Has anyone cleaned out the debris under their battery tray recently, or are you all waiting for a burst of spring fever?

I pulled out mein today, and was disgusted by the pre-cambrian primordial festerings that were lurking down there.

Ach Du Lieber!

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

Sounds like you have some grubs in the tray!

I clean the tray about once a year when the battery is changed. Would spray some silicon-based stuff over the tray which makes it look clean. However, I dont have any forms of harvest growth anywhere in sight.

Just curious - how often are your batteries changed?

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... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

Yes I do!!
Every spring I remove the battery and tray.
Don't forget to plug in Donald's El Cheapo memory saver into the cigar lighter.
I clean underneath applying backing soda all over and rinsing it off with water from a gargen hose.
If it needs repainting I use Zinc chromate primer and spray OEM color.
I sand the nasty spots on the tray and refinish it the same way.
IMPCO has a pad for under your battery to check the corrossion, but then you wouldn't clean those critters from underneath, could you?
Happy Trails Beep Beep from Houston!!!
Donald, El Cheapo

Wow - you sound like you did everything according to the text book.

But those critters? Call the X-files?

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... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

THE MEX FILES Starring...

Scullerio!

Mulderez!

Odelay, mi madre es . . . Madre? Madre? Que es tu?

Scullerio? . . . Si! Mulderez? . . .Si! . . . Esta bien...

ymsin,

Not IN the tray, homes, UNDER the damn thin' :p

And here, in Cali, our batterias last up to siete years! And sometimes even longer with proper maintenance...

Yo bruddas in Malaysia, you gots to change your batterias every year? That's wack, bro...

But perhaps, Scullerio 'e Mulderez can solve the Mystery of The Disappearing Malaysian Mercedes Battery on next week's episode of, "The Mex Files"!!! SI!

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

Ju uno loco hombre, es no quate'.
Me batre lastes mucho mucho luna.
But dem grubbies which lives under me tray aint Californ grubbies.
All of my grubbies gots verde cards.
So you se we the alliet deport them annually, only to have them swim across the Rio Grande River and return again.
Happy Trails Beep Beep from Houston!!!
Donald, El Cheapo

A few years ago I swore off of cheap batteries and onto Interstates. The one in my 190SL has been abused (by the prior owner who let the car sit...) and it has a 1992 date on it. Still runs like new! Earlier this week I got a peek at my mechanic's new gel cell from Interstate in his car. We've been using these for a few years in marine applications (sailboats), and I never really thought about making the switch to gel in a car! (duh!). But, NO MORE BATTERY CORROSION! I believe I'm sold. They ain't cheap, about $125, but when you think of the damage to the tray, the car, the terminals (yes, no more corroded terminals either), wiring, etc., why not?

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Bill Streep
San Antonio
'57 190SL (toy)
'08 S5500 (mine)
'09 CLK550 (wife's)
'06 SLK350 (daughter's)
'11 GLK350 (daughter's)
'03 CLK310 (spare)

Bill,

For some it may be a matter of cleaning corrosion, but for most I think it's a matter of cleaning out decayed vegitation. In the DIY section, I did the sub-mounts and had to pull the battery tray to access the right mount. Underneath was years of decayed vegitation. Only a little corrosion on the tray itself, none under the tray just leaves and small animals .

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Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

Slightly off topic reply:
My 560SEL has collected a large number of oak leaves in large cavities against the firewall both under the fuse box and on the passenger side. They look like they will be hard to remove but I'm going to try to vaccuum them with a small nozzel. Being very dry and light, the leaves look like excellent fire starting material.

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VR
1967 250SL

Look for my post under "Fire Hazard", where there was a great response to the leaves under the master cylinder area. Condensed version - a resistor resides down there, and it gets hot, lights the leaves on fire!

I used a shop vac and a piece of pvc pipe as an extension. Sucked it all out of there, easily.

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1989 560SEL (172k)
1989 325IC (122K)
2004 Suzuki Volusia LE (3500 miles)
2005 Yamaha Road Star (20 K miles)

YES, YES, YES, Thank You all for pointing out where I was going in the first place, the land of acquired leaves, twigs and pine needles!

I first used a leaf blower, then the shopvac, but the decaying leafage under der battery tray required a R&R of the hardware to allow access and removal. This stuff absorbs the water, battery overflow, and whatever else gets in there and turns into a small compost heap!

Fortunately, the hood goes straight up in the air to allow excellent acces to these areas...

Here's a link to John's thread for us all to share:

W126 fire hazard

We should all be driving around with fire extinguishers in our cars. Available at auto parts stores and boat shops.

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

I have been thinking about taking the battery out and have it sprayed with RhinoLining or equivilant.

Gary

Every time I hear about battery trays on this board, I become confused. You folks must have your batteries in the wrong place. Mine is in the front of the engine compartment. Is this a specialty of the W116?

Gary,

Yer high, seek help...

'Turtle, on the W 126 chassis, the battery is right in front of the firewall on the passenger side.

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

Now I know why you all seem to be so worried about the drain holes, battery acid, and rust holes around the battery. I think my W116 must have the better battery placement. Just My Humble Opinion, Longston. I see you're still cracking everybody up. Thanks for asking about me over at the Diesel Forum. I temporarily lost interest. P.