BobCT

My car has cranked a little slow since I bought it two years ago and I chalked it up to a higher compression engine (same even with new starter battery). A couple of days ago I just got a click and was almost stranded. I managed to get it started and home. I replaced the starter yesterday and it starts great now.

I got the red battery warning and thought it would clear itself but it didn’t after driving about 20 miles yesterday. I pulled the code and it was B1829 - “component fuse for starter battery circuit is defective”. This is the 100amp fuse under the passenger side footwell. I got a fuse and went out to change it and the red battery message has cleared now.

I didn’t want to rip it all apart only to find that the fuse is actually good. Is that code pretty definitive about the fuse being blown? It starts better than it ever has so my issue is fixed it’s just the fuse question at this point but maybe it’s a non issue. Would the warning clear if the fuse was bad?

Bob

Tom Manning

Bob the red battery warning is pretty trigger happy and often appears when the battery goes low. Did you clear the code out? If so did it come back?

BobCT

Tom, no I didn’t clear the code. I was planning on doing that after I changed the fuse but then noticed the light was out. I drove about 30 miles and went through a bunch of start cycles last night and no light. I’ll scan for codes again. I would assume that if the fuse was actually blown, it wouldn’t be a random event and then clear itself.

Tom Manning

Ah, clear the code and more than likely it won't come back. Common. Just check that both batteries are charging while you're there.

tonylinc

I owned a 2007 SL550 that had a starter that did not sound right... it lasted that way about a year before quitting completely. A brand new BOSCH starter and it never had a problem again. Starters wear out. Don't buy a used one, or rebuilt or remanufactured, the idiots who "rebuild" those test one out of every ten or twenty. A good new Bosch doesn't cost that much anyhow, cheap parts are for cheap cars. LoL. So get a brand new one, so you do the starter replacement job one time only. If the car starts at all, that fuse is good. Once you determine your batteries are good, get a starter. You might be surprised at how small a unit it is.