Flat Battery

[GaryK]

Bought my first Mercedes 4 weeks ago, a 2001 E280 Avantgarde, must say its fine bit of steam.

Not had any trouble at all until this morning when she wouldn’t start, gave her a jump start and drove for 10 miles, stopped for a few hours and when I came back she was flat again, managed to get another jump to get home.

No malfunctions are shown on the dash, all lights & gizmos were turned off last night (and today) checked the boot light switch which works fine. Checked the ‘Maintenance Free’ Battery and found three cells low on water, topped them up and put the battery on charge for tonight.

Question is, would the low cells in the battery cause this fault, the car is used regularly in fact I did 100+ miles yesterday with plenty of stop/starts and no problems, if its not the battery what else could cause this?

Hope someone can help.

 

[television]

Yes , one cell going high resistance would do this, that's the way batteries go in cold weather. 5 years is a good life,also nearing max possible. when you buy a new one, get a good well known brand and not a dealers or autoshop special. the battery demands are high on our cars.


Malcolm

 

[GaryK]

Thanks for your help Malcolm, I got a new battery from an Indie (the bloke who looks after all our works cars & vans) it comes with a 4yr guarantee which judging by some of the previous threads isn't too bad a deal.

Slight problem after I fitted the battery, the ABS & ESP lamps came on and the same faults logged on the computer along with BAS. I went for a spin and they all cleared when I stop/started. The engine management lamp came on whilst I was driving and remains on to this point, also there is a slight delay when I accelerate and when I rev the engine whilst in neutral, is this usual?

I'm not that clued up on cars so i think a visit to a garage is required, the Indie I got the battery from is OK for the works trucks however I'm not too sure about taking my car there, does anyone know a good indie in the Manchester area?

Thanks

 

[television]

Disconnect battery for 5 mins and reconnect,should clear problem, if not replace the OVR that would have been damaged charging the old battery.

Malcolm

Check the fuse on top of the OVR

 

[bundy]

gary
when you disconnect the battery you must reset the steering angle sensor also.
to do this start the engine & turn the steering wheel lock to lock twice.
this will clear the esp bas abs lights, the mil lamp might clear also. if not indie i think!!
good luck ted

ps i ment when you reconnect you must reset steering angle.ooopppppps

 

[jberks]

Not used them myself but they are local.
http://www.thegarageuk.com/index.htm

 

[GaryK]

Thanks

Thanks to all who posted a repy, all warning lamps are off and she starts first time.

Question for Bundy, forgive my ignorance but what is the steering angle/sensor, and why does it need re-setting?

Thanks

Gary

 

[bundy]

hi gary
in simple terms the steering angle sensor is a sensor on the lower steering column which tells your esp system how much lock you have on the front wheels ie which way you are turning & in a slip senario will add a bit of opposite brake. when you disconnect the battery the system needs to be toldwhere the centre line is. so puts the abs asr esp etc lamp on. so turning the steering wheel lock to lock lets it know where it is!!
kind regards ted