help! left lights on all weekend! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

digieditny · #1 07-06-2011, 07:38 AM

Left lights on all weekend by mistake. Now when I jump the car, I get just a click. All the lights and other electrical items work.

Could it be the starter? Where is it so I can give it a wack!

toomany MBZ · #2 07-06-2011, 07:41 AM

I'll suggest to bolt in a new battery. Once they have been drained completely, often it won't be of much use.

But the starter is located below the turbo, follow the large wiring harness.

digieditny · #3 07-06-2011, 07:52 AM

Will try that. Guess girlfriend will have to take a cab from the airport... oooops!

RML · #4 07-06-2011, 08:03 AM

Perhaps the source you are using to jump it does not have much power.

Did you try charging the battery? If you do, be sure to make sure the water levels are OK in the cells and use distilled water to top them off if you need to add any. One you try to charge it, you can test the cells and see if the battery is any good.

How old is the battery?

Richard

toomany MBZ · #5 07-06-2011, 07:59 AM

Jumper cables are wonderful, but you don't a real good connection with the grips.

digieditny · #6 07-06-2011, 08:03 AM

Well im trying to jump it with one of those battery jumper units. I've used it before with no problem but I've never left the car lights on for this long...

RML · #7 07-06-2011, 08:07 AM

It takes a lot of cranking power to turn over a diesel. My guess is that if you jump it with another car or get a service station to do it, you will be OK. Do you belong to AAA?

digieditny · #8 07-06-2011, 08:20 AM

I do belong to AAA. I can give them a call. I just wanted to rule out bad starter. Here's an interesting thing that just happened... I cracked it one more time before heading inside and it turned over but since I didn't expect it to do that, I shut it off... now it just clicks again!

Jetmugg · #9 07-06-2011, 08:44 AM

If you have access to a decent set of jumper cables and another, running vehicle, let it "jump charge" for a while, at least 1/2 hour-45 minutes. The transfer of electrons takes some time, especially through the often-flimsy connection of jumper cable clamps.

Just hook them together, let the running car run for a while while charging, and your diesel will most likely start. Hook them up, have a nice breakfast, brush your teeth, go to the bathroom, then go start your car. (Leave the two cars electrically attached through the entire charging and starting sequence).

Don't expect to jump start it immediately after hooking the jumper cable up, unless you have a VERY heavy duty set of cables and excellent connections at the clamps.

Steve.

Jim H · #10 07-06-2011, 09:12 AM

Recharging a battery takes time, lots of time.

Recommended recharging rate is not more than Capacity/10, so 6 amperes will require 12 hours or so to recharge a 60 amp-hour battery (72 amp-hours input, less losses in efficiency) so you can't just clip on a charger and crank away after a minute or so.

Using heavy cables to 'jump' a battery is faster and more convenient than replacing the 'dead' battery because you have amps immediately available from the good battery and can start the engine, but you are not recharging the dead battery. It will then take time to recharge the dead battery.

A battery that has been completely discharged never regains its full capacity, so plan to replace it when you are financially able.

digieditny · #11 07-06-2011, 09:10 AM

K gave AAA a call and it started in less than a min. I guess I need a more powerful jumper! Really thought it was the starter. Thanks to all!.

leathermang · #12 07-06-2011, 09:20 AM

All good answers.....
also... once a battery is really discharged...some chargers will not recognize it as a load....and you may have to hook another battery up in the group for it to charge the really low one... my charger is that way...

charmalu · #13 07-06-2011, 10:15 AM

Now that you have the answers, and all good one`s.
There is a buzzer in the system to alert you when you leave the lights on. think it is time you repair it before the next memory laps over takes you.

Look at the battery as a 6000 gallon water tank. the more water in the tank, the more pressure that comes out of the pipe.

Lets say you left the fawcet open all night (left lights on) and drained the tank (battery). you open the valve (turn the key) , nothing comes out (starter does not turn over). you then stick in a garden hose (Jumper cable) and let it run to fill the tank (Battery) . then open the valve (Turn key) in a few minutes and a dribble comes out. (Hear a click)

You have a bad connection at the hose fitting (Battery post) and it leaks water. This will take longer to fill the tank (Battery).
Finally you get a 3 inch fire hose (AAA emergency Road service) to fill the tank (Battery). Within a few minutes you have enough volumn (Amps) in the tank (Battery) to opperate the services in your home, shower, dish washer, etc... ( Turn the Starter).

Goofy explaination, but you get the point.

OH the buzzer is the frying Pan your wife (GF) uses to wake you up.

Charlie

RML · #14 07-06-2011, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charmalu

Now that you have the answers, and all good one`s.
There is a buzzer in the system to alert you when you leave the lights on. think it is time you repair it before the next memory laps over takes you.

Look at the battery as a 6000 gallon water tank. the more water in the tank, the more pressure that comes out of the pipe.

Lets say you left the fawcet open all night (left lights on) and drained the tank (battery). you open the valve (turn the key) , nothing comes out (starter does not turn over). you then stick in a garden hose (Jumper cable) and let it run to fill the tank (Battery) . then open the valve (Turn key) in a few minutes and a dribble comes out. (Hear a click)

You have a bad connection at the hose fitting (Battery post) and it leaks water. This will take longer to fill the tank (Battery).
Finally you get a 3 inch fire hose (AAA emergency Road service) to fill the tank (Battery). Within a few minutes you have enough volumn (Amps) in the tank (Battery) to opperate the services in your home, shower, dish washer, etc... ( Turn the Starter).

Goofy explaination, but you get the point.

OH the buzzer is the frying Pan your wife (GF) uses to wake you up.

Charlie

Great explanation!!

scottmcphee · #15 07-06-2011, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RML

Great explanation!!

...to take this further

The diameter of the hose is Amperage, and the pressure of the water is the Voltage.

A thin pressure washer hose is high voltage, few amps.

A ditch drainage hose is high amperage, low volts.

Amperage is gated by the diameter of the hose, you can only push so much through it, any more and it will melt / burst.

Voltage is not gated similarly. Voltage doesn't do the work, amperage does.

When you are charging a car battery, you need to push amps into it, not higher volts.

And did you know that an electron doesn't actually flow that fast in a wire? When you connect a wire to a battery, the electron you add in one end is not the same electron that pops out the other end.

The electron put in has a domino effect that knocks a neighbor electrons over by one, and this happens at the speed near to light. So an electron instantly pops out the other end.

That added electron will eventually find its way to the other side of the wire, but this happens at crawl. The gating factor is the diameter of the wire (it's gauge).

Another analogy is the diesel hard line to the injector. The pulse of inserting more fuel carries the power to open the injector on the other side, but it's the local fuel already in the injector that gets squirted - not what was just put in. It takes about 10 seconds for that newly added fuel to reach the injector when driving at speed. Some diesel heads don't realize this!