Understanding Mercedes Parts numbering

[Submariner1]

Replacement battery arrived today.
Note when ordering it, I specifically asked is it Part no. A005 541 1001 (as per my original 95AH 850A EN) battery
I was told No! Its beeen superceded #ending in 82 08.

Not wishing to faff around with couriers if it were wrong, I double checked with another Main dealer.
They initially said "No its still # A 005 541 1001 , just a minute when you go book it out it shows on another system, a new replacement part No. # A0019828208-26

So I assumed they had got it right. Thinking 10 digit part numbers

The battery arrived showing 12.8V on the Fluke.
the part number was A001 982 82 08 as I expected.(assuming they dont show the /xx part of the code.

Then I noticed It is NOT 95AH 850A En
But now 92AH 850A EN. ( a bit disappointed they had down graded it )

So I rang the supplying dealer to treble check I have the right part and was told it was the right one.

- With the rain due shortly, and bonnet vertical lol I had to get on and fit it.

Pressure off I thought hmmm well he would say it was the right one wouldn't he.

So I thought I would double check a site I found, but that was still listing my battery A005 541 1001 As correct, and surprisingly. In the footnotes it said "replaces A001 982 82 08, A001 982 82 08 - 26."

OK its a US Site so it could be wrong, but it made me think, is there a ... 8208 and a 8208/26. And if so was my cross checking with another main dealer somewhat invalidated by the fact, that I should have got a ..8208/26 AND IS THAT THE correct ? 95AH version.

How can I check for sure, that this is the right one?
I.e. # A005 541 1001 95AH 850A has been replaced by
#A001 982 82 08 92AH 850A

I put all the detail in as I noticed there was another post discussing replacing the same battery as my original one.

I checked with Varta and she said its listed as 95AH?? And that batch was made in week 50 2016 ... so its not old stock they are trying to shift.

 

[Craiglxviii]

****** hell. One part supercedes another. Usually for reasons of cost or performance, e.g. The 95A.hr battery was overspecced, their battery design team did tests that show 92 will meet design standards for cranking ability etc. The new battery is €0.50 cheaper than the original so that's a nice cost saving they can bank to develop the next model. Multiply that by literally every part on every car and you'll understand why design changes happen after series production has finished.

 

[Naraic]

It's a battery, and one you didn't need...must you question absolutely every infinitesimal issue to do with things...next you'll be asking the torque value of the nut holding the battery in...

 

[Submariner1]

****** hell. One part supercedes another. Usually for reasons of cost or performance, e.g. The 95A.hr battery was overspecced, their battery design team did tests that show 92 will meet design standards for cranking ability etc. The new battery is €0.50 cheaper than the original so that's a nice cost saving they can bank to develop the next model. Multiply that by literally every part on every car and you'll understand why design changes happen after series production has finished.

I only asked to check I got the right one. The invoice says 001 19828208/26 (which is what the other dealer confirmed was the right one)
But the actual part says 0011982 8208. On the label.
And I know there are 2 batteries, hence maybe by accident I didnt get the /26 version that might be a 95A one.

So either MB dont print the suffix and mine is right just downgraded , which is fine. Or by accident I got the wrong one.

 

[Submariner1]

It's a battery, and one you didn't need...must you question absolutely every infinitesimal issue to do with things...next you'll be asking the torque value of the nut holding the battery in...

Funny if I ordered a pork chop, and got a lamb chop ... yes I would query it.

Maybe I didnt absolutely need a new battery, but due to the age and low reading I was happy to invest in a new part. Purely for a trouble free future.

And yes if things indicated it was the wrong part, such as the wrong number, and the wrong AH, and Varta who make them say theor specifications shows it should be 95AH not 92AH, excuse me I an not such a f@@king pussy I wouldn't challenge it.

As you seem to like having a pop, let me explain.
1. Yes I do challenge things that seem irrational, and especially if they could be detrimental,
2. and yes it can be irritating to those with a laisez faire attitude. Its the price I pay for having an IQ of 168 , as my numerous corporate personality tests state "doesnt handle fools well".
3. Digging into things does have its benefits - for example
- The bottom return feed ABC reservoir filtre issue. Numerous people said for Gods sake just open it and look at the filter. My persistence discovered doing that releases all the crap collected in the filter (collected in my case since June 2009) into the reservoir ( note in pre June 2008 CL500s i.e. top return feed ones it does not!) .
That would, I am sure you would agree be pretty disastrous; unless you immediately flushed it all out, and vacumed out the crap in the reservoir before doing the flush ... if not, all that crap in concentrated form, would be cycled through every ABC component. Bye bye pump, control valve blocks etc.

So some folks, especially those with an IQ above 150 might find it worth putting up with my attention to detail. Or just not bother reading my posts.

- my challenging nature, discovered the previous owners' tyre company had fitted the wrong tyres on the front of this car. Mercedes insurance told me if I was in a serious accident, they would have refused the comprehensive part ... it also got me a refund from the seller to the value if the tyres!

- when my previous camera kept delivering out of focus images, and the mfg kept sending it back saying everything was fine! I persevered as it cost £2,000 and eventually met someone with the equipment who could test and document it. Basically we discovered the Focus mat was faulty i.e. Quite a few of the focus boxes were not where the actual focus point was. Eg if you shot a long line of people say at a graduation, and focused accurately on your relative. The actual focus point could be 2ft to the right, in this case it might miss his head and latch onto the wall 15 feet behind him. Nicely focused wall, totally out of focus head!
The image showing the discrepancy got at least 20 people new cameras. BTW the manufacturer knew about this faulty batch, but just decided to blag it!
My replacement camera was perfect!

So on to the torque setting. Yes I actually did ask.
And for 3 reasons.

1. Manufacturers issue torque settings for good reasons.
- for example Norbar ran a course for experienced technicians, and sure it was partially to sell more wrenches, but also to go into the complex areas of different metals and the effect of greasing them. One thing they did was to ask these attendees ... note all experienced mechanics to set a bolt at 30Nm. They then tested them ... and he said the result varied from 10Nm to 55Nm. And 80% of the guys were more than 20% out!
- I have RSI, due to using a well know companys Delta Sander. Just using it for 3 weeks doing up this house, permanently damaged some nerves. I found my elbows tingled and so did my finger tips. When I went to a specialist nerve consulant, and told her how they felt. The first thing she said was do you do any DIY, I said yes but why ... er it keeps you fit. The second question she asked was
"Have you been using a Delta sander made by B@@@@. I said yes. She tested me and you should have a voltage of 15mv, and mine were 3.1 and 3.2 mv.
As that was quite a long way off, I asked well how long does it take to heal and how bad is it ?
The answer was it will never heal! And lets say if it dropped 2 more volts you would not be able to even feel your hands! She then advised me to get the manual and check that was one of the products that she said was deliberatly evaisive about the vibration reading. Turns out it was and had a vivration factor four times over the legal limit! The consultant strongly suggested Imtwke them to court.
So with petty insensitive finger, especially in cold weather I find it difficult to judge pressure. Hence yes I will use any tool that helps overcome this for lack of a better word .. disability.
So bearing that in mind have you got anything against partially disabled people trying to get in with life?

If having read all that, and it still irritates you then please dont both post on my threads. That would be sad as you have given me some good tips, for which I am grateful.

You might also bear in mind most people start learning mechanics on simple and also relatively economical cars with cheap parts. I have had new cars since 1989 and sold them under 3 years. So no historical mechanical experience; having retired early and partly because of the astro cost of new cars (eg I priced up a new CL 63 AMG and it clocked up £120K without going mad on toys!)

Hence I have gone back to second hand, which therefore means lots of repairs to get it up to my std. and its something I want to learn to do myself.

Thus I am learning on what I would say is a ****** complicated car, with fairly serious electrics. So am quite nervous and openly a little worried about damaging a new part or even other related aspects of the car.

 

[mikestrivens]

perhaps you should have bought an old Ford

 

[Naraic]

...sigh...

 

[Craiglxviii]

perhaps you should have bought an old Ford

Oh I don't know, have you ever tried to parse Ford part nos?

 

[d215yq]

Purely for a trouble free future.

You appear to have had a rather "trouble unfree" past 3 weeks to save yourself a potential troublesome half an hour's wait for the AA in the future.

It's just a battery, if they fitted an 85ma cheap one and you just left it alone and drove it it would probably work fine.

You'll be terrified to hear the battery tray in my car has rusted away (although at least that means I don't have to worry about the torque setting of fixing it), and the battery is unbranded and of unknown history as the previous owner bought it (he did say it was recent but it had no history). I was going to do something about it and analyse it but at the end of the day it starts the car, even after 3 weeks of non-use and 2 glowplug cycles. and has done for 2 years and 35k miles so it's staying put. In that time other things have needed doing and I'm glad I put the effort and money into those essential things that were needed to keep the car running.

 

[LostKiwi]

A good explanation as to why he is as he is

I understand your point about stuff not being right however at the same time I suspect you may have a slight OCD tendency as well.

With respect to the torque settings ok fine. I would guess 7-10NM is adequate. It would need to be tight enough to ensure it doesn't vibrate loose and no more. To that end ensure it has a spring washer under the clamp. To a certain extent a spring washer will negate the value of any torque reading

With the battery there is little difference between 92AH and 95AH. For a give style of battery (for example 019) the Ah specification will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

For example https://www.tayna.co.uk/019-Car-Batteries-G11.html

Looking at each you will see the Ah value will vary between 85Ah to 100Ah.
The important aspects being the physical size of the battery and the clamp (as in terminal) arrangement.
The specification to use an 019 battery for the vehicle will take account of these variations in specification.

As for it being a downgrade we are dealing with a sub 4% variation which in the scheme of things is negligible.

 

[John Laidlaw]

They sell you UBS which are labelled starter battery too...go figure

 

[Submariner1]

I understand your point about stuff not being right however at the same time I suspect you may have a slight OCD tendency as well.

With respect to the torque settings ok fine. I would guess 7-10NM is adequate. It would need to be tight enough to ensure it doesn't vibrate loose and no more. To that end ensure it has a spring washer under the clamp. To a certain extent a spring washer will negate the value of any torque reading

With the battery there is little difference between 92AH and 95AH. For a give style of battery (for example 019) the Ah specification will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

For example https://www.tayna.co.uk/019-Car-Batteries-G11.html

Looking at each you will see the Ah value will vary between 85Ah to 100Ah.
The important aspects being the physical size of the battery and the clamp (as in terminal) arrangement.
The specification to use an 019 battery for the vehicle will take account of these variations in specification.

As for it being a downgrade we are dealing with a sub 4% variation which in the scheme of things is negligible.

Thanks, and appreciate your torque guess.
Just as well I asked as I didnt see a spring washer on that bolt or the clamp :-/

By the way, I think it was you who kept saying you cant measure the volts on a batttery in situ (which I understood).
But fyi connected on the car it showed 12.3V so a tad low.
Off the car and btw say 2 days after any charging it showed 12.5V so OK lol
No wonder it always started.

But I dont mind buying a new one, peace of mind for my period of ownership, as that battery was stamped 05 08 thats either week 5 2008! So 9 years old or May 2008 so 8 years and 8 months.

The replacement when recieved registerd 12.8V off the car.
And the starting seems much snappier. But could be the placebo effect lol.
Anyway one of the workmen here today just offered me £35 for the old one. So to upgrade only cost £65 .... well worth it. IMO.

 

[LostKiwi]

Thanks, and appreciate your torque guess.
Just as well I asked as I didnt see a spring washer on that bolt or the clamp :-/

By the way, I think it was you who kept saying you cant measure the volts on a batttery in situ (which I understood).
But fyi connected on the car it showed 12.3V so a tad low.
Off the car and btw say 2 days after any charging it showed 12.5V so OK lol
No wonder it always started.

But I dont mind buying a new one, peace of mind for my period of ownership, as that battery was stamped 05 08 thats either week 5 2008! So 9 years old or May 2008 so 8 years and 8 months.

The replacement when recieved registerd 12.8V off the car.
And the starting seems much snappier. But could be the placebo effect lol.
Anyway one of the workmen here today just offered me £35 for the old one. So to upgrade only cost £65 .... well worth it. IMO.

Damn - I'd have had it for the boat!

 

[Submariner1]

Damn - I'd have had it for the boat!

If you are serious, and he doesnt take it next week. ( coming to do some finishing off ) I will let you know.

But As I said to him, these are the readings I got. Seems Ok but for how long?? 1week if unlucky or if like my mothers, that went on for 11 years!

 

[LostKiwi]

If you are serious, and he doesnt take it next week. ( coming to do some finishing off ) I will let you know.

But As I said to him, these are the readings I got. Seems Ok but for how long?? 1week if unlucky or if like my mothers, that went on for 11 years!

For the boat it doesn't matter too much. It has a split charge system with one battery for starting and (currently) one for house duties. I'm extending it to a starter battery plus 3 house batteries and adding a solar panel (South of France - why wouldn't I).

Ideally I'd go with 'leisure' batteries but I've used 019s in a previous life on a Defender and they work fine. The main thing is all house batteries need to be the same size.

 

[Submariner1]

perhaps you should have bought an old Ford

Would you

 

[Yugguy]

I sympathise with submariner.


I like stuff to be correct as well, especially on a complicated and expensive vehicle.

 

[Xtractorfan]

It's a battery, and one you didn't need...must you question absolutely every infinitesimal issue to do with things...next you'll be asking the torque value of the nut holding the battery in...

And Craig will be answering telling him that they specced a lower torque because the original torque impacted on the plastic casing and was found to reduce the voltage by one tenth of an amp which in turn made their battery now, not the 95ah that was quoted on the label and sold as, but now they had to downgrade the spec to conform to the actual values as produced by the Battery...

 

[mioba]

People give the OP some slack.

He drives a Benz (a very nice model at that). He wants it to be perfect. He who pays says.

He is fair to ask questions.

 

[Submariner1]

People give the OP some slack.

He drives a Benz (a very nice model at that). He wants it to be perfect. He who pays says.

He is fair to ask questions.

Appreciate that!

I am used to it, having turned around 3 companies I am used to the "it will do mob". Life gets so much easier when one has proved they are idiots, and you can get rid of them, and start making money.

Doing it right first time is a hellof a lot cheaper long run.

Interestingly I fired off a question to Mercedes CAC, and they escalated it to their technicsl dept. Who have come back with "you should have 95AH! But that battery is correct!"

Radio silence when I sent them a pic of the new battery label showing 92AH.

Personally my bet is there are 2 batteries, and the one with the suffix - 26 is the 95AH version. (And I should have got that one) .

Its also interesting that the new CTEK traffick light LED was Green when I first connected the car. Left overnight it has dropped to Amber = its good to charge it.
IMO a new battery that arrived showing 12.8V and then charged for 4 hours, OK it didnt hit the final care cycle, should remain green the next day. .?

And I hear what they say , its only 3.1% less AHs, but doing very low ad hoc mileage .... it could be that last little bit of charge that makes the difference .. does it start or not!
And the average wait for MB Movilo around here is over an hour!

So to my mind a few calls, and if its wrong, then make them change it is no big sweat.