Starting 220d in the freezing weather

[Westmead Hawk]

Well, it's a red letter day. One week without the EML on. Hurrah. Let's hope I've not spoken too soon.
How do I tell if the battery needs replacing? The car is a little hesitant to start in cold weather when it's been left a day or three. Any recommendations? I've just spent a fortune at the dealership on MOT and NOX sensors so would like to avoid them until the service in the summer at least (much as I love their free drinks...)

 

[onefortheroad]

Best thing to buy is a smart charger. eBay £16 for a 8 amp version. Use it at times of little to no usage of the car.

 

[Blobcat]

Test the battery with a meter, if it reads much below 12.4v with engine off then it’s in need of charging/replacing.
Battery conditioners are great for cars not used regularly, connect them up and leave them on until you need to use the car again.

 

[Westmead Hawk]

Test the battery with a meter, if it reads much below 12.4v with engine off then it’s in need of charging/replacing.
Battery conditioners are great for cars not used regularly, connect them up and leave them on until you need to use the car again.

Thank you

 

[Westmead Hawk]

Best thing to buy is a smart charger. eBay £16 for a 8 amp version. Use it at times of little to no usage of the car.

Thank you

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

You do need to be aware of battery condition if you do a lot of short journeys especially in the extreme weather we are experiencing at the moment. These cars are extremely power hungry, COMAND, air conditioning and heated seats consume copious amounts of power especially using COMAND when the engine is off. I generally give my cars a top-up charge with a CTECK charger every 3 months or so to keep the batteries in good condition if you have a voltmeter check the battery condition a healthy battery should be 12.6V if it drops to <12.4V it needs a charge. If the car has been in and out of the dealer lately and stood waiting for a repair that generally means it could do with a top-up charge.

 

[Westmead Hawk]

You do need to be aware of battery condition if you do a lot of short journeys especially in the extreme weather we are experiencing at the moment. These cars are extremely power hungry, COMAND, air conditioning and heated seats consume copious amounts of power especially using COMAND when the engine is off. I generally give my cars a top-up charge with a CTECK charger every 3 months or so to keep the batteries in good condition if you have a voltmeter check the battery condition a healthy battery should be 12.6V if it drops to <12.4V it needs a charge. If the car has been in and out of the dealer lately and stood waiting for a repair that generally means it could do with a top-up charge.

Good advice. I've booked the car in to get the battery condition checked. We avoid short journeys since it's diesel but sometimes life has other plans. I'll look into the CTECK charger.

 

[Chrishazle]

If you have power avilable, a battery conditioner is a life saver, I've used one for probably 20+ years on our sunny weekend or emergency use toy (that lives in a garage with power available), not only means the car starts first time every time but also seriously enhances battery life. When I sold the 968 coupe the battery was 10 years old and still going strong.

For the past couple of years I've used a Lidl £15 conditioner on the SLK, it's worked (touch wood) fine, not as versatile as a CTEK but less than 1/3rd the price. Previously I used a Swiss one that, when I bought it 25 years ago, was the only one with a vehicle manufacturer recommendation (for shame, BMW!!) which even then cost 3-4 times more than the Lidl one! It still works, so I keep it as backup now.

Cold weather affects start-up on our S204 C220, which lives on the driveway and gets little use these days. Initial turn-over is sluggish but car starts OK and battery is fairly new, but even after just a few miles run it starts fine.

Don't know if it will work on your CLS, but on my S204 with key at position 1 hold down steering wheel buttons Answer phone, Hang up phone and OK all at once for a few seconds and see if you get a menu, if yes click on the first menu item to see battery voltage and amps, start engine and drive away, you'll see what the alternator is doing until you press back or switch off.

 

[Westmead Hawk]

If you have power avilable, a battery conditioner is a life saver, I've used one for probably 20+ years on our sunny weekend or emergency use toy (that lives in a garage with power available), not only means the car starts first time every time but also seriously enhances battery life. When I sold the 968 coupe the battery was 10 years old and still going strong.

For the past couple of years I've used a Lidl £15 conditioner on the SLK, it's worked (touch wood) fine, not as versatile as a CTEK but less than 1/3rd the price. Previously I used a Swiss one that, when I bought it 25 years ago, was the only one with a vehicle manufacturer recommendation (for shame, BMW!!) which even then cost 3-4 times more than the Lidl one! It still works, so I keep it as backup now.

Cold weather affects start-up on our S204 C220, which lives on the driveway and gets little use these days. Initial turn-over is sluggish but car starts OK and battery is fairly new, but even after just a few miles run it starts fine.

Don't know if it will work on your CLS, but on my S204 with key at position 1 hold down steering wheel buttons Answer phone, Hang up phone and OK all at once for a few seconds and see if you get a menu, if yes click on the first menu item to see battery voltage and amps, start engine and drive away, you'll see what the alternator is doing until you press back or switch off.

I will give this a go to see. Thank you - that sounds very useful if I can see the battery stats.

 

[tpn]

Check to see if you have an AMG battery-you should have one.

AMG batteries cannot be properly charged unless you use a charger with the programme to charge AMG, as opposed to "flooded batteries".

AGM batteries are designed to require14.6v – 14.8v when charging, whereas standard lead acid batteries need 13.8v – 14.4v, hence this is what most onboard chargers are designed to deliver – not the 14.6v – 14.8v that AGM requires.

from Canbat: https://www.canbat.com/4-tips-charging-agm-batteries/

From Ccar: https://ccar-greenlink.org/agm-batt... battery charger,to expose to our technicians.

I use a Noco Genius. Great charger. Hope this helps.

 

[Blobcat]

Check to see if you have an AMG battery-you should have one.

AMG batteries cannot be properly charged unless you use a charger with the programme to charge AMG, as opposed to "flooded batteries".

AGM batteries are designed to require14.6v – 14.8v when charging, whereas standard lead acid batteries need 13.8v – 14.4v, hence this is what most onboard chargers are designed to deliver – not the 14.6v – 14.8v that AGM requires.

from Canbat: https://www.canbat.com/4-tips-charging-agm-batteries/

From Ccar: https://ccar-greenlink.org/agm-batteries-never-use-conventional-chargers/#:~:text=Using a conventional battery charger,to expose to our technicians.

I use a Noco Genius. Great charger. Hope this helps.

AGM batteries not to be confused with the sporty AMG batteries…

 

[tpn]

AGM batteries not to be confused with the sporty AMG batteries…

predictive text(why did it miss the others)-nearly as bad as start/stop, but none as bad as putting an ordinary charger on an AGM battery

 

[Westmead Hawk]

Bought a new battery after having it tested. Whole new world now - stop/start function working amongst other things. None of the advice wasted as will need a conditioner to keep it in good nick based on usage.

 

[51315]

All very fine if you have mains power, driveway, garage. But what if the car has to live on the street? What then?

 

[tpn]

All very fine if you have mains power, driveway, garage. But what if the car has to live on the street? What then?

Then make sure your battery is an AGM and use a solar panel to keep it charged

 

[Blobcat]

All very fine if you have mains power, driveway, garage. But what if the car has to live on the street? What then?

Solar charger

 

[onefortheroad]

All very fine if you have mains power, driveway, garage. But what if the car has to live on the street? What then?

 

[51315]

Thanks onefortheroad, but can't quite see that lasting long stretched right across the road. Parking only t'other side on our street!

 

[51315]

So would an AA 4.8w solar charger work with an AGM battery (on 2020 B200)

 

[Blobcat]

So would an AA 4.8w solar charger work with an AGM battery (on 2020 B200)

It’s not a lot, however I used one the same on my smart and also VW Caravelle to keep the batteries topped up when street parked. It’s surprising how well they work with such a low output