Battery Location
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GL320CDI / C63 Edition 507 Coupe (EDP) / E63 S (on order) / G500 / Smart Brabus
Originally Posted by spongebob
I just find out that the battery is actually located in the trunk, why is that?
Mercedes does not put the batteries in the trunk on all the cars, so the criteria must be something design related rather than one that is really important.
And, you do have a battery in the engine compartment, it's a 12AH battery so it is only about 1/4-1/6th the size of the battery in the trunk.
-s-
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From: San Diego
2004 E320
If I can recall correctly, there are 2 batteries. The one located in the trunk is the main battery, and I think there is one located in the engine compartment acting as a reserve.
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From: Longmont, CO
04 E320 4 Matic, 95 Audi S6, 99 Carrera 4 Cabrio, 12 Fiat 500 Sport, 00 BMW R1200C 10, BMW R1200R
There is also a small lead-acid-gel battery in the front engine compartment for the SBC system. The big on in the trunk is for the rest of the car.
It is not unusual for Mercedes and BMW to put the batteries in the trunk. Since they avoid the engine heat, they tend to last much longer. I have never gotten less than 5 years out of any MB battery. I think that the W210 has the battery under the back seat.
Steve
It is not unusual for Mercedes and BMW to put the batteries in the trunk. Since they avoid the engine heat, they tend to last much longer. I have never gotten less than 5 years out of any MB battery. I think that the W210 has the battery under the back seat.
Steve
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GL320CDI / C63 Edition 507 Coupe (EDP) / E63 S (on order) / G500 / Smart Brabus
Originally Posted by deuce zer0
the 210's are a pain in the a$$. anytime i needed to get to the battery...everyone is always like, what the hell are you doing taking out your back seat!?
-s-
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MBWorld Fanatic!
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From: Las Vegas, NV USA / London, UK
GL320CDI / C63 Edition 507 Coupe (EDP) / E63 S (on order) / G500 / Smart Brabus
Originally Posted by deuce zer0
i thought i had seen those once. isnt it just one little stud for the red side of the cables?
-s-
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From: Longmont, CO
04 E320 4 Matic, 95 Audi S6, 99 Carrera 4 Cabrio, 12 Fiat 500 Sport, 00 BMW R1200C 10, BMW R1200R
I thought that the W210 had a remote terminal for starting it! I guess I was right. I asked when I bought my W211 and they said that it also had it, but I never saw it. Why did they get rid of the remote terminals? The way that the access to the spare tire and battery is designed on the W211 is very bad!!!!
I just finally bought an "onboard battery maintainer" so that I won't have to constantly open the darn thing. With this maintainer, I just have a little (regular 120V) plug sticking out where the side mesh is in the trunk. Then when I park it for a while I plug it in really easily. I have always gotten great life out of batteries in my MBs, but it might be that I always keep a maintainer hooked up if the car will sit for one week or longer. My car tends to sit a bit.
Steve
I just finally bought an "onboard battery maintainer" so that I won't have to constantly open the darn thing. With this maintainer, I just have a little (regular 120V) plug sticking out where the side mesh is in the trunk. Then when I park it for a while I plug it in really easily. I have always gotten great life out of batteries in my MBs, but it might be that I always keep a maintainer hooked up if the car will sit for one week or longer. My car tends to sit a bit.
Steve
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GL320CDI / C63 Edition 507 Coupe (EDP) / E63 S (on order) / G500 / Smart Brabus
Originally Posted by SAguirre
I thought that the W210 had a remote terminal for starting it! I guess I was right. I asked when I bought my W211 and they said that it also had it, but I never saw it. Why did they get rid of the remote terminals? The way that the access to the spare tire and battery is designed on the W211 is very bad!!!!
I just finally bought an "onboard battery maintainer" so that I won't have to constantly open the darn thing. With this maintainer, I just have a little (regular 120V) plug sticking out where the side mesh is in the trunk. Then when I park it for a while I plug it in really easily. I have always gotten great life out of batteries in my MBs, but it might be that I always keep a maintainer hooked up if the car will sit for one week or longer. My car tends to sit a bit.
Steve
I just finally bought an "onboard battery maintainer" so that I won't have to constantly open the darn thing. With this maintainer, I just have a little (regular 120V) plug sticking out where the side mesh is in the trunk. Then when I park it for a while I plug it in really easily. I have always gotten great life out of batteries in my MBs, but it might be that I always keep a maintainer hooked up if the car will sit for one week or longer. My car tends to sit a bit.
Steve
A trickle charger should not be used on the W211 while the battery is connected to the car. It is unlikely that it will damage the BCM, but it does tend to freak it out. On the W203, it is likely that damage will occur to the BCM if the battery is charged (high speed).
-s-
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GL320CDI / C63 Edition 507 Coupe (EDP) / E63 S (on order) / G500 / Smart Brabus
Originally Posted by konigstiger
Offhand, does anyone the average cost for batteries (engine & trunk) on the 211?
95AH, Varta, $240
95AH, Hoppecke, $272
70AH, Hoppecke, $218
12AH, forgot who makes it but maybe Varta, $127
-s-
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04 E320 4 Matic, 95 Audi S6, 99 Carrera 4 Cabrio, 12 Fiat 500 Sport, 00 BMW R1200C 10, BMW R1200R
Originally Posted by scorchie
A trickle charger should not be used on the W211 while the battery is connected to the car. It is unlikely that it will damage the BCM, but it does tend to freak it out. On the W203, it is likely that damage will occur to the BCM if the battery is charged (high speed).
-s-
My car has been hooked up with either my older "smart solid-state" charger or with this maintainer for weeks at a time and I have not had any problems or weird issues. I will ask the head mechanic about this (just to be sure). But I heard that disconnecting the battery is a lot more problematic for the car, not to mention that it would be moronic for me to do that all the time.
Thanks for the input though, I have heard about issues before and it is good to know about the possible problems.
Steve
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Originally Posted by SAguirre
My car has been hooked up with either my older "smart solid-state" charger or with this maintainer for weeks at a time and I have not had any problems or weird issues. I will ask the head mechanic about this (just to be sure). But I heard that disconnecting the battery is a lot more problematic for the car, not to mention that it would be moronic for me to do that all the time.
Charging the battery in the car can damage electronics, so it's preferable to do that. There's also the issue with gases, etc. Take a look at your owner's manual.
If your shop says it is OK, you may want to get that documented!
-s-
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From: In the shadow of D.C. (No.Va.)
'05 E320CDI, 1987 300E, Vanagon Syncro, Turbo Arrow III
Originally Posted by SAguirre
There is also a small lead-acid-gel battery in the front engine compartment for the SBC system. The big on in the trunk is for the rest of the car.
One technical nit: It's not a gel cell, both the front and rear batteries are absorbed glass mat (AGM). The upshot of this is that they are more robust and don't require as delicate charge curve as gel cells do. (If you charge a gel cell wrong, you can cause the gelled electrolyte to delaminate from the electrode surfaces.) AGM's are usually non-spillable, and can often be installed in various orientations.
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From: In the shadow of D.C. (No.Va.)
'05 E320CDI, 1987 300E, Vanagon Syncro, Turbo Arrow III
Originally Posted by scorchie
The W211 does not have jumper terminals. My US manual states that jumping must be done directly on the battery.
A trickle charger should not be used on the W211 while the battery is connected to the car. It is unlikely that it will damage the BCM, but it does tend to freak it out. On the W203, it is likely that damage will occur to the BCM if the battery is charged (high speed).
-s-
A trickle charger should not be used on the W211 while the battery is connected to the car. It is unlikely that it will damage the BCM, but it does tend to freak it out. On the W203, it is likely that damage will occur to the BCM if the battery is charged (high speed).
-s-
Is there something special about MB's "Solar Panel Charging Module" (W900 589 02 63 00) that makes it o.k.? In a bulletin (P-I-54.10/116), they indicated that it can be used on W203,209,211,215,220 and 230's. They're even plugging the negative terminal into the cigarette lighter, which surprised me a little.
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Originally Posted by pa28pilot
One technical nit: It's not a gel cell, both the front and rear batteries are absorbed glass mat (AGM). The upshot of this is that they are more robust and don't require as delicate charge curve as gel cells do. (If you charge a gel cell wrong, you can cause the gelled electrolyte to delaminate from the electrode surfaces.) AGM's are usually non-spillable, and can often be installed in various orientations.
They generally have a black case to denote the standard Mercedes batteries with a white case.
I have one in my G-class for more resistance to shocks that occur offroad, as you said they are more robust.
-s-
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From: Longmont, CO
04 E320 4 Matic, 95 Audi S6, 99 Carrera 4 Cabrio, 12 Fiat 500 Sport, 00 BMW R1200C 10, BMW R1200R
Originally Posted by scorchie
If your shop says it is OK, you may want to get that documented!
-s-
).However, pa28pilot brings up a very good point about the solar chargers. I think that the person who I asked mentioned that since the solar one was OK, then a GOOD maintainer "should" also be OK.
Now I am beginning to think that I should remove the maintainer from the car when I get home tonight. Do you have any idea what I should look out for? I mean, aside from error messages and warning lights, what would I notice if the maintainer has caused a problem?
Steve A.
