battery problem

[nickod]

hi
ive put a new battery a few weeks ago into my 500sl (107).After not using it for 2 weeks recently it was flat so rac recharged it for me and reccommended disconnecting the positive terminal(after a 45 min drive). A week later it wont start when i reconnected. the dashboard lights came on briefly but died and now it is totally dead.The rac guy had said the alternator was working.
any help much appreciated.

 

[roofless]

duff battery cell even if it's new

 

[television]

As roofles,, home brands like Halfords can and do go High resitance on one cell.

If the lamp was not on, then it was charging, the 107 does not suffer from leaks in electronics, just the boot lamp to check

 

[Jay Gee]

As roofles,, home brands like Halfords can and do go High resitance on one cell.

Heard this before-but who makes these home brand batteries-it must surely be one of the big companies with the volumes involved? And if so,why do they seem to fail prematurely?

 

[carabind]

what was wrong with the old battery ? Wa the same thing happening?

 

[television]

As roofles,, home brands like Halfords can and do go High resitance on one cell.

Heard this before-but who makes these home brand batteries-it must surely be one of the big companies with the volumes involved? And if so,why do they seem to fail prematurely?

There are small units making these things.

I only ever bought one as a get you home, the next 3 all failed the same way, the worst part is their tester that shows your battery to be no good, and nothing wrong with theirs when they fail under guarantee. I only succeeded after I got a report from a Lucas outlet nearby .

I feel very sorry for those that do not know how to defend their rights with those cocky young sales people in their stores, when they say that the alternator is faulty, with nothing to back that up with other than lies

 

[Jay Gee]

Thanks,Malcolm.Glad I got mine from MB-has to be cheaper in the long run.Really hope carabind gets to the bottom of his problem,though.

 

[Juddian]

On the subject of batteries, and i too think the OP's battery has died.
I bought a Bosch silver S4 battery for my 124 coupe last year, i bought the highest power i could that would fit in the holder.
Previous Bosch silvers have lasted years and given unfailing service.

Well my battery died a few weeks ago, at 14 months old, i was very surprised that a Bosch would fail like this, and i hope its a rare occurence.

To be fair i took it back into GSF and they exchanged it without quibble.
They did test it , and their test result was battery kaput, not just flat.

Normal reliable service has resumed, just as well a 'click' is no use to me at 3.45am!

 

[delboy777]

I just replaced the battery on my w203 cdi, and following advice from the forum members bought a Bosch battery with 3 years warranty, wouldnt touch those cheap and nastys with a barge pole...."Buy cheap buy dear" they say.

 

[television]

On the subject of batteries, and i too think the OP's battery has died.
I bought a Bosch silver S4 battery for my 124 coupe last year, i bought the highest power i could that would fit in the holder.
Previous Bosch silvers have lasted years and given unfailing service.

Well my battery died a few weeks ago, at 14 months old, i was very surprised that a Bosch would fail like this, and i hope its a rare occurence.

To be fair i took it back into GSF and they exchanged it without quibble.
They did test it , and their test result was battery kaput, not just flat.

Normal reliable service has resumed, just as well a 'click' is no use to me at 3.45am!

Yes the days have gone where a high current meter was used to test. The latest generation of testers are scientific and very good

 

[Jay Gee]

I just replaced the battery on my w203 cdi, and following advice from the forum members bought a Bosch battery with 3 years warranty, wouldnt touch those cheap and nastys with a barge pole...."Buy cheap buy dear" they say.

delboy,that's a blast from the past,my Gran used to say(Oh,dear-bear with me here) -buy cheap,buy twice.Very good advice.It would be a help if carabind told us what battery he's bought,though.

 

[FIBAMAN]

The original battery on my old C180 lasted 9 years (about 185,000miles) only died after a minus 6 night. Replaced with a "cheap £35" FIAMM (major italian manuf.) with 3 year warranty, still going strong 3 years on (looking good).

 

[Cole@MBS]

AAhh, all the bad names coming up tonight, varta and now fiamm, does it get any worse??

 

[nickod]

what was wrong with the old battery ? Wa the same thing happening?

the same thing it kept going flat. but this is the first time i have disconnected the battery between use of the car and it still happened.it was a halfords battery.

 

[Cole@MBS]

Well there's your answer, crap batteries, cheap, doesn't pay in the long run!!

 

[delboy777]

AAhh, all the bad names coming up tonight, varta and now fiamm, does it get any worse??

I take it you had a bad experience with a Varta, thats why i didnt get one last week it was actually the first one i was offered but since you didnt rate em i bought a Bosch instead

 

[television]

the same thing it kept going flat. but this is the first time i have disconnected the battery between use of the car and it still happened.it was a halfords battery.

I used Halfords as an example in my first post on this thread,, I had 3 and they all went the same way,,just like yours, I threatened to block their door way with my car in the end

 

[Stu_CDX]

I don't see a problem with cheap batteries nor the way they're sold.

I went to Halfords in my old Omega 3.0 (Had to be jumped from another car), I said to them, my battery is knackered, 3 months old Halford one, so they looked in, saw the TC, ABS and EM light on, threw in a new battery free AND refunded the cost of the old battery. Drove home happy as larry with £70odd in my pocket!

 

[roofless]

when is £70 cheap.... only when you buy at halfords why do people do it

 

[wireman]

A safety note

DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE (ground) TERMINAL FIRST

If you short the positive to frame/ground earth with a spanner (wrench) there will be a big bang, a big flash and probably a burnt hand, disconnecting the body side of the battery first will eliminate this serious risk. I have seen it done and burns from tiny blobs molten copper and lead are slow to heal.