Is the battery fried?
 

I found my battery was bone dry two weeks ago and put water in it. The car started and ran fine for two weeks then it won't start again. When I opened the battery, it is dried up again. Does that mean the battery is done and time for a new one. It is only 4 years old. The battery is from my '98 ML. The one in my SL lasted 6 years.

I suggest that you put a voltmeter across the battery while the engine is running. If the voltage is much over 14.5 Volts, the regulator is overvoltaging the battery which will boil it dry and destroy the battery in pretty short order.

Good luck,

I have noticed that as of late, a lot of threads have appeared regarding starting problems on '98 MLs. All have been attributed to the exhausted battery life.

It appears that time's up for the batteries on most '98 MLs.

I suspect that mine will give up the ghost sometime next year...:(