Batteries last a whole lot longer in the cold than they do the heat. Heat is the biggest killer of batteries. Alot of times batteries are junked when they are still in fact good. The plates become sulfated and no longer take a proper charge. This is especially true on deep cycle batteries.


Heres a question for everyone here. DOES ANYONE ON HERE OWN A HYDROMETER? LET ALONE KNOW HOW TO USE IT? a good hydrometer will tell you a lot about a battery. the battery on my motorcycle would not take a charge due to sulfation. this was caused by improper charging. i had a charging system problem,and i was forced to keep the battery on the battery tender, often charging it from dead. the battery would no longer hold a good charge.

Heres how I fixed it.

Batteries from time to time need to be "cooked" . No I dont mean melt the case or even get the battery hot for that matter. They need a heavy charge, but in doing so, they have to be kept cool. A motorcycle battery would normally melt down when charged at 10a for more than a couple hours.

i got out the trusty old 2a/10a MANUAL(does not shut its self off) charger and set it to the 10a setting. i set the battery in a bucket and filled it with cool water, about 2 inches from the top of the battery. i hooked the charger up and let it charge for 24 hours, keeping a close eye on the water level in the battery its self and making sure the water in the bucket stayed cool. at the 24 hour mark i switched it to the 2a charge rate and allowed it to stabilize. that battery is still like a new battery today.

This is the procedure that exide uses on its industrial batteries for their first charge. When I worked for a forklift company we didn't have the space to set them in water, so we kept close watch on the temp. of course, we also did acid adjusts there too.

Sam's club sells a battery charger with a desulfation mode. This hits the battery with large bursts to help break it off the plates.

It is best to own both automatic and manual chargers.


ok, im done

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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

thats only 50 CCA less than my group 49 sitting in my car right now and about $110 more.

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1981 300 SD 213k miles "Stock for now"
1999 Super Duty 7.3L 113k miles
1981 300 SD 180k miles "Heavily modified" SOLD

that deka is a good battery. we used them all the time in the heavy equipment field. trojan is another good brand.

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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

OOPS..... I stand corrected. I pulled my receipts and the battery was installed new in May 1996. That means it is 13 years old. I agree that normal battery life is 3-4 years though on newer cars. Our 2003 Honda Odyssey battery lasted 4 years, my daughter's 2000 Camry lasted 5 years.
Now, the battery in my 1967 VW Beetle that is driven about 1000 miles per year has been in there since I replaced it in 1997. Remember, old cars have like nothing that will draw the battery down while it sits. I do not even have an electric clock in the Beetle. It is garage kept and I charge it about twice a year with a trickle charger.
As I said earlier, the battery in my 07 BMW has to be on a trickle charger when it sits for a week at a time. Even though BMW claims it has a SLEEP mode, this car will continually drain the battery. Too much electronic stuff in it.

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John
1986 300sdl
1985 380se

What could go wrong? Kidding.

Curious to know the voltage reading when you start the car with the reconditioned battery? I usually ditch a battery when starter draws it down to 10.3 volts.

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2009 E320 Bluetec 117,000
1995 E300D 306,000 Sold
1996 Ford Taurus LX 130,000 Sold
1985 300TD Still 225,000 Sold
2016 Ford Fusion 24,900

Just changed mine it was an Advanced Auto Store Titanium. It lasted 5 years. I put back in same battery as 5 years is a good life to me. I hear Interstates are the best but I have no supplier and Advance tests and installs. 13 year is amazing also! I hear the clocks drains batteries on a 300SD so when I garage mine I Trickle charge it.

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1982 300SD

i actually never put a meter on it after intstalling it in the bike. i could tell just by the sound that it didnt drop much.

im sure someone will get on here and argue with me shortly. about how it wont work, or its dangerous, even though i stated that this is close to how exide does it.

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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

No argument here. It does work (well not always) and it is dangerous. If it gets too hot, the battery can rupture and spray hot 70% sufuric acid (bad stuff).

My last several have been Interstate and I'm happy if I get 5 years.

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Charles
1983 300D, bought new, 215k+ miles, donated to Purple Hearts veterans charity but I have parts for sale: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=296386

The reason that Exide can equalize-charge a battery bank is because the battery bank is designed for the cycle. Car batteries, ... are not.

Deep-cycle flooded-cell batteries differ in many ways from car batteries: the plates are usually thicker and fiberglass-reinforced to handle the heat of long charge cycles and stay together when sulfated, the space beneath the cells is usually deeper to handle more sluffed-off lead-sulfate from operation and charging/equalizing, etc.

Also, for equalizing batteries the voltage must be carefully controlled, not just an open charger with a voltage floating higher as the load decreases. Active boiling must be controlled.

Shotgun-style equalization as outlined above might or might not work, but remember that you're creating lots of hydrogen gas (which is of course explosive), overheating a battery that isn't designed for it, and boiling sulfuric-acid. Might work, might fail, might be catastrophic. I only equalize batteries that are designed for it, with proper safety and procedural steps taken, using a computer-controlled charger/inverter designed for and matched to the battery bank.

Oh, and the original battery still starts my wife's '96 Ford with 110,000miles, even when she leaves the dome lights on all night.

Might check into the source of the US Bosch batteries, I've been told that they are JCI / sourced in the US.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

im on 12 years on my interstate battery in my 240D

if you really like that battery so much, i would check the water in the battery. Other wise i would just buy a mercedes battery at your local MB dealership, I think MB battery are made by bosch.

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Current Garage
2008 Mercedes GL320 CDI 188k mi Repair/Work in progress
1994 S350 160k mi Garage Queen & prepping for repairs
2005 E320 CDI 203k mi Healthy & Daily Driver
1994 S350 357k mi Retried as parts car
1984 300TD 214k mi Blown OM617 Poss OM603 Swap??

Sold
1987 300SDL 200K+
1994 S320 181K mi
2008 E320 Bluetec 127k mi
1999 S420 130K mi
1980 240D 360k mi
15+ Others that has come, stay and gone

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
1995 E320 SE 220k mi
1984 300SD 350k mi

IMO, the death of many batteries in vintage cars (definately including diesel Mercedes through the late '90s) is incomplete charging and frequent/shallow cycling. Put a big alternator on your 'Benz to charge while idling with the lights on, and your battery will thank you.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

On the same note, the death of many alternators in vintage cars is caused by driving around with a near-dead battery. A worn-out battery that is no longer accepting a charge puts a huge strain on the alternator and will eventually burn it out. I replace my batteries after 6 years whether or not they're showing symptoms of a dying battery.

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'98 E300 turbodiesel

So true, the alternator really needs that big capacitor and so do the car's accessories.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

John,
O'Reilly Auto Parts can generally get anything you want in a matter of a few days... I generally avoid AutoZone cause they tend to try to sell you whatever is on the shelf instead of taking the trime and trouble to order the part you prefer.
If the battery lasted that long, I highly doubt that you have issues elsewhere in the charging system...If it ain't broke, don't fix it...However, It is probably a good idea to replace your battery cables if they are the same age or older.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/home.oap

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Bama1


2008 SLK 280, Firemist Red - "Hurricane"
2001 F150 Lariat 4x4, Black on Black - "Badboy"
1982 240D 4 speed survivor -"Pearl" - Donated to Vietnam Veterans
1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 -"Gertrude"

1954 model original owner - ~2.5M
Gray softtop/solid exterior/modified chassis