Had to tell someone! Just replaced my original battery on my 1999 E320 . Started to show symptoms so decided to replace. Amazing it lasted so long

__________________
Ron
2015 Porsche Cayman - Elizabeth
2011 Porsche Cayman - Bond,James Bond
Sadly MERCEDESLESS - ALways LOOKING !
99 E320 THE Queen Mary - SOLD
62 220b - Dolly - Finally my Finny! Sadly SOLD
72 450SL, Pearl-SOLD
16 F350 6.7 Diesel -THOR
19 BMW X5 - Heaven on Wheels
14 38HP John Deere 3038E Tractor -Mean Green
84 300SD, Benjamin -SOLD
71 220 - W115-Libby ( my first love) -SOLD
73 280 - W114 "Organspende" Rest in Peace
81 380 SL - Rest in Peace

wow,did you use a trickle charger,warm garage,maybe acid ratio was perfect.

did you buy car new? just because it is a mb battery and looks new because it is under seat does not mean its original. post pictures of the battery date code and the top of battery

She has been babied. Always garaged
I am second owner but first owner was meticulous with MB dealer only service and had all records.
No indication of change but many instances of checking it ,topping it off,and one service where all acid was replaced or something like that

Already sent in as a core, guess I shoulda taken a picture

__________________
Ron
2015 Porsche Cayman - Elizabeth
2011 Porsche Cayman - Bond,James Bond
Sadly MERCEDESLESS - ALways LOOKING !
99 E320 THE Queen Mary - SOLD
62 220b - Dolly - Finally my Finny! Sadly SOLD
72 450SL, Pearl-SOLD
16 F350 6.7 Diesel -THOR
19 BMW X5 - Heaven on Wheels
14 38HP John Deere 3038E Tractor -Mean Green
84 300SD, Benjamin -SOLD
71 220 - W115-Libby ( my first love) -SOLD
73 280 - W114 "Organspende" Rest in Peace
81 380 SL - Rest in Peace

The battery on my family's 1997 E420 lasted something like 10 years as well.

It likely had to do with the fact that it is a BIG battery and unlike most cars, is in the back under the rear seat, more protected from the elements and heat/heat and cold cycles like those mounted in the engine compartment.

Ive got fifteen yrs or so on my pickup battery, its way oversized..You can still drive the car around using the starter or leave lights on for hours..Not sure exactly but I bought the PU around 2000 or so and replaced the battery soon after..It will sit for a year and then start right up, no problem..Outside in damp climate..

So my vote would be for excessive capacity as the reason this has lasted so long..

I've got 13 years on the battery in my Porsche 914, but it's spent over 95% of its life on a trickle charger.

I have seen them usually last more than 5 years, its mostly because of the massive size.

Good thing the germans thought it through - They need their cars starting in siberian winters.

At the other end of the spectrum look at Honda Fit batteries, they are literally lawn mower batteries.

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

I bought my quattro with the "cold weather package", and the original battery (in the engine bay) finally died suddenly after 16years and 200,000miles. Never trickle-charged, just driven daily.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

My record is 12 years on a Motorcraft battery original to a 98 Escort ZX2.

13 years for the battery in my W210.
The batteries are so large so as too smooth out the voltage for the rudimentary electronics.
Plus air conned cars got bigger batteries than non air conned ones.

N.A. cars all came with AC. Not so in Europe or other "cold" markets.

There is an entry on your data card - Heavy duty battery.

Well there you go - not everything that gets made "these days" turns out to be over priced cheap crap!

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I've got 15 years on a $40 Johnson Controls 26R (Autozone) that dates to September, 2001. I swap it between the '88 190E 2.6 (winter car) and '91 MR2 (summer car).

While the cars are in service I only drive them about three times per month, so I always charge the battery before driving.

Last month I went to charge the MR2 after it had been sitting about 10 days and noticed the driver's door was adjar. Uh-oh, I thought, and when I opened the door, no dome light and nothing when I turned on the ignition.

I thought it was a goner, but charged it for a couple of hours on a 6-amp charger and, it cranked slow, but started... drove the hour to my destination and put the charger back on. By early evening when I departed it appeared to be okay.

I'll be swapping the MR2 for the Merc in about a month.

A new 26R is close to a hundred bucks. Battery prices have really skyrocketed in the last few years. The original BCI sizes are 48 for the 190 and 35 for the MR2, but a 26R fits both perfectly and has plenty of cranking power for my mild SoCal climate

I think the secret to long life is fully charging the battery before cranking. Batteries have a sort of "chemical memory", and if you always put a cranking load on them when they are 20-30 percent or more discharged, they will eventually never come back to full charge and have short life.

The natural discharge rate for a modern "maintenance free" battery is about one percent per day, and, of course, if connected there is slight load/leakage from the vehicle. These JC batteries also have removable caps, and I check it each year and add distilled water as necessary, but water consumption is very low.

Duke

Johnson Controls have bought up many of the older traditional battery company names.
e.g. Varta.
You maybe surprised to know that going to your local auto store and seeing a row of batteries all with different labels on them are actually all Johnson Control owned.