vettdvr

Electronics don't really care how much you pay for the power source as long as it has the correct AMPS, Surge,Volts. The electrons can speak German, English or French and they will still work.

So I would not consider an aftermarket battery "messin up" if it fits, has proper mounting,vents,post, and power as described above.

Besides I have so many other "high tech" stuff break on the MB why not just use items that meet the spec such as M1 0w40 Oil vs buying oil from MB.

Dexion

^^ I second that, I have no problems with my aftermarket items.

Hell nearly my whole front suspension was made from a company in taiwan except for my upper control arms and they are giving me no problems 35,000 miles STRONG and the car feels tighter than a vigrin. I have Ebay Rotors and brake pads and my car stops on a dime with no noise or warping.

Green E-300 DT

I seriously doubt that! To say that an independant supplier is charging more for a battery than any dealer?
Come on now. What do you take us for?

If you have the money to waste, go to the dealer and pay whateven amount they ask.

On the other hand, If you are like me and living on a 'fixed income', and understand basic mechanics
and electronics, do-it-yourself as I and many other here do and enjoy the savings.
Even were I a millionaire which I am far from being, I
would still do my own repairs when I am qualified.



Derrel

vettdvr

I never thought about ebay for suspension parts? Which parts did you buy? My ball joints went out around 70,000 miles and now at 117,000 I am expecting them to fail again.

Dexion

MAC Auto parts on ebay, based in NY they sell HD versions of control arms, and ball joints for a few Mercedes cars. My upper balljoints are LEMforder and there is no difference as far as I can tell in build quality.

The main company is called Lii Hau or something i forgot but they have their own website and look like a pretty legit company. I even posted a youtube video showing how tough the ball joints were when I got them.

theunderlord

I found a picture of this guy online...

Green E-300 DT

Good one!



Derrel

spkml320

[QUOTE=Green E-300 DT;5087333]

I seriously doubt that! To say that an independant supplier is charging more for a battery than any dealer?
Come on now. What do you take us for?

If you have the money to waste, go to the dealer and pay whateven amount they ask.

On the other hand, If you are like me and living on a 'fixed income', and understand basic mechanics
and electronics, do-it-yourself as I and many other here do and enjoy the savings.
Even were I a millionaire which I am far from being, I
would still do my own repairs when I am qualified.



Derrel[/QUOTE

My cost for the Mercedes Benz primary battery was just over $200.00 and the Interstate battery was $231.00. I get wholesale pricing at my dealer which saved me about $50.00. I did not have to waste any of my time doing research and hoping that a cheaper battery would work properly with the vehicle's own self-diagnostic systems. I would have bought the Interstate secondary battery had I known about it in advance. I didn't even know that the car had two batteries until after I replaced the trunk mounted battery. I stand by my decision to stick with dealer parts whenever practical.

That said, I just replaced the water pump, idler pulley, belt tensioner, and serpentine belt on my 2002 ML320 with high quality parts purchased from AutohausAZ. The only items I bought from the dealer was a thermostat gasket and 2 gallons of coolant. Perfect repair. Saved a lot of money. It depends on the situation and the complexity of the vehicle. The 2004 E500 has an overly complicated electrical system and if the car needed to go in for dealer service, dealers are notorious for blaming everything on aftermarket parts, especially electronics. I have no issues with using Interstate batteries and neither would the dealer. If running around to Walmart or Autozone and buying a battery that needs to be activated and charged is a good use of your time and money, then that's fine. To me, it's a waste of time and money, because my time is money.

Don't get me wrong. I will use a quality aftermarket part on my Mercedes Benz or BMW whenever appropriate, but not all the time. Nor will I ever modify my vehicle to accomadate an aftermarket part. A perfect part is perfect. If it isn't perfect, it's not worth it at any price.

I just hope you are not one of people that believes your insurance company when they tell you that aftermarket sheetmetal is just as good as the dealer part.

Have fun at my expense if that makes you happy, but to me your logic makes no sense. Neither does your math. I replaced OE batteries on a 2004 with OE batteries 7.5 years after production and never had a no start situation. Try that with your Walmart battery.

Green E-300 DT

So what? I got nine years out of the original Ford battery in my 2000 Ford Focus Kona model.
Ford had a good original battery supplier. Does that mean that the new battery the parts
department sells you today is of that same quality as the one made in early 2000?

Some of what you write tells me and others that you do not understand basic electronics.
Either a battery works or it does not. Either it is of the proper size physically or it is not.
Either it had the correct amperes hours, or it does not.

Well my friend, it appears that you have much more money than I do.
It also appears that you do not know who to contact and where to get good pricing!
As an example, I found that retail for the small up front battery was $131 right
off of the Interstate site, but my friend got it for me for only $66 plus tax.
I am sure he will be able to do the same thing for me when it comes time for me to replace the
large battery in the back, and I will not be paying anywheres near to over $200 as you did.

I do not have fun at anyones expense, but I do tend to point out faults when I see them, and for you
to say that the factory MBZ battery is better than anyone else makes is just plain ignorant!
Do you think that MBZ makes their own batteries?
Did you notice the name on the small battery when you replaced it? It was not German was it?
Made in Italy, not Germany.
MBZ has their batteries supplied to them by some large manufacturer.
Who of us are qualified to say which manufacturer produces the best battery?
It is not clear to me what you wound up paying for your factory MBZ battery.
Was it just over $200 after your wholesale pricing?

I have not felt the need to replace my main battery yet, but when I do, I will have my parts manager
friend check around for me and get me what he feels is the best deal and that is the one
I will use, and I will bet you, it will be far less than slightly over $200.
Recall that I paid only $66 plus tax for the small battery up front,
and I am sure it will be just fine, thank you.
Try pricing that one at your dealer even with your so-called discount and see how much it is?

The big battery for my CDI (the same as your E-500) is only $98.99 at Walmart if I recall correctly.
So less than half price of what your MBZ dealer charged you?
If you are so sold on using genuine MBZ parts, why did you use someone elses
parts when you did that water pump and related other installations?
Or did you get the MBZ parts costs from your discounting dealer and
find you could do better using an independent supplier?

No sir. You do it your way and waste money, but I will try to save money and do it my way.
At my age, I must try to hang on to what few dollars I get, and
throwing them at the dealer is not good thinking IMHO.

Of course, try to stay away from Chinese parts, but how do we
really know where some parts are made until we get them?

Carry on. You do it your way and waste money and myself
and others here will do it our way and save money.
Which way is the smarter way to go?



Derrel

spkml320

[quote=Green E-300 DT;5098378]

So what? I got nine years out of the original Ford battery in my 2000 Ford Focus Kona model.
Ford had a good original battery supplier. Does that mean that the new battery the parts
department sells you today is of that same quality as the one made in early 2000?

Some of what you write tells me and others that you do not understand basic electronics.
Either a battery works or it does not. Either it is of the proper size physically or it is not.
Either it had the correct amperes hours, or it does not.

Well my friend, it appears that you have much more money than I do.
It also appears that you do not know who to contact and where to get good pricing!
As an example, I found that retail for the small up front battery was $131 right
off of the Interstate site, but my friend got it for me for only $66 plus tax.
I am sure he will be able to do the same thing for me when it comes time for me to replace the
large battery in the back, and I will not be paying anywheres near to over $200 as you did.

I do not have fun at anyones expense, but I do tend to point out faults when I see them, and for you
to say that the factory MBZ battery is better than anyone else makes is just plain ignorant!
Do you think that MBZ makes their own batteries?
Did you notice the name on the small battery when you replaced it? It was not German was it?
Made in Italy, not Germany.
MBZ has their batteries supplied to them by some large manufacturer.
Who of us are qualified to say which manufacturer produces the best battery?
It is not clear to me what you wound up paying for your factory MBZ battery.
Was it just over $200 after your wholesale pricing?

I have not felt the need to replace my main battery yet, but when I do, I will have my parts manager
friend check around for me and get me what he feels is the best deal and that is the one
I will use, and I will bet you, it will be far less than slightly over $200.
Recall that I paid only $66 plus tax for the small battery up front,
and I am sure it will be just fine, thank you.
Try pricing that one at your dealer even with your so-called discount and see how much it is?

The big battery for my CDI (the same as your E-500) is only $98.99 at Walmart if I recall correctly.
So less than half price of what your MBZ dealer charged you?
If you are so sold on using genuine MBZ parts, why did you use someone elses
parts when you did that water pump and related other installations?
Or did you get the MBZ parts costs from your discounting dealer and
find you could do better using an independent supplier?

No sir. You do it your way and waste money, but I will try to save money and do it my way.
At my age, I must try to hang on to what few dollars I get, and
throwing them at the dealer is not good thinking IMHO.

Of course, try to stay away from Chinese parts, but how do we
really know where some parts are made until we get them?

Carry on. You do it your way and waste money and myself
and others here will do it our way and save money.
Which way is the smarter way to go?



Derrel[/QUOTE

As long as you are asking, my way is the smarter way to go. You apparently did not read my words carefully. I never said that I do not use aftermarket parts on my vehicles. The E500 is owned by my father. He purchased the car new and other than the maintenance services that I can provide such as brake service, brake fluid flushing, tune up related services, and non computer required mechanical repairs, the vehicle has been serviced exclusvely by the nearby Mercedes Benz dealer. Dealer service is expensive whether you own a Honda or a Mercedes.

It is obvious from your remarks that you are not the first owner of your vehicle. You resent those that don't have to do it your way. I'm not sure why. I'm certain that when you buy your next Mercedes you will look for the best car you can afford and you'll try to find a one owner, dealer serviced vehicle. And why not. That's what I do to.

When it comes to taking care of his car I do the best that I can and save him money whenever I can. If it were my car, I would have spent more time on this forum and would have had been willing to drive around for a week or two to see if the red battery message would have cleared itself. He was not comfortable driving the car at all with the warning message illuminated. I replaced both batteries at the dealer on a Saturday and on Monday morning I was at the dealer to get the code cleared and make sure that the entire charging system and the battery control system was functioning properly. It was. By 10 AM that morning I was done and my father was happy with the outcome.

I would definately have purchased the secondary battery for $70 if I knew of someone that would sell it to me at that price. In the end the only thing that matters is that the car was repaired and my father was pleased that it was done quickly with minimal downtime. He bought the car new. He can afford to care for it properly. I wasn't thrilled with spending over $300 on batteries that Saturday, but he wasn't concerned. I also tried the recommended procedure to clear the code. It did not work for me. By the way, none of it was a waste of money. The dealer parts are the best. Period. They aren't the only good parts, but they are the reference standard. Always. I don't resent your trying to save money on your maintenance. If you are absolutely certain that the batteries you have selected will perform perfectly, then by all means use them. The wrong batteries can and will cause electronic faults in the E500. Just read the forum. Buying dealer parts is never a mistake. It is not a waste of money. It is more expensive. You always get what you pay for.

As for the comments that I don't understand that electronics or the principles behind the battery and charging system is rediculous. I install marine electronics and maintain my own vehicles and powerboat. Thirty five years experience has proven a couple things: cheap tools are cheap tools and cheap parts never save money. Save as much money on labor that you can, but don't buy cheap parts. They end up being too expensive in the long run.

I wonder how many people buying a new Mercedes Benz with money they have and money they have earned would agree with your logic? According to your logic, buying a new Mercedes Benz and having it serviced by the dealer is a waste of money. They must all be stupid fools, right?

Green E-300 DT

BTW, get familiar with the correct manner to 'QUOTE' messages here.
Quoting both yours and the message you want to quote is not at all necessary.

Being a younger person, I am surprised that you do not know how to do that correctly!

Regards,



Derrel

jcat

Hey all, if I can detract from the pissing contest momentarily, I've got the dreaded red warning on my car. Well, sort of. I got back to it yesterday after being parked all day (12+hours), started the car to a red battery message, conv. functions disabled, heavy power steering, abs light and ESP deactivated.

I then moved the car out of the garage and pulled over. Turned it off, entered the service menu and got the voltage display. Started the car, same warning, same conditions. Drove it home and noticed the voltage read anywhere from 10.9-12v WHILE driving even under load. However, about 2/3 of the way home, I noticed the voltage jump up to 13.9v and stay there, pegged. Giving it gas varied it to 14.0 but that was about all.

Car is a 2006 e500 4matic, original batteries to my knowledge, never had the alternator done and I don't believe the BCM was done nor the aux relay. Car ran fine the rest of the way home, started up later that night with no alarms and again this morning with no issue whatsoever. Any direction one of the vets can point me in? I'm just not the type of person to throw parts at a problem without proper diagnosis.

vettdvr

Jcat it sounds like charging system problem etiher alt or regulator. See if you can find someone in your area that can do an on car test for you. I suspect replacing both would be the way to go.

BTW I can create my own contest I have no plans to join another. :-)

jcat

Yeah that's what I had figured, I was probably going to replace just the little guy up front anyway, they're both original batteries to the car. I'll probably have the dealer run a VMI anyway to see if the BCM or regulator have been replaced as I've noticed the headlights/cluster dimming from time to time also, usually when the SBC pump kicks in.

Green E-300 DT

Sounds like you are on the correct path.

Try replacing the little battery (the Fiamm) up front and see what happens then.

The fact that your car was able to be started several times tells you that
the monster battery in the rear is most likely still okay, at least for now.

After you remove and replace the smaller front battery, check those cells
for voltage and I think you will probably find at least one dead cell.

See what happens then, and IF you are still having problems, then proceed to the dealer.

Good luck!



Derrel

thegamemodo9

My mother received this dreaded warning this morning on the drive home as well. I won't be able to access it until tonight, but my dad said the rear battery was showing proper voltage after a load test, although he tested it about an hour after it got home. IIRC, the aux battery was replaced last year during the service. Is it possible for this one to go bad again so quickly, assuming that's the problem? My mom said there were no warnings for any convenience features disabled and all else seemed to be working just fine (she was only using A/C on the drive home, no radio or anything).

How do I test the alternator to see if that's the problem?

Green E-300 DT

Seems unlikely that an only one year old aux. battery could go bad, but anything is possible.

The fact that the rear (hugh) battery is fully charged speaks well for the alternator wouldn't you agree?

If she gets the red light again, disconnect the aux battery and check if to see if it is fully charged.
That would be the simpliest and easiest plan of action IMHO.

I drove mine for several weeks with a bad aux. battery and nothing happened. Tell her not to worry.
As long as it starts, the altenator is doing its job keeping the main battery fully charged.



Derrel

thegamemodo9

I will test both batteries again when I get home. I'll be a little upset if it does end up being the aux battery again; that should not fail again so quickly, but I guess it happens every now and then.

My causes for concern are that I don't believe the main battery has ever been replaced (bought it used as a lease return after 3 years). Could it also be possible that a relay or some other wiring is faulty? That's not something I'd be able to assess though.

Green E-300 DT

Of course, it could be that relay, but you will know when you check out both batteries.
There should be a date on the larger battery telling you how old it is.

Please keep us posted.



Derrel

thegamemodo9

Hmm...well I couldn't find a date on the main battery. I know it's set in WW YY format, but I didn't see it on the top. Battery looks quite old to me anyway.

I load tested both batteries before starting the car again. It had been sitting since 8am. The main battery showed it was "healthy" (12V range) before and after starts. The auxiliary read "healthy" (also 12V range) cold but dropped to 10.2V under load. Is that considered weak? I left it on for about a minute and then the aux read in the "healthy" range under another load test. I don't believe I have a charging issue from this.

I turned the car on once for about 15 seconds and had the warning. The second start, where I left it on for about a minute, produced no warnings (car was not moved either time). The build date of the aux battery is 36 10 and was installed June of last year.

What do you gather from this?

Efivehundred

Where is the date on the large battery? I can see that my small battery is from the second week of 9/02, but can't find the date on the larger battery.

Gersh320

Aside from replacing the aux battery, I might also consider changing the terminals connecting to the battery. I despise electrical issues, too difficult to fix.

vettdvr

100% = 12.73
90% = 12.62
80% = 12.50
70% = 12.37
60% = 12.24
50% = 12.10
40% = 11.96
30% = 11.81
20% = 11.66
10% = 11.51

thegamemodo9

My mom drove the car to and from work last night (approx 45 miles round trip). No error messages. I'm going to check the batteries again when I get home. I'm leaning toward it being the aux battery or the relay. Both batteries showed they were healthy cold. I want to test them under load again. The second load test on the aux showed it was healthy while off (though this may have been from charging while I had the car running).

Green E-300 DT

That is exactly how my original aux battery did for several weeks after I purchased my CDI used in December, 2011.
I would start it and drive to the mail box and shut if off, and a minute later,
when started, the message would be gone and stay that way all day long.
The problem was definitely the aux battery, as it had one completely dead cell.
When I removed it, that same 10.2 volt reading is exactly what I got. In other words, one dead cell!
You do know that each cell should have at least 2.1 volts plus by itself?
The fact that the 'new' aux battery is only showing a little over 10 volts
tells me that your problem is with that 'new' aux. battery.

It's hard to understand how a practically new aux. battery could fail, but it was not exactly new
(Build Date-Wise) when it was installed. Is there any guarantee with that battery?
In the past, I have seen brand new batteries be bad right off of the shelf.

I am of the opinion that there is a failure with the replaced aux. battery.

Hard to tell when you must simply throw parts at the problem. But it appears to me to be the aux. battery.

Good luck.



Derrel