Arrie

Tried to search threads where battery and starting has been discussed but this forum seems very difficult to search and I could not find threads I was looking for.

What this is all about is that some people suggest using trickle chargers when car is not driven for only 2-3 weeks as the car use power even when it is jus sitting and this leads to starting problems.

It is for sure these cars are alive at all times but power consumption should not be as high as to require battery charging while sitting only for 2-3 weeks.

I have this 2010 E550 with all the bells and whistles other than the Night View and today I went to start it after it sat for 5 weeks. I was wondering if it would start after such a long time of non use and it started like I had parked it just yesterday. Did not show any hesitation at all. It started as fast as it always has other than the time when the starter was going bad.

I have said before that these cars should not need trickle charging if the car is driven just a little every 3 weeks. Based on what happened today my car does not need to be driven even that often. I have been driving it every 3 weeks for 10 or so miles to keep battery charged but this time my 3-week schedule went to 5 weeks due to travel for work activities.

I have never used a trickle charger on my cars and do not plan to do so. If a charger is needed there must be something wrong with the car or the battery, of course.

I have an AutoZone battery in my car that I put in after first replacing it at the dealer for the starting issues. After starting issues returned in about a month with the new AutoZone battery I went and replaced the starter and no issues since. This was about 2 1/2 years ago.

Senecat

The trickle charging debate continues mostly with the old-timers. Late model cars do not require it. On top of that, Mercedes have low voltage protection. Prihadi just posted a video demonstrating it in another thread. Thanks for sharing your experience!

BenzV12

Thanks for sharing your experience . I had not used trickle charger in my Mercedes-Benz either if I recall correctly . I used to use it for Jaguars and surprisingly my dad's Cadillac Fleetwood . I sometimes bite my fingers in jealousy some sort of why our cars would give me some anxiety whether or not I would start but others' cars start as if the battery was installed a few minutes ago even after their cars no driven more than 2 weeks