redaotrosh

I have Autocraft Platinum AGM 95Ah Battery which was made on 2020 and installed in 2021~2022(by previous owner), it is still in good condition. I ordered new OEM AGM 80Ah MB Battery with price 325$, do you think it is better than Autocraft one since my plan to use the old one on my W220 car?

CaliBenzDriver

Yes most OEM parts fit better than 3rd parties. Autocraft is brand of Ford famous for its amazing "Quality is job No1".

Someone will point out there are only one or two AGM battery manufacturers selling branded parts to all manufacturers.

So here Autocraft AGM battery is as good as the similar MB product.


My best advice in the battery Dept is to use a CTEK charger to float batteries - If Lead-acid batts are let go flat... high internal resistance develops - - > recycle time!

redaotrosh

Thanks a lot for useful information.

BenzV12

I'm not familiar with that brand as I use nothing but original or if I can find a Varta , DURACELL .They make quite reliable products

ChrisHimself

There are some things that MB genuine just gets right. I've found that even if someone makes the part, that manufacturers part for the car is often completely different. I've confirmed it with:

Wipers (valeo OE sucks)
air filters
water pumps (i've been f**ked over by Vaico 2x in a row)
tensioners (febi bilstein defective tensioner)
cabin filters (the mann one is not as thick, never fits as well as the MB Mann)
batteries (the OE battery lasts 10 years, I get 3 years out of anything else)
SUSPENSION (the OE shocks are NOT the ones you get from Sachs, the W211 ones are a nightmare if you don't know to adjust the ride height)

kajtek1

Mercedes doesn't make the batteries, just like it doesn't manufacture tires, fuel and lot of other stuff.
I had excellent experience with Varta, where Spanish made battery for our W163 would last 13 years.
Lately everybody is pushing for AGM batteries and those come with only with 3 years warranty.
In US, Costco sells H8 batteries for $165, what seems to be the best deal.
H6 flooded is $119.

kjb55

The H7 AGM from Costco that I just bought is stamped Made in Germany. Costco sells Interstate branded batteries sourced from various manufacturers... JCI was the primary supplier of the Interstate brand, but after PE acquired JCI, my guess is they diversified sourcing. Interstate is still privately held. Clarios (was JCI) had an international partnership with VARTA. Long way to get to my 2 cents is that the Costco Made in Germany battery, branded Interstate, could very well come from the same plant MB is using for their replacement batteries.

2013 E350

I would NOT cheap out on a battery, meaning that I would not use the Autocraft for anything but a ford or maybe a small boat. My 2013 E350 had an AAA battery when I got it. Probably like your Autocraft, it had the same ratings as required for the car. i went to Advanced Auto who sells Diehard and bought a Diehard Platinum for an E550, whiich is the V8 version of the E350. The car immediately ran smoother, got better gas mileage and the lights were noticeably brighter. The electronics in these cars are power-hungry and more is generally better. You can't go wrong with OEM either, but I'd get an E550 battery myself. If you've got a lot of options on your car, you'll be glad you got a good battery.

While you're at it, i'd also change out the small aux. battery in the driver's side of the dash. I was unable to find a local replacement, so I got one at the dealer for $60. This is probably neglected by most people until they see a symptom like key fob doesn't perform or a warning on the dash.

redaotrosh

I have received the MB OEM Battery from the dealer at afternoon, it was made in 4/2023 brand new with price 283$.


Do I need to charge the battery before installation or just plug and play?

CaliBenzDriver

You see the date code... it is one year old stock.

Measure the resting voltage... is it higher than 12.0V, yes?

Charge it outside the car using "AGM setting" unless impossible else regular mode and for people without charger in car port plug it in without charging to stress the car charging components .

2013 E350

A new battery never needs to be charged. Hook it up to a charger and it's Very likely the charger will tell you it's already charged. Put it in and go.

Sunnyslope48

I always put my new batteries on a charger and have never had the charger say that they were fully charged.

CaliBenzDriver

Some people want to believe they are saving something by draining batteries and driving on $20 fill ups.
Of course they are...

Some people want to belelieve it saves gas to run engines on low oil pressure.
Of course results are amazing.

I am amazed at my low cylinder blow-by and the well mannered power plant response.
Of course one tank at the time.

2013 E350

Ok. I just have to ask -- how long did it take to fully charge your brand new battery ?

CaliBenzDriver

the length of the charge cycle depends on both current and voltage...
45 ~ 90mn to balance cells for low resistance .

You can connect also batteries without charging them.

2013 E350

Thanks .... I'll try to keep that in mind

CaliBenzDriver

There are no silly questions. Here is why you want "happy electricals".

​​​​​​MB are built with 45+ computers from plethora of
3rd party German based suppliers.

Very few of these specialty devices toletate well poor voltage glitches. Exceptions are ESP, ECU, TCU.

To reduce troubles you 1st need good electrical power : (ALT yo-yo, Strap).

So the most simple easy way is to start with a prestine battery after a whole car reboot. Yes, disconnect both batteries to reboot sleepless SAM Power Mgt computer.

Keep an eye on IC voltage display for deeps below 12.3V for extended drives: voltage tanks without warning before entering unregulated deep drain chaos - This is "drained by driving".

Sunnyslope48

I leave them on all night, circumstances permitting. otherwise maybe 2-3 hours.

kajtek1

The batteries I am buying at Costco, usually are 2 months old, so I don't hesitate to put them to work right away.
$119 for flooded H6 or $169 for AGM H8.
On other forum a member posted that his original Varta battery is still working after 17 (!) years and asking if its worth replacing. But that is on W211, who does NOT have smart charging.
no comments.

cetialpha5

You are confusing Motorcraft with Autocraft. Motorcraft is a Ford brand and Autocraft is Advance Auto. Regardless I think both are Johnson Controls/Clarios, same as Varta. Maybe the batteries made in Germany are just better than the ones made in the US.

And yes, a battery sitting on the shelf for one or two months probably has most of a full charge, but after a year, it's going to lose some charge just sitting there. I still have the original AGM battery in my 2008, was made in Nov 2007 so I'm at about 16.25 years on mine. Getting weak though, it sat for 10 days once and I needed a light boost to get it going. Normally it's fine for 2-3 days. Guess I'll dump it before the next winter. I normally keep an eye on the voltage through the dash display.

redaotrosh

Today morning, I have replaced the battery as the following steps:
1. Remove negative terminal.
2. Remove positive terminal and cover it with cloth.
3. Remove the 13 mm bolt for battery handle.
4. Replace the new one in reverse order.

Go inside the car start ignition and check the UB Voltage from dashboard so it is 12.1v.
I start the ignition so I heard tick sound then dashboard turned off.
Lock and unlock the car then start the car same behavior. But 3rd time the dashboard light up with several warning then fading and coming up.
So directly I unplug again the negative terminal.
Finally, I plug the negativé terminal but it settled deeply down. So I tried again and everything worked well with no errors.
Only trip and start reset to 0 and clock lost its time.
Thanks that the issue was negative pole wasn't installed properly and loose.

Zavato

I do agree the Mann cabin filter does not fit as well as the cabin filter sourced from a dealer. I was surprised

redaotrosh

Question: As it is first time I am monitoring the battery voltage during driving, I noticed that the voltage when start the car above 14V, during cold start for several minutes it will be 14.7 to 14.8V then after some KMs when my foot on accelerate pedal the voltage will be decreased until it will be 12.7V constant but on braking for car moving and my foot release it will be 14.7V, I guess this point discussed a lot. Is that normal behavior?

CaliBenzDriver

Yes, these dynamic voltages are perfectly good.

You can learn to associate the Amp number to assess battery current. Low current means battery nearly fully charged. That's what is good.

When the car enters the 12.7V voltage is when the ECU can go crazy below 12.0V after driving a while.

redaotrosh

​​​​​​Thanks, I thought it could be something wrong as the Voltage playing between 12.7v to 14.9v when driving as my old car W220 it is always 14.2V.
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By the way my old AGM battery installed on my old car and the voltage always 14.2, does that will harm the battery?