Hi all: i've got a 98 E320 that has refused to start since yesterday. i bought the car brand new, and it's still on its first oem battery. Today, there was not a hint of power at all from the battery. I had driven it out of the garage after a 12 day hiatus, and the outside temperature was reaching 90 degrees today. I placed the E320 under the tree to cool it down, and washed it for 2 hours. Afterwards, when i try to start it, there was barely any indication of power from the instruments. The car cranked once.. or attempted to crank once.. and dies.

I took out the backseat cushion today, took a look at the battery, and found there's virtually no water at all inside. I filled up all six cells with water and then tried jumping directly into the dead battery... No go at all. When the jumping cables are connected, i get the instrument lighting, and all the windows and door locks work. But when i crank it, all i hear is a loud and sudden "Click", as if the engine attempted to crank.. but got hold back at the last minute by some invisible hand. Just one sound, and then nothing.

i'm wondering if i should continue to charge the dead battery over night with the jumping cable connected to my other car, and hopefully get the car to start tomorrow. But i'm also worried if my problem might be more than just a dead battery, since the car should have started with of without a good battery, as long as i have the jumping cable connected to a good battery in a running car.

any ideas? i'm thinking that i should just have AAA come tomorrow and tow my car to the dealer. Sigh!!