Battery replacement
 

My 99 e300TD has the original battery. Seems to still do the job,butttt,
Do you think this battery will die this coming winter??? Is there any replacements other than Mercedes???
I had asked my local auto store and they had no listings??

Your battery could die at any point. If you properly maintained it, by keeping all the connections clean, keeping the battery box, and top flushed with baking soda an water, and by keeping the electolyte level above the lead plates using distilled water, it could last even longer.

But, even the best batteries die. Check with Insterstate Batteries. They seem to have one of the most comprehensive listings. McParts and Wally World usually do not even have a MB battery as a listed choice.

The DieHard International 100Amp Series battery is like $99 and works great in these cars. I bought one two years ago, and its worked great so far. :D (had an OEM battery in the car, was about 4.5 years old when it died, yes, in the winter) Energizer makes some incredible 100Amp Batteries too, my dad's car has one.

many autoparts stores will test the battery for free....
 

I was in the battery industry for 15 years. Generally speaking, the average life of a battery is less than 5 years. If you got more, good for you. If you have to rely on it, then I would at least get it tested.

My criteria for a battery is to have it stay as clean and dry as it can. Some manufactures aren't really good at corrosion resistance. My personal favorite right now is the Johnson Controls battery (Sears and Interstate). In my opinion, DEKA and Douglass are ok also. I will not buy another Exide battery again, unless I have to. Delco makes good batteries, but... their price and distribution suffers.

One of your easiest choices is to just goto Sears. One of your cheapest choices should be to to goto Autozone or Costco. Mostly make sure the battery is the correct size, and fits right.

Since the battery in these cars is under the rear seat you have to be more sure than usual for safety reasons that the battery won't leak. For that reason I decided to go with the OE battery and from the local dealer it was $120 (not bad I think).

OE battery is $110-$120. Yours is eight years old it doesn't owe you anything. Remember modern batteries usualy work fine until they fail, sometimes there is no warning. If you don't plan on going anywhere your probably fine. You can call the number on your glove box door, and MB will bring out a new battery when it dies.

11 year old battery
 

When i was working at Autozone in 2004 I changed a Battery in a 93 Mercedes (dont remember what type cuz i dint own a benz then) wagon. IT was a very old mercedes battery and he was the orignal owner. As I was installing the new battery he was going through every receipt for everything that had ever been done for the car. He didnt find a recept for a new battery. He kept perfect records. The battery was factory.

The AutoZoo ones for the W126s work well... at least in mine.

I've had good luck with Optimas and Interstate too. I have a Die Hard in my F150 that works great too.

Your voltage may be different
 

I had good luck with Diehards during the 1970s and 1980s but have used a variety of brands since. My 300D has an Interstate MTP-93, 850 CCA, new in November 2002, 72 month warranty (PO bought it). It seems to be holding a charge well, floats at about 12.6 Volts, starts the car instantly, probably has never seen cold weather. Whether it will make it to November 2008 is another question. I'll learn a lot more about it in a few months -- annual Xmas trip to Salt Lake City. My block heater will get used for the first time and I may put a charger on the battery overnight, just to keep it warm.

This topic has been covered in depth before.
 

Battery for your Diesel
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=102886

Where can I find the Mother of all Jumper Cables?
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=136203

I bought a OE Battery at the local MB Dealer for 87 dollars :confused:

Not surprising. I know of a few OE MB battery's that are darn near 10 years old. Still going strong, but I wouldn't trust them.


Dealer cut you a good deal, 25% off sounds like.

I have a wholesale account at the dealer. I didnt think it covered batteries. :D

Guess it does! They didn't give me a break on my first one, I want the second for $87 now!:D