Lysholm Master

I had recently noticed that if my ML550 had been driven and then shut off, the engine had some difficulty restarting when warm. I'm thinking the battery is tired. The specification for the battery is 95 aH capacity, and in searching the usual suspects for a replacement battery, the only place I could find a battery of that rating was at Interstate. Since I knew I was going to be in there replacing the main battery, I figured I might as well do the auxillary battery at the same time. Fortunately, Interstate also has a replacement batter for that. Here are the Interstate replacements:



Removing the old batteries is pretty straight forward. They're below the passenger side seat. Here's a shot with the battery out:



This is interesting. Here's a shot of the replacement Interstate battery next to the old Mercedes battery. The Interstate battery says its made in Germany, and it's rated at 95 aH. Looks like the same battery to me.



With the replacement batteries in place, here's a shot before reinstalling the cover and air vent:



The battery I removed had a date of 03/11 on it, so it lasted seven years - not bad! When I fired up the engine after finishing putting everything back together, the difference was immediately noticeable. Much stronger crank, and as silly as it sounds, it felt like the electrical system seemed more "juiced" with full power flowing through the wires. Huge difference and glad I got it replaced before the old battery inevitably stranded me somewhere. I re-synced the windows and glass vent roof, and reset the time on the clock. Done.

texterted

Nice work! Strangely, when I did mine I found the MB dealership to have the best price for replacements, must be a first!

Lysholm Master

I didn't even think about check my local MB dealer. On parts, they take the MBUSA suggested list price and routinely add anywhere from 15% - 25% to that price.

I forgot to mention in my prior post that prior to installing the main battery, I brought it up to full charge by connecting my CTEK MUS 4.3 trickle charger. You never know how long the battery has been on the shelf before you buy it.

flybd5

AGM batteries will discharge at about 2-3% per month if stored at low temperature. Recommendation is to charge if the battery has been in storage for a year or more.