Just wanted to inquire if anyone out there has used standby mode for an extended period of time. My GLE will be in the non heated garage for about 10 weeks. I live in the northeast so the outside weather will get cold. I am not concerned about all the functions that get shut down during standby mode. Is the amount of weeks that the system tells you that you have accurate? From what I understand, to deactivate you just simply start the vehicle. There are some people who can start the vehicle if I ask them to , however, they will not be driving it, just starting it which I don’t believe really helps the battery.Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Happy Holidays.

 

I believe it is in the Settings/Vehicle menu below "gas station" search. I think the option was removed for certain years or certain models I forget which.

On a side note if this is helpful, in regards to long term storage, I had my other mb parked outdoors at the airport for about two months. I kept a jump pack easily accessible, familiarized myself with how to open the car with the physical blade also just in case. I had started remotely via mbconnect for 15 min every two weeks or so and upon return there were no issues, so that may be something to consider doing if you can schedule a reminder for yourself. Some people will say add extra PSI to the tires also to prevent flat spots, I didn't and it wasn't an issue but if you are returning and it'll be even colder you might want to prep and have a few extra psi in there so you are even when you return.

 

If you have power in the garage why not use a battery tender? My choice would be the tender and not standby mode. A tender is a known process…but 10 weeks isn’t that long so standby should work too. With a tender, there’s no pressing reason to have someone start the car while you are gone.
It’s not clear from your profile if you have the 48 volt mild hybrid or just a 12 volt battery. If the mild hybrid then more reason to use a battery tender, IMO.

 

Ron, do you know if for mild hybrid vehicles would you have to trickle charge in AGM mode or lithium mode? I'm assuming AGM considering its the starter battery being topped off, but unsure if the 48v lithium is also wired in during standby.

 

Short answer-I don’t know for certain!
I would use a smart tender that determines the correct battery type. The terminals go directly to the AGM so that should be the charge type. I haven’t used one on a Mercedes mild hybrid. There have been threads on the battery inverter and as I recall it works both ways…48-12 & 12-48 but checking with the Dealer would be a good idea.
Between the 48 volt and AGM battery there is a lot of capacity. New cars sit on ships and in ports for weeks, maybe months at times.

 

Use one of these, it has a lower voltage storage mode designed for long term use.

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload...20V_EN_web.pdf

 

I use it in my C63 whenever I go away for at least 2 weeks, but the max I've stayed away so far was a month. With a full battery, mine says I have 21 weeks and I have no reason to doubt it. After a month when I came back the battery still showed a full charge. It makes sense to turn it on when going away. As opposed to past more analog cars, the online services are a constant drain on the battery in these cars. Kinda like leaving a smartphone turned on and just sitting there. Eventually the battery will be empty. What I usually do is hook the car up to the tender the day before, so the battery is full the next day and then disconnect it and activate standby mode. I drive my car mostly on weekends, so my battery is usually only partially charged. I checked one time before charging the battery and standby mode said I had 7 weeks. After charging it jumped up to the aforementioned 21 weeks, so looks like the battery was only about 30% charged.

 

I think some of these details were recently discussed here: https://mbworld.org/forums/gls-class...gls-450-a.html

Hope that helps!

 

Connecting a battery maintainer to the 12 volt charge points under the hood will charge both the 12 volt and 48 volt batteries.

There is a 12 volt DC to 48 volt DC converter that does this.

Similarly, since the onboard charging is done by the ISG, the car charges the 12 volt battery through a 48 volt DC to 12 v DC converter. There is no 12 volt alternator.

I am assuming that the 48 volt battery only receives charge after the 12 volt battery is fully charged, but I don't know that algorithm.