How long before my battery goes flat?

[Locoshaz]

Hi guys,


Just a quick one. I'm going on holiday for 10 days and i'm slightly worried about coming back and finding a flat battery. My question is........ how long can you realistically leave your car without starting it before the battery goes flat? The car is a CLK 200K 2001 and it will be parked on a drive.


Regards,


LS.

 

[Blobcat]

I've left mine for a month and not had a problem

 

[television]

As Blobcat really in genral, some folk only manage two weeks on the top of the range cars, mine is fine after 3 weeks,have not left it longer.

The current consumption is lower when the car is locked.

Malcolm

 

[david.pearson]

Try

ebay.co.uk battery disconnect

Although the alarm/immobiliser and central locking (do it manually) is disarmed it will reactivate as soon as the battery is reconnected.

 

[mlc]

I would have thought that you should be good for two week, should really be a lot more but clearly it does depend on how old / good your battery actually is.

A couple of years ago we had a fortnight away, the Ford started perfectly at the airport to come home but the SLK was dead on the drive, but the SLK battery was at least 5 years old.

The good news is that if the battery goes flat on the drive it will be harder for a thief to steal

See, I can put a positive spin on any problem.

Mark

 

[television]

See, I can put a positive spin on any problem.

Mark

Do you mind if I use this info to cheer some folk up from time to time


Malcolm

 

[Frank Patten]

Battery

My W124 battery died after 3 and a half weeks last winter so I bought a solar battery charger from Maplin. Problem solved.

 

[television]

My W124 battery died after 3 and a half weeks last winter so I bought a solar battery charger from Maplin. Problem solved.

Thats the way to go on a little used car, quite a few threads on that subject of late.

Malcolm

 

[anyweb]

My W124 battery died after 3 and a half weeks last winter so I bought a solar battery charger from Maplin. Problem solved.

can you give me details of this solar battery charger, i've heard about them before (do they plug into the cigarette lighter socket ?)

cheers
anyweb

 

[television]

can you give me details of this solar battery charger, i've heard about them before (do they plug into the cigarette lighter socket ?)

cheers
anyweb

Hi Niall, you cant plug into the cigar lighter as they are key1 only,you can add a socket in the boot or in the cab or on the front or under the bonnet.

the choice is yours.

Malcolm

 

[shadowninja]

By key1 do you mean that when it's off, the entire system is shut down so the cigarette socket is disabled? Shame if that is so - my solar panel helped when I had my old TVR which had a habit of losing its power after 6 days.

 

[jimsinessex]

My 1999 CLK has been left for 14 days twice a year since new without any problems. I do however replace the battery after 5 winters even if it is not showing any signs of failure. Even sourcing the battery through MB this still works out at less than 50p a week, well worth it for peace of mind IMHO.

Jim

 

[turnipsock]

My W124 battery died after 3 and a half weeks last winter so I bought a solar battery charger from Maplin. Problem solved.

I was going to say that.

 

[kid-jensen]

It's pretty easy to rewire the cigar lighter so it's on all the time.....that way the solar charger works properly instead of just being a dashboard ornament.

Being a bodger, I just poked around with a needle on the end of a meter at every thick wire that ran near the lighter socket. When I found one that was permanently on, I connected to it with a Scotchlock--job done!.

I guess a more conciencoius person would look out the wiring diagram, but I couldn't be arsed with all that......

 

[television]

It's pretty easy to rewire the cigar lighter so it's on all the time.....that way the solar charger works properly instead of just being a dashboard ornament.

Being a bodger, I just poked around with a needle on the end of a meter at every thick wire that ran near the lighter socket. When I found one that was permanently on, I connected to it with a Scotchlock--job done!.

I guess a more conciencoius person would look out the wiring diagram, but I couldn't be arsed with all that......

One constant 12 volt is the feed to the headlamp switch,easy to get to. thats more than can be said for getting to the cigar socket.

Malcolm