How do you replace the electronics Battery 2004 SL600 (R230)?

[mySL]

I have a 2004 SL600 (R230) and both my starter and electronics battery are dead because of age, the cold weather, and I let it sit too long. I took the starter out with ease. I had NTB check it and they said it was dead and could not be recharged (I had tried before hand to charge it for an hour with a car jump and also a plug in battery charger). I bought a new one for MB parts dept and have not put it in yet because I want to get a new electronics battery. It was going long before the starter.

Anybody know how to take out the Electronics Battery? It's well bolted down and I removed every bolt that I could see and the retaining clip, but it will not budge. Any tips on taking it out?

Also, I bought an MB battery for the starter because I could not find the equilvalent at autoparts stores. Are the generics okay for the electronics battery as long as the size and CCA are the same?

Thanks in advance

[whunter]

e-mail sent with pictures attached.

Some systems may need re-programing with the MB scan tool.

[mySL]

Thanks Roy for the schematics. I was confused by them, now after I took it apart. It makes sense. Anyways....

I was going to go the MB assistence route because everyone said it would be the cost of the battery for them to come out and replace it, but the MB roadside tech said there is a $130 service charge to come out, so I opted for phone support. Although, it is not in the manual for removing the battery, he said that I need to remove a bracket with a 13mm socket wrench (manual only say you need a 10mm socket wrench) and the battery should come right out. From the top view, it looks like the battery is sitting on top of a holder, but actually it is the bottom bracket holding it in (see pic bottombracket).

Here are the steps (you can see want you have to take out in picture trunkview).

1. Remove the negative terminal with the 10mm socket wrench (in manual).
2. Remove the Positive Terminal with the 10mm socket wrench (in manual).
3. Remove the a T20 Torque Star wrench because you can't take out the top bracket without making the cover loose.
4. Remove the Top Bracket with the 10mm combination wrench or Box-end wrench (can't get it with a socket wrench; see picture topbracket).
5. Remove the Bottom Bracket with the 13mm socket wrench (you may have to remove the tire to have access to the 13mm bolt if you don't have a long socket wrench; I had to do that with a 13mm combination wrench).
6. Pull out the old one and put in the new battery.
7. Connect the Positive Terminal with the 10mm socket wrench (in manual).
8. Connect the negative terminal with the 10mm socket wrench (in manual).
9. If it works, put eveything else back together in reverse order.

Hope that helps someone in the future

[whunter]

Originally Posted by mySL

I was going to go the MB assistance route because everyone said it would be the cost of the battery for them to come out and replace it, but the MB roadside tech said there is a $$$$$ service charge to come out, so I opted for phone support.
Removing the electronics battery is not in the Factory Service Manual = FSM.
The MB assistance Technician said I need to remove one bracket with 13 mm fastener, and the other bracket has 10 mm fastener.
The battery should come right out.
From the top view, it looks like the battery is sitting on top of a holder, but actually it is the bottom bracket holding it in (see pic bottom bracket).

Here are the steps (you can see want you have to take out in picture trunk view).

1. Remove the negative terminal with the 10 mm socket wrench (in FSM).
2. Remove the Positive Terminal with the 10 mm socket wrench (in FSM).
3. Remove the a T20 Torque Star wrench because you can't take out the top bracket without making the cover loose.
4. Remove the Top Bracket with the 10 mm combination wrench or Box-end wrench (can't get it with a socket wrench; see picture top bracket).
5. Remove the Bottom Bracket with the 13 mm socket wrench (you may have to remove the tire to have access to the 13 mm bolt if you don't have a long socket wrench; I had to do that with a 13 mm combination wrench).
6. Pull out the old one and put in the new battery.
7. Connect the Positive Terminal with the 10 mm socket wrench (in FSM).
8. Connect the negative terminal with the 10 mm socket wrench (in FSM).
9. Install everything in reverse order.

Hope that helps someone in the future

EDIT for DIY wikki.

[Lou K]

Originally Posted by mySL

Thanks Roy for the schematics. I was confused by them, now after I took it apart. It makes sense. Anyways....

I was going to go the MB assistence route because everyone said it would be the cost of the battery for them to come out and replace it, but the MB roadside tech said there is a $130 service charge to come out, so I opted for phone support. Although, it is not in the manual for removing the battery, he said that I need to remove a bracket with a 13mm socket wrench (manual only say you need a 10mm socket wrench) and the battery should come right out. From the top view, it looks like the battery is sitting on top of a holder, but actually it is the bottom bracket holding it in (see pic bottombracket).

Here are the steps (you can see want you have to take out in picture trunkview).

1. Remove the negative terminal with the 10mm socket wrench (in manual).
2. Remove the Positive Terminal with the 10mm socket wrench (in manual).
3. Remove the a T20 Torque Star wrench because you can't take out the top bracket without making the cover loose.
4. Remove the Top Bracket with the 10mm combination wrench or Box-end wrench (can't get it with a socket wrench; see picture topbracket).
5. Remove the Bottom Bracket with the 13mm socket wrench (you may have to remove the tire to have access to the 13mm bolt if you don't have a long socket wrench; I had to do that with a 13mm combination wrench).
6. Pull out the old one and put in the new battery.
7. Connect the Positive Terminal with the 10mm socket wrench (in manual).
8. Connect the negative terminal with the 10mm socket wrench (in manual).
9. If it works, put eveything else back together in reverse order.

Hope that helps someone in the future

What a crock of Horse *****, $130 service charge. I recently had my convenience battery changed by MB roadside assistance. I paid $230 for the battery and no service charge. The price for the battery was still high but there does not appear to be an easy place to find a replacement.

[Bill Wood]

This DIY is in the Wiki HERE.

Thanks!

[Peter Guenther]

That is just "BS" I have had at least three batteris replaced at my home or place of business. It is always at the price of a over the counter battery, my service advisor told me not to come in because then they charge labor. This is not the first time I have heard of them playing this game of "at night, too far", and attempting to charge. I have also heard of them marking up the list price. I would call 1-800-FORMERCEDES, and complain, I hope you did not call the dealer direct!

[mySL]

Originally Posted by Peter Guenther

That is just "BS" I have had at least three batteris replaced at my home or place of business. It is always at the price of a over the counter battery, my service advisor told me not to come in because then they charge labor. This is not the first time I have heard of them playing this game of "at night, too far", and attempting to charge. I have also heard of them marking up the list price. I would call 1-800-FORMERCEDES, and complain, I hope you did not call the dealer direct!

Yeah, when I called the 1-800. They said that they said that they normally get people from the dealer to come out to do the service (I asked for price and they said it was from the closest dealer and I could ask when they call back). I said if that was the case, I wanted a guy from Tyson's Corner because they had the cheapest battery prices (the closest was the most expensive). When I talked to the Service guy on the phone that said there would be a $130 service charge, he said that he did not work for MB of Tyson's but directly for MB Roadside Assistance. Maybe it was because it was the evening I was working on it, or maybe because he was 15 miles away when the closest dealer was 0.25 miles away, or maybe MB likes to gouge DC area customer. After I got it out, he did want me to call back and give the mileage to him so he could close the ticket out.


BTW for people that want the MB batteries and live in the DC area. Here are the 2 cheapest:

MB of Tyson's Corner (VA): $155 + tax for the Starter Battery and $203 + tax for The Consumer Electronics Battery

Herb Gordon MB (MD): $173 + tax for the Starter and $220 + tax for the Electronics. The said they would price match Tyson's though.

Most expensive: Euro Motorcars (MD) $210 + tax for the starter and $320 + tax for the Electronics.

Most Autoparts stores (Advanced Auto, Pepboy, Autozone, etc) for the Electronics: $100

[mySL]

Originally Posted by Lou K

What a crock of Horse *****, $130 service charge. I recently had my convenience battery changed by MB roadside assistance. I paid $230 for the battery and no service charge. The price for the battery was still high but there does not appear to be an easy place to find a replacement.

If you could not find a replacement, then it must have been the starter battery. If that is the case, they did charge a premium for it as I posted I got my started for $155. I ended up also getting the original MB electronics one too because I was not sure if a 3rd party battery would fit with the bracket that they use plus someone mentioned that MB uses a special acid (that is mixed with glass) for their batteries. The MB Roadside Assistence Guy said over the phone that it did not matter for the electronics, but the starter is the important one to get original MB (you can't find it outside of MB anyways).

[bobterry99]

Originally Posted by mySL

The MB Roadside Assistence Guy said over the phone that it did not matter for the electronics, but the starter is the important one to get original MB (you can't find it outside of MB anyways).

M-B told you wrong! The opposite is true -- the Starter battery is conventional lead-acid, while the Systems battery is unique.

[mySL]

Originally Posted by bobterry99

M-B told you wrong! The opposite is true -- the Starter battery is conventional lead-acid, while the Systems battery is unique.

I don't know if you have looked at the started battery before but it is tiny. Everywhere I took it, they have never seen a battery that size. I would say that the Starter battery is definitely unique. In fact, when those stores (pepboys, autozone, etc.) pulled up the car in their system, the only replacement battery listed was the electronics battery.

[bobterry99]

Let me clarify. The construction of the Starter battery is standard. Yes, it is unusually small, but any 12-volt battery that can physically fit in its place and can source the proper CCA is an equivalent replacement for the original battery.

The Systems battery is different. It is a unique "Absorbant Glass Mat" (AGM) design which offers superior performance to conventional batteries. Benefits include longer service life and better "deep cycle performance", according to M-B. So, while Autozone will sell you a Duralast battery to replace your Systems battery, it is likely going to be a conventional lead-acid battery and not an AGM. It will work just fine, but it is inferior to the battery sold by the Mercedes dealer.

Some of the "Optima"-branded batteries may be AGM.

[mySL]

Originally Posted by bobterry99

Let me clarify. The construction of the Starter battery is standard. Yes, it is unusually small, but any 12-volt battery that can physically fit in its place and can source the proper CCA is an equivalent replacement for the original battery.

The Systems battery is different. It is a unique "Absorbant Glass Mat" (AGM) design which offers superior performance to conventional batteries. Benefits include longer service life and better "deep cycle performance", according to M-B. So, while Autozone will sell you a Duralast battery to replace your Systems battery, it is likely going to be a conventional lead-acid battery and not an AGM. It will work just fine, but it is inferior to the battery sold by the Mercedes dealer.

Some of the "Optima"-branded batteries may be AGM.

Thanks for the clarification. Yeah, another guy on another forum said the same thing about the AGM component in the systems batttery. I figured I would not mess with that and got the MB battery (plus I was worried about a non-MB battery not fitting in the slot since it has a bracket).

[jdonnee]

I have a 96 SL500-what is an electronics battery???

[Lee Wireless]

Originally Posted by jdonnee

I have a 96 SL500-what is an electronics battery???

You do not have one in your SL.