W211 e270 CDi 2003. Under bonnet charging points??

[james2747]

I want to trickle charge battery overnight during the winter period. It is a real 'pain in bum' having to access battery in boot each time, as I have lots of 'stuff' in boot which needs to be removed each time.
On previous cars I've owned there has been connectors under the bonnet to allow easy battery charging but there doesn't seem to be any on W211 E class Merc.
Any suggestions for easier charging than having to access the battery in boot each time?

 

[Blobcat]

The pics in the first post of the below thread should help

Alternative jump start points on a 2003 W211, E270

Hi folks, I thought I'd drop by and post this here in the hope it helps someone else. My own search for answers brought me through these forums time and time again but I happened to find the answer on an obscure video elsewhere after hours of searching. Apologies in advance if this is in fact...

forums.mercedesclub.org.uk

 

[S500 Pete]

I want to trickle charge battery overnight during the winter period. It is a real 'pain in bum' having to access battery in boot each time, as I have lots of 'stuff' in boot which needs to be removed each time.
On previous cars I've owned there has been connectors under the bonnet to allow easy battery charging but there doesn't seem to be any on W211 E class Merc.
Any suggestions for easier charging than having to access the battery in boot each time?

You could buy an adaptor for the OBD port which has permanently live connections
I keep my battery live from a solar panel on the dashboard plugged in to the OBD for 3 months at a time if I am out of the country.

 

[Blobcat]

You could buy an adaptor for the OBD port which has permanently live connections
I keep my battery live from a solar panel on the dashboard plugged in to the OBD for 3 months at a time if I am out of the country.

Not always a good idea… @Chrishazle had a really bad experience with Hellfrauds applying power through his OBD port to keep memory settings during a battery change.

 

[Chrishazle]

As mentioned, Hellfrauds connected a 12V battery to my OBD2 port, with hindsight I now know that blew Fuse 12 (think that's right) which then meant the car would start but could not shift the transmission out of P - until we found the emergency release under the gaiter. Also meant that the OBD2 port was dead so my indie's diagnostics did not work and he had to find wiring diagrams and go "old school" to trace the fault and fix it, took him about 2 1/2 hours, the bill Hellfrauds had to reimburse me for was £174!

 

[mioba]

The ONLY good thing about Halfords is the warranty on their advance range of tools.

 

[S500 Pete]

Not always a good idea… @Chrishazle had a really bad experience with Hellfrauds applying power through his OBD port to keep memory settings during a battery change.

Use this method on my S class and my wifes GLA a few times now without problem. I think the difference might be the high possible amperage of a battery compared to the 20w maximum of the solar panels.
When I changed my battery I simply connected a normal charger to the leads before disconnecting them from the battery which worked fine.

A decent trickle charger is great in a garage but a nuisance trailing leads out on to the drive, especially if leaving it for long periods.