jay m

Procrastination seems to be the key! This morning the alarm cleared itself. My best guess is that the computer must be programed to clear a fault after "X" number of ignition cycles that are within the specified parameters........maybe.......or the light burned out and the car figured if was futile to keep up the effort.

Jay

Drazil

Would this aux battery (small battery in the front) affect the car being able to start? I had a problem with my car (03 E500) a couple months back, and after testing the main battery in the trunk at 9v, then 7v, then 5v I replaced it and all was working fine again.

Then this morning I go to start the car, and the exact same thing... I hear a bunch of clicks, and the car won't start. I didn't get any error messages on the dash prior to this. The only odd thing I've noticed is that in the center console, only on the panel that opens up, the lights would flash on and off every so often.

I went back to try it again a while later, and now I see a red message about the brakes, and still no start

vettdvr

NO. The aux bat. will not affect start. Based on what you are seeing I would check the main battery. It might be a new one but it sounds like it isn't working properly. Either your charging system is defective or the New Battery has failed internally. (I think your new battery is defective).

SO NO the Aux bat won't affect starting.

Drazil

Is there any way for me to check the charging system? I didn't touch the car all long weekend and the last time this happened, I hadn't driven the car for a week. I wonder if something is draining the battery while the car is off. Another post mentioned covering the rain sensor so it doesn't activate any pumps when the garage lights turn on/off, but I don't hear anything activate and if the battery dies after 3 days due to the sensor turning things on, it is a pretty bad design flaw.

vettdvr

You can jump start the car with cables then take it and have the charging system tested. If the bat checks on and so does the charge system there is a battery relay that sometimes fails and keeps the battery under load while the car is off. this will also run the battery down. You can do a search on this site for battery relay for more details. I still supsect the battery.

Cocoa Tom

I am new to this forum, and learned from VettDvr about the options for the aux battery. I bought the Autozone GTX14-BS today for $81.99. The guy said the batteries just went up in the past couple of weeks. Still much better than the dealer, and saving the dough on this easy installation is nothing but fun!!

Thanks guys!

vettdvr

Glad it worked out for you sorry the $$ went up. I paid $149 for the OE battery before I did the research on opions. What gave me the lead was the OE battery had the name of a company in Italy that produced the battery. Then I went to their corporate website and researched the products lines they produced. From this I got ref #'s and then went into batteries sold in the US. Once I found the "key" I was able to cross to other sold in US batteries that are all produced by the same company and meet the same specs. And therefore the batteries recommend. Some of them I actually went into the stores and made a physical comparisom just to be sure.

So there really is no reason not to save some $$ in this area. Unfortunately I had to pay the full $149 to get the "leads" to find the "key".

jlc1978

Just did the replacement with the WalMart battery. You'll need the 2 square nuts that come with it as the posts aren't threaded like the OEM; just slide them in an use the existing bolts will work just fine.

The nuts are 10mm, a socket and short extension works well.

The cabin air filter is in the A/C cover so if you haven't replaced it now's a good time to do so.

Two comments:

You'll need a trickle charger; I picked up a 1.5 charger/maintainer for $20 at WalMart

The MB Battery sticker on top is removable and can be stuck on the new battery, and positive cover fits as well, for those who want that OEM look.

pdwilkersn

I had the Battery visit workshop warning and no other problems with the car. I figured since the OEM aux battery was almost 7 years old, that was probably it. When I removed the aux battery it did measure 11.6V. Don't know if that is any indication of a bad battery with all the specialized measurement procedures out there. Walmart didn't have a battery in stock so got a DieHard 14BS for $98. It was identical to the Fiamm that came with the car. I re-used the Fiamm nuts. It took 3 weeks and about 750 miles for the warning to go away.

2003 E500

Diesel Benz

This low voltage is a good indicator of a problem but how do you know if it is from a bad relay and if the relay started to work (temporarily) after three weeks of use?

vettdvr

It probably just took you a while to cycle and recharge the aux before it picked up full load to turn off the alarm.

deimos

Thanks! I replaced my auxiliary battery with the Diehard Gold 14-BS AGM. It was a perfect replacement.


What batteries are people using to replace the main battery in the trunk? I tried searching the forums, but there didn't appear to be any recommendations for replacements other than going to the dealer. I also tried using the online tool at sears.com, but it wasn't able to locate a replacement for my 2003 E320. Weird.

vettdvr

I found a AGM at autozone for about $175 that was exact replacement. Yesterday at walleymart I found a lead / acid replacement for $75.00 but the vent line was in the center of the battery case vs on the end as oem. It will probably work if you want lead acid.

deimos

Thanks. I'll swing by autozone and see if I can find that battery. If you have a part number, that'd be awesome. I tried searching their website for batteries that fit a 2003 E320, but it's not clear whether the batteries are AGM or not (I'm guessing not). In particular, I was looking at this Gold - Duralast Battery and trying to figure out if it was an AGM.

vettdvr

Sorry I didn't document the AZ AGM battery. It may not be instock, they told me it would take up to 2 days to get it. So don't just look at what is on the shelf.

hbamark

- Hi All - Thanks for all the great posts. I will have saved $200 doing it myself. Please see below link for batteries plus. All of the places I checked were at $90 or more for agm. This is $69 and it comes charged. I'm going to the store tomorrow to order one.

http://www.batteriesplus.com/p-32749...t-battery.aspx

vettdvr

Good find.

dsm2925

wheres the aux battery

jimbo1mcm

I have a subscription to AllData and in the battery removal and replacement for the aux and the main, it doesn't mention anything about loading the main battery with lights, blowers etc. Where does that procedure come from and does it cover MY 05 E320 CDI ??

Clinton Horn

I have one of these I installed in our 03 about 6 months ago. It is doing fine.
I had one in my Honda motorcycle for 4 years with a trickle charger and it certainly surpassed the Wal- Crap I had in other bikes. I replaced it with
another Batteries Plus AGM as well. I think they are like Sears and contract for stuff with different suppliers as time passes. My first one from them was a Yuasu. They make the best recreational type batteries on the planet (IMHOP)
I used a Bosch source for the main battery and I recommend it as well.

sdifox

I just got this message today and the car is 3.7 year old. Will check with MB to see if it is covered since I am still under original warranty.

Anyone find this battery in Canada? given this is sunday and it's frigging windy outside, I am just doing limited search online today.

Is this the same thing? It's labelled Energizer 14-BS and the box says it's AGM.

http://www.walmart.ca/Canada-Automot...=1816&tabId=14

Clinton Horn

I had a red shutdown message about a month ago. Both batteries are less than 1 year old. The car had been driven less than 100 miles in several months. Lots of short trips. I turned the seat heaters on and it tripped almost immediately. The car is garaged and we are in a mild climate. The alternator was putting out in excess of 14v. I charged it overnight with a 10 amp battery charger and to date, no further problems. Since you appear to be Canadian, your daytime running lights and cold climate are putting the charging system to the test. I would try charging it first unless you are putting 30 mile daily trips on it. I have learned the hard way, try the easiest , cheapest, safe, method first.
It is pretty evident that even a 170 amp alternator is pretty marginal for these cars.
It may be that you need one or both replaced. The factory batteries are pretty high quality. I would give them another chance. Of course, if I am wrong, I won't be the one looking for jumper cables in the snow.

sdifox

Well, I am going to call the stealership tomorrow. I don't care if I need to replace the batteries (on my own), I am just concerned about the charging system/relays. There are only a few days where I am doing less than 30km one way. I put in 32,000km since Dec 08 BUT I do park outside and it has been frigid this weekend.
I don't know if the batteries are under warranty, but the stealership wants like 200 bux for diagnostics, if something is wrong and under warranty, that fee is waved. I think that is the case in all MB Canada stealerships.

Did I mention I am only about 2000km from the expiry of warranty?

Clinton Horn

The small battery you attached appears to be the correct one. They are available all over the place in AGM for about $60-75 US.

If you do the work yourself, it is prudent to disconnect the positive side of the main battery before working on the smaller one. The main battery backfeeds the smaller one and unless you are extremely careful you can easily ground the small battery positive connection causing a direct short and possibly expensive repairs. There is a step by step method posted by vettdvr (sp) that will keep you straight. Battery Warranties are about as consistant as the weather. I would expect the dealer to dodge but who knows, it is worth a try.
I got about 6.5 years out of the factory battery(s) but it is a low option car in a mild climate.

sdifox

Small update: went out at 3pm and the battery light did not come up. This included a 2 hr parking in the open. We'll see what happens tomorrow.