New 300ce Owner - Problem with Battery/Alternator or other?

[fraz]

Hi All, Purchased a K reg 300ce yesterday. Had to be jump started on collection and when driving home it was fine for approx 20 miles but when i had to slow right down to let on coming traffic though it died on me! Managed to borrow a jump start pack to get it home but it died again several times on-route again at low speeds or if trying to select reverese gear.

It seems as tho the battery is shot but do you suspect there is also a problem with the alternator as it's dieing whilst running and surely the alt should protect against this? anything I can do to test either?

Assuming the worse and if the alternator is on it's last legs - then how much is one likely to cost and where can i source one please?

Also the auto gearbox is quite stiff to move around - is this normal on this model? I have checked the ATF level and it's on max.

Finally the model is badged as a Duchalet or similar - what is this and does it make it any rarer?

Thanks for any help

Fraz

 

[scotty2hotty81]

Hi there

First i would go out and buy a new battery and take it from there, if there was a charging issue you would get a battery warning light up on your dash.

gearbox..... if your on about the shifter in the car it might be normal, i have never come across a stiff gear selector.

And finally duchalet (carat duchalet) this is a company that supplied styling, interior and exterior for mercedes might add a little bit of value but not much

 

[Hibbo]

It seems as tho the battery is shot but do you suspect there is also a problem with the alternator as it's dieing whilst running and surely the alt should protect against this? anything I can do to test either?



Fraz

A knacked battery can drag a huge amount of current from the alternator, thus when the engine is running slow there's not enough left to run the engine.

Get a new battery!

 

[television]

The alternators on cars are not designed for charging flat batteries, as the other people have said,get a new battery.

Take care when jump starting most MB's do not like it, if you have poor or lumpy idle once you get the new battery, the fuse on the OVP relay will have blown or the OVP relay itself.
Try and get a good make battery, it will pay you in the long run.

malcolm

 

[fraz]

ok many thanks people much appreciated - i will look at getting a new battery for it ASAP. In terms of getting a good battery - what's a decent make and how much roughly will one cost me please?

I hope i haven't blown the relay like television mentioned! I did jump it a number of times just to get home. What is an OVP relay and if i have knackered it how much will it cost to replace.

P.S yes it the gear shifter which is stiff compared to every other auto i've driven - any thing i can do make it smoother?

thanks for all your help folks - great forum

 

[television]

ok many thanks people much appreciated - i will look at getting a new battery for it ASAP. In terms of getting a good battery - what's a decent make and how much roughly will one cost me please?

I hope i haven't blown the relay like television mentioned! I did jump it a number of times just to get home. What is an OVP relay and if i have knackered it how much will it cost to replace.

P.S yes it the gear shifter which is stiff compared to every other auto i've driven - any thing i can do make it smoother?

thanks for all your help folks - great forum

Good makes, Bosch,Exide,Banner,Varta,Lucas,there are more. if you have a firm like Cosco near you they sell good brands cheap, other than that "Parts Co" and others have them, just try and avoid house brands, as sold in Halfords and other shops.
Don't worry about the OVP at this stage, its a Over voltage protection device
that's stops surges if jump started.

malcolm

 

[fraz]

ok thanks very much malcolm - i will look into this on monday.

 

[Chazchuzzlewitt]

how many miles has your car got? I had this happen to me on my 300E with no warning. It was the regulator on the alternator worn out. Easy to change and cheaper than a new alternator or battery.

 

[television]

how many miles has your car got? I had this happen to me on my 300E with no warning. It was the regulator on the alternator worn out. Easy to change and cheaper than a new alternator or battery.

This can happen on the odd time,it depends which diode has gone down on the regulator, with two of the diodes you will have a bright warning lamp, on the other one it will light very dim and go out when the car is reved up, very hard to see in the summer.

Malcolm

 

[fraz]

ok many thanks again people - for the record the car has 129k on the clock and i'm getting a new battery today so fingers crossed it will just be that!! I will keep you posted.

Before i disconnect the battery - does anyone know if the blaupunkt wood effect in dash cd player/radio is likely to be coded? (it appears to be the original fit cd to the car) as i don't have any of the books for the car?

also how can i tell if i have the 12v or 24v engine please.

many thanks all

fraz

 

[Blobcat]

I was confused for a second thinking Volts rather than Valves. What does it say on the boot lid? Failing that the Vin Decoder should work http://www.mbclub.ru/mb/vin/index.html?lng=eng
To get around the possible radio coding connect another 12V battery to the car then very carefully disconnect the old battery and fit the new one.

 

[television]

ok many thanks again people - for the record the car has 129k on the clock and i'm getting a new battery today so fingers crossed it will just be that!! I will keep you posted.

Before i disconnect the battery - does anyone know if the blaupunkt wood effect in dash cd player/radio is likely to be coded? (it appears to be the original fit cd to the car) as i don't have any of the books for the car?

also how can i tell if i have the 12v or 24v engine please.

many thanks all

fraz

The radio is code I believe, you can get radio back devices that plug into the cigar lighter from Halfords, or you could use any 12 power supply or charge into the cigar lighter socket.

Re the 12-24 the 24v is called a 300 24.

Malcolm

 

[Blobcat]

The radio is code I believe, you can get radio back devices that plug into the cigar lighter from Halfords, or you could use any 12 power supply or charge into the cigar lighter socket.

Only issue with lighter sockets are if they are ignition switched. If so putting 12V in will not keep the radio coded unless the ignition is on. I would not want the ignition on whilst changing the battery.

 

[fraz]

Thanks all but i'm confused - how can i connect the terminals to another battery to hold the radio code without diconnecting the terminals from the first battery? I assume the code will only be lost if i disconnect both terminals - am I correct?

So space permitting when i pick up the new battery this afternoon i can take off the negative terminal and connect to the negative on my new battery - then release the positive and lower new battery in the space of old and finally connect up the positive to the new batt. Is this right or completley wrong!

n.b badge states just 300 so assume it's a 12v and that all 24v state 300-24 on the back?

thanks again people

 

[television]

Only issue with lighter sockets are if they are ignition switched. If so putting 12V in will not keep the radio coded unless the ignition is on. I would not want the ignition on whilst changing the battery.

Cigar lghters are ign switched, there are two wires for the radio ,one is the live feed, the other is the memory. the radio and cigar lighter share the same lead on an MB, and it all depends on if the radio works with the key out of the car.

Malcolm

 

[Blobcat]

Hi Malcolm it is the permanent +Ve feed that needs to be maintained not necessarily the ignition switched +ve.

Fraz, if you disconnect either battery terminals the code will be lost. If you have jump leads you can connect these to the +ve battery lead and the vehicle body. Or if you have +Ve & -Ve connectors under the bonnet connet the jump leads to those whilst changing the battery. Have a look in the owners manual as it should list out where to connect to for jump starting, just use these same connections.

 

[television]

Can you withdraw the radio to see if a code has been written on it, of coarse the radio may not need coding k reg was a time when some did and some did not.
I would have thought that if the car has been standing the battery has been completely flat at some time, so maybe it does not need coding, you could also put the model number of the radio on the web and search for codes.

Either terminal of the battery disconnected kills all power to the car.

I know its easy for me to say join any small 12 volt power supply up, not everyone has these things, I wish sometimes that I did not have so many

Malcolm

 

[fraz]

OK thanks televsiion- are you suggesting i plug somehting into the cigar lighter in the car and connect to another battery from here? if so what do i need to purchase from halfords please. many thanks

 

[television]

Halfords use and sell these things. they are called radio back up chargers, I think that the key needs to be turned to 1.

Why not ring the guy you bought the car from and ask him if it is coded, I still have my doubts that it is, I think that the radio would have asked for a code on the way home when it needed jump starting.

Malcolm

 

[fraz]

ok cheers malcolm thanks for the pointers.