SL/R129: Battery Solution
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Super Member
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 696
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From: Lutz, FL
1997 MB SL600
Battery Solution
I recently forgot to close my trunk lid on my car and left it open for 5 days.
When I returned, my battery was all but dead due to the trunk light being on. I tried to recharge the battery, but it's a H8 AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery and doesn't really respond to regular/conventional battery chargers when near death. After trying to recharge the battery with my regular chargers and from experience with AGM batteries for my jetski and jet boat, I thought it might be time to give up and replace the battery. Unfortunately, the battery costs about $280 and I wasn't thrilled in getting another.
I did a little searching online and found a Viking battery charger from Harbor Freight that specializes in AGM and GEL type batteries. For $60 I decided to try it out. The charger (model 56796) is small, light and a little fan blows when it is working. It has an LED information screen and 5 mode buttons, one of which is repair.
The repair option figures out what's wrong with your battery: dead, discharged, sulphated, etc. And tries to recover the battery or tell you it's hopeless.
After leaving the charger on all night, the battery was recharged (and reconditioned, I suppose) by morning. Now I wish I had one of my old jetski AGM batteries to see if this thing could bring it back.
When I returned, my battery was all but dead due to the trunk light being on. I tried to recharge the battery, but it's a H8 AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery and doesn't really respond to regular/conventional battery chargers when near death. After trying to recharge the battery with my regular chargers and from experience with AGM batteries for my jetski and jet boat, I thought it might be time to give up and replace the battery. Unfortunately, the battery costs about $280 and I wasn't thrilled in getting another.
I did a little searching online and found a Viking battery charger from Harbor Freight that specializes in AGM and GEL type batteries. For $60 I decided to try it out. The charger (model 56796) is small, light and a little fan blows when it is working. It has an LED information screen and 5 mode buttons, one of which is repair.
The repair option figures out what's wrong with your battery: dead, discharged, sulphated, etc. And tries to recover the battery or tell you it's hopeless.
After leaving the charger on all night, the battery was recharged (and reconditioned, I suppose) by morning. Now I wish I had one of my old jetski AGM batteries to see if this thing could bring it back.
