Dead Battery Question
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Joined: Feb 2016
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From: Paola, KS (near KC)
2003 W211 E55 AMG Kompressor, 2009 GL550 AMG
Dead Battery Question
Yesterday morning I got in my E55, went to turn the key, and it was dead as a doornail. No lights, nothing on the display, nothing at all. Completely dead. So I opened the trunk, put the battery on the charger, and hopped in the Z4 to go to work. I figured my son who'd been playing in it over the weekend probably left a light on and that drained it down. Yesterday afternoon I got home, started it up, everything worked just fine. Great.
This morning, hop in, dead as a doornail again. Great.
Before I go replacing the battery (or the aux battery, which I suppose could also be causing an issue), is there some sort of reset or other procedure that I should have done that might cause this? I've only had the car about a month, and it's started right up. The main battery doesn't look that old, but it also doesn't have a date on it, so I really have no idea how old it is. Haven't looked at the auxiliary battery.
Any thoughts appreciated.
This morning, hop in, dead as a doornail again. Great.
Before I go replacing the battery (or the aux battery, which I suppose could also be causing an issue), is there some sort of reset or other procedure that I should have done that might cause this? I've only had the car about a month, and it's started right up. The main battery doesn't look that old, but it also doesn't have a date on it, so I really have no idea how old it is. Haven't looked at the auxiliary battery.
Any thoughts appreciated.
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2019 Jeep Trackhawk, 2002 CLK55, 2014 911 Carrera
Did you check to make sure the parking lights were not left on? I had the same problem in my Subaru when the carwash guy bumped a parking light button that I didn't even know existed! It took my mechanic to tell me the lights were on. 
Thread Starter
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From: Paola, KS (near KC)
2003 W211 E55 AMG Kompressor, 2009 GL550 AMG
I did look at that and they were off, unless I missed something. I'll put it back on the charger tonight.
My concern is I don't want to drive it to work tomorrow if the battery will die on me while I'm in the office.
The only difference is that the car sat outside, whereas for the month I had it I kept it in the garage overnight. However it came from a car dealer where it sat outside for an extended period before I bought it.
My concern is I don't want to drive it to work tomorrow if the battery will die on me while I'm in the office.
The only difference is that the car sat outside, whereas for the month I had it I kept it in the garage overnight. However it came from a car dealer where it sat outside for an extended period before I bought it.
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2004 E55 AMG
Just take it to the auto parts store and have it tested. Should only take an hour. It would be the rear battery in the trunk, the aux battery is just for the sbc pump. Also you can check voltage by turning the key to the 1 position and tap the reset (odometer) button three times with the display in the mph/temperature mode.
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From: Atlanta, GA
2007 E63 AMG, 1991 NSX, 2007 Corvette
battery surprise
The problem with the batteries on Mercedes is that like a heart attack, when it happens, there is no warning. Bam, it is dead. I recently wrote to the CEO of Mercedes addressing the huge problem of the battery going dead without any warning.
Mercedes has warning lights if you run low on gas, warning if any of your tires are a pound or two low on air, but no warning indicators at all tied to the battery.
The wife has a S550 and last month I was at the mall waiting for her to finish up her shopping and when I tried to start the car, it was dead. What I got was a malfunction error with the seat belts and air bag.
We were basically stranded and I had the driver window down and it wouldn't go up, couldn't get the trunk lid to close. Basically a nightmare.
Had to call roadside assistance and get the car towed to the dealer. We had to put plastic over the window and some sticky plastic to hold the trunk down until they could look the car on Monday.
When Monday came, they called the wife and just said "Oh yeah, it is just a battery".
Her car is 4 years old and they said that is about the time to replace. Nice for them to say that now. You would think considering it was $338 for the battery and labor that they would have a warning light saying "low battery" because I was told if the battery falls below 12 volts, it will shut everything down.
StevieG
Mercedes has warning lights if you run low on gas, warning if any of your tires are a pound or two low on air, but no warning indicators at all tied to the battery.
The wife has a S550 and last month I was at the mall waiting for her to finish up her shopping and when I tried to start the car, it was dead. What I got was a malfunction error with the seat belts and air bag.
We were basically stranded and I had the driver window down and it wouldn't go up, couldn't get the trunk lid to close. Basically a nightmare.
Had to call roadside assistance and get the car towed to the dealer. We had to put plastic over the window and some sticky plastic to hold the trunk down until they could look the car on Monday.
When Monday came, they called the wife and just said "Oh yeah, it is just a battery".
Her car is 4 years old and they said that is about the time to replace. Nice for them to say that now. You would think considering it was $338 for the battery and labor that they would have a warning light saying "low battery" because I was told if the battery falls below 12 volts, it will shut everything down.
StevieG
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84 300d 2009 e320 bluetec (retired)/, now 2012 E350 4-matic blueefficiency automatic
StevieG, I'm surprised that roadside assistance didn't figure it was the battery and replace it. As I understand RA does charge labor :-) How much was the battery without the labor?
Warning the a battery is heading south - low voltage with the headlights on and motor not running. It would not be hard for MBZ programmers to code a cycle to test the battery voltage before starting. Otherwise you can do it yourself using Jelanib's trick. In the USA high temperature damages the plates and just does have enough remaining capacity for the winter.
Warning the a battery is heading south - low voltage with the headlights on and motor not running. It would not be hard for MBZ programmers to code a cycle to test the battery voltage before starting. Otherwise you can do it yourself using Jelanib's trick. In the USA high temperature damages the plates and just does have enough remaining capacity for the winter.
Last edited by dave2001auto; Mar 11, 2016 at 06:53 AM.
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Thread Starter
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From: Paola, KS (near KC)
2003 W211 E55 AMG Kompressor, 2009 GL550 AMG
Here's the update:
As a reminder of what happened, Monday morning after the car had sat outside all weekend (doors unlocked - I live in the middle of nowhere and good luck stealing it anyway without a key) the battery was dead. I threw the charger on it, hopped in my Z4, went to work. Everything was good Monday afternoon, car started just fine, unplugged the charger.
Tuesday morning, dead as a doornail again. Just got straight in the Z4. Tuesday night, I took the battery out of the car, put in a different battery (my boat batteries are out for the winter) and yep, started up just fine. The battery that came with the car had a date on the side of 9/2015, so it's pretty much a new battery. I checked the voltage on it and sure enough, 4V.
Wednesday morning, I put the car's original battery back in, brought a spare battery with me. My thought being that maybe the car needed to drive to make itself happy following having the battery dead. If you think about it, that makes a certain amount of sense on these cars which are about as computerized as an Airbus. The theory seemed to work. I went out at lunch, no issues. Drove home, no issues.
Last night I locked the car, and this morning, no issues. I'm starting to wonder if leaving the car unlocked while outdoors may trigger some sensors more regularly. In the garage, I always left the car unlocked, and it never had an issue.
I figure I'll drive with the spare battery for a few days in case, and then get it out of the trunk.
As a reminder of what happened, Monday morning after the car had sat outside all weekend (doors unlocked - I live in the middle of nowhere and good luck stealing it anyway without a key) the battery was dead. I threw the charger on it, hopped in my Z4, went to work. Everything was good Monday afternoon, car started just fine, unplugged the charger.
Tuesday morning, dead as a doornail again. Just got straight in the Z4. Tuesday night, I took the battery out of the car, put in a different battery (my boat batteries are out for the winter) and yep, started up just fine. The battery that came with the car had a date on the side of 9/2015, so it's pretty much a new battery. I checked the voltage on it and sure enough, 4V.
Wednesday morning, I put the car's original battery back in, brought a spare battery with me. My thought being that maybe the car needed to drive to make itself happy following having the battery dead. If you think about it, that makes a certain amount of sense on these cars which are about as computerized as an Airbus. The theory seemed to work. I went out at lunch, no issues. Drove home, no issues.
Last night I locked the car, and this morning, no issues. I'm starting to wonder if leaving the car unlocked while outdoors may trigger some sensors more regularly. In the garage, I always left the car unlocked, and it never had an issue.
I figure I'll drive with the spare battery for a few days in case, and then get it out of the trunk.
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Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 31
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From: Paola, KS (near KC)
2003 W211 E55 AMG Kompressor, 2009 GL550 AMG
Hopefully I didn't destroy the battery, but if I keep driving it and it's fine, I'll just try the locking it outside deal. That may be the issue.
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84 300d 2009 e320 bluetec (retired)/, now 2012 E350 4-matic blueefficiency automatic
With the trunk left open, the trunk light will turn off after x minutes. See owner's manual for the time. Hook up the meter and re-look after trunk light goes off.
Mercedes had a power up and power down routine (draws current). You just need to have everything power before taking the final measurement.
Possible module not turning off, charging system or better a defective battery that under warranty.
Mercedes had a power up and power down routine (draws current). You just need to have everything power before taking the final measurement.
Possible module not turning off, charging system or better a defective battery that under warranty.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2016
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From: Paola, KS (near KC)
2003 W211 E55 AMG Kompressor, 2009 GL550 AMG
Thanks for the tip, I will try that if this happens again.
Since Wednesday, the car has driven normally without any issues. The only difference I can tell is that I leave it locked when it's parked outside.
However, my right headlight isn't working at all (I'm guessing the ballast), and the left headlight is flickering when the switch is in the "off" position. So there could be something going on with a module there.
Since Wednesday, the car has driven normally without any issues. The only difference I can tell is that I leave it locked when it's parked outside.
However, my right headlight isn't working at all (I'm guessing the ballast), and the left headlight is flickering when the switch is in the "off" position. So there could be something going on with a module there.
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2004 E55 AMG
Does this just require a software update? I noticed my voltage decreasing overnight. Still starts but made me wonder if I have a drain. Just going to watch it this week.
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E55
control unit replacement is the fix. if its not killing your battery overnight then most likely you dont have a draw.
