road assist came and put in a new one, no charge. I thought about the pigtail through the grill (one comes with the unit) but you are right again - a pain in the butt. I'm hoping that when I arrive in a week or so it cranks up OK. Thanks 
