Hi guys!

Boy do I MISS working on my car.

I went to Sears to SEE about getting a battery for my 1969 250/8.....they informed me that I NEEDED their "International" battery, which just HAPPENS to be their most EXPENSIVE one...(100$ + tax)

Do I REALLY need such a "special" battery? Is there some 40 or 50 $ battery that would WORK???

I can't even drive my car into the garage! It's SHIVERING out there in the cold!
(Now this car is REALLY hating me!)

~Christy

General rule of thumb...whatever fits. That means physically and electrically (battery cable ends and length).

The problem is that you need a battery with the posts recessed so they are the same height as the top of the battery for hood clearance. Try a place that sells Interstate batteries. I think that they have some cheapies.

__________________
Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

I just got a Champion battery for my 1972 250C from K-mart. List price was $49.
Happy Motoring, Mark DiSilvesto

__________________
DrDKW

Thanks for the info!

Fifty dollars for a battery is way better than a 100!

As soon as I get the battery, I'll be ready to tackle this TIMING!!! (Unless it starts snowing...)

~Christy

Hi Christy,

Since I saw no posting from you the last few weeks I thought you were cruising with your MB.

Good luck with the timing problem.
After fixing that it really will be time to drive that benz

Christy,
The battery I'm using in both of my 250s is a 'Group 41' size battery availible from K-mart or Wal-mart and many other places for a lot less than $100. It's a large Volkswagen battery. It fits the tray and cables and has the recessed terminals on top. The only caveat is that it lacks the lips on the ends to secure it into the tray with the original hold-down clip. I've never had one of these batteries bounce out of place in the 15 or more years of owning these cars but if this is an issue for you, you will need to devise some sort of hold-down clip or bracket or go with the $100 Sears battery. (But I have seen Sears mis-install batteries numerous times in the past 20 years!)
Happy Motoring, Mark DiSilvestro

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DrDKW

Bouncing batteries becomes an issue every year where I live, it's one of the first things they look at for the technical check. So once a year I'm improvising some sort of hold down device, no big deal.


Borrow a battery Christy, and get the thing running before winter sets in, they appreciate a run every once in a while, it also helps forecome problems in the future.

__________________
306D 1975 (camper) - rusting away
W116 450 SEL 1975 - sold
W114 long wheelbase ambulance, 3 litre diesel 1974

VW Golf 1 convertable - midlife crisis item
VW T4 van - support vehicle

Thanks for the replies!!!

Ok. The battery in the car now (yeah, the DEAD one) doesn't appear to be held down by anything. I think it's just sitting in the battery "spot"...

AND....what's this about recessed terminals?? Mark, the battery in it has two BIG silver TITS (hooters) on it. They aren't INVERTED or anything...(hee hee)...and the battery cables MAY have been switched out at some time....in fact I'm SURE they were...the GOOF that did the job got the wire colors backwards...

Hmmmmmm

~Christy

Christy,
The batteries in my 250s also sit on that 'battery spot'. There's supposed to be a metal clip that mounts in the bottom of the tray to grip a lip on the end of the original Mercedes battery. As I said, my replacement batteries don't have that lip but othewise they fit and work OK. As for 'recessed battery posts' most batteries made for German cars have the corners for the battery posts lowered about an inch so the posts don't stick up past the top of the battery.
Also these batteries usually come with some type of small plastic cover to install over the positive battery post and cable end to protect against accidental shorts, dropping tools on it, etc...

Hope this clarifys things, Mark

__________________
DrDKW

Christy,
To further clarify instead of confuse, battery terminals = battery posts = BIG silver TITS!

Happy Motoring, Mark

__________________
DrDKW

To further add to the twisted nature of this thread:

Big silver "TITS" = "breasts"...you need BIG cable ends to fit these!!

Perhaps you mean "nipples"?

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Yeah...

Big silver teminal posts=NIPPLES

the ends on the battery cables=NIPPLE CLAMPS????????

~Christy

I'm going to call Sears today to see if I will also need an International Drivers Licence to drive about with my $100.00 International Battery. What a load of bunk.

I had an "Interstate" brand battery in my 72' 250C and now in my 280SE 4.5. I ran that coupe battery flat 10 times or more with on going electrical problems including a minor short related dash fire and couldn't kill the thing. Just charged it up again when the problem was solved and it lasted 5 years until I sold the car with it.

Tortured that battery and it never let me down. Took it from 108 degree climate of the So. Cal Valley area to a few years of New England winters where I moved to boot! Excellent all weather starting power. The huge lunker in the 4.5 is also seemingly indestructable with goobs of cranking amps.

Good Luck!

STS

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Guys!

I FINALLY got a battery! Boy did I waste a bunch of time...my battery ONLY cost 40$!!!!!!! I had no idea....and luckily, no international driving permits required hee hee!

So.....Did it work????????????????????

Well, I had to take my old battery to the store to get the new one. Now that I have the new one home, I can't remember what cable goes where!! (DUH!!!!!!!!) And my colors are wrong....so....is negative ground?? My red cable is ground....is that the one that goes on the negative battery terminal??? (Can you believe I don't know this!!! PROBABLY!)
Also....am I supposed to put some sort of JIZ on the terminals to prevent corrosion???

I'm kinda nervous about actually trying to start the car. Maybe that's why I am stalling. I am still not sure if the starter is ok or not.

At the store....everyone has an opinion...(which I DO appreciate). The guy there started asking me about my old battery and stuff. He was convinced that the problem lay with the ALTERNATOR. He had me a bit worried, until I started thinking that the alternator works when the car is RUNNING...my car barely ran.....(right?)

Btw...my battery is great too! It has 750 cranking amps....and has a two year warranty! I did go to Wal-Mart (yee-haw) and was reaffirmed in my hated of the store. It's not so much the STORE as the CUSTOMERS! Some large, elderly man strong armed me at the battery counter to STEAL my place in line!! I was JACKED!!!!!!!!!! This old guy ruffed me up!!!!!!! Who do these people think they are??? Gggrrrr!!

~Christy