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  #1  
Old 07-30-2003, 11:44 AM
123c
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Question How to mount an Optima battery in a W123 Car

I have yet again have another bad Die Hard Battery and I am not going to get another one, and about my only other choice for batteries are excide, and I am not getting one of those. I have decieded to get an Optima at Costco. Now all I need to know is how people have mounted them. I am keeping my old Battery, since it will still hold a small charge, and when I get around to selling the car, I won't be including the Optima battery, it will be going into whatever I replace it with . I will just tell whoever buys the car that it needs a new battery...

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Old 07-30-2003, 11:52 AM
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sorry i do not have an exact answer to your question but by th elooks of those optimas an exact measurement may be necessary in order to find out if it can fit in there. also you need to make sure the positive and negative terminals are on the 'correct' sides.

just curious about your diehard as i have just purchased a die hard int'l for the wife's car (see other post). how old was it when it failed? what was your other experience like. i have one in the diesel and have not had any problems with it for about 2.5 years. it replaced another die hard int'l which lasted about 5 years as i recall, which i consider ok for our climate here.
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Old 07-30-2003, 12:33 PM
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I have heard both good and bad about die hard batteries.

My experience has been:

three die hard international group 49 batteries. One in 1991, one in 1996 and one in 2001 (all for my 190).

I have purchased a die hard for my wife's car as well and it is over 2.5 years at this point.

Maybe I have been lucky, but I have never had a problem with a die hard battery.
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Old 07-30-2003, 12:33 PM
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If this is a truly temporary situation, given that the Optimas are far more rugged than a standard battery you should be able to juryrig something to work. Most bigger auto parts stores sell aftermarket battery hold downs that could probably be made to work. Just make sure it won't bounce out. By the way, I've had very good luck with Interstate batteries.
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Old 07-30-2003, 12:50 PM
Fimum Fit
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I believe that there was once a post by someone

who just laid the supposedly liquid-sealed Optima on its side (with terminals near the topside) in the usual W123 battery box and then bungeed it down. Perhaps it was on one of the other M-B lists, though.
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Old 07-30-2003, 01:19 PM
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I think the installation is simple:

Using the standard red top - you put it in the car reversed since the terminal locations are oposite MB's. THen depending on the car, the negative terminal will either work or you'll need one longer. W123's need an extra 2-3 inches I've always heard.

You can buy a aftermarket negative terminal or get a longer one out of the Mercedes parts bin.

Somewhere I have a list of several different length negative cables($10-35 price range). Just been too lazy to see what the orginal W123 came with. I know it's been superceeded to a W126 cable. I think the W107 cable is 410mm long(?).


Michael
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Old 07-30-2003, 01:51 PM
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I don't get it. If the DieHard batteries are failing quickly, they should still be under their free replacement warranty, and even if all subsequent batteries fail just as quickly, it still means free batteries for life. How is that a bad thing? I use the EverStart Offroad battery, from WalMart, in my Jeep. They take a significant beating, and last almost 2 years, at which point I take them back and exchange them for a free replacement. I'm on my third one now, which is a good deal for $60.

Like Irg, I think Interstate Batteries are among the best - I have twin Interstate Marine Cranking Batteries in my boat and they do very well.

I think diesels are tough on batteries. My Mercedes battery in my CD has been in there since 1996 (7 years). IMHO, a cost/longevity analysis may warrant using MB's battery if you guys go through the others that fast.
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Old 07-30-2003, 02:39 PM
123c
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The thing with the DieHard's is that they were made by Excide for a while, and they just sucked bad. I have already had one replaced for free under warranty, and that one has just failed only after a year . The first one only lasted about 3 months, but I kept it for a little over a year (I didn't have time to get it replaced). I have heard the new ones are made by Johnson Contols and they are very good. The orginal battery that was in the car was an Interstate, and it was only about 3 years old, and it too was bad .

I think I will buy one and make it work, or just leave the bad battery in the car. The main reason why I am going with an Optima Battery is because I can put it in whatever car I buy next, which I am sure will have a bad battery too . I also don't really want to spend anymore money on the car
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Old 07-30-2003, 04:04 PM
123c
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I just checked the acid level in the battery and it was very low, so I added some distilled water. I am hoping this will fix it, but if not I will get the Optima battery in the next few weeks. I also got a little baking soda into one of the cells when I was cleaning up (I didn't have one of the covers all the way secure ).

Thomaspin, thanks for the link, I think if I get one that's how I will install it
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Old 07-30-2003, 05:18 PM
123c
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Now I have a bunch of acid spilling out after charging the battery. I am hoping that it is from me overfilling it, and not because it truely is a bad battery ...
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Old 07-30-2003, 05:42 PM
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Sure would seem more "right" to leave the battery that works in the car when selling it ... wouldn't that be the way you would want to buy a car from someone?
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Old 07-30-2003, 08:49 PM
123c
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The battery seems to be better now, it stopped dripping acid, and the car seems to start better...
As for selling the car with a bad battery, if it really is bad, I will be taking that in account in the purchase price, and I will notify the buyer of it, as well as all the other problems that I know of. I will also inform the buyer off all the repairs that I have made to it in the past 3 years such as the rebuilt transmission...
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Old 07-30-2003, 09:30 PM
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If the battery was sulphated it would appear low until you charged it when it would go back up. I did the same thing to my talon's new battery. Champion battery from Sam's club, great warranty and quite cheap but the battery itself is short lived. I had one last one start, and another battery last a year. I'm on my third so far. This one I put the water in beforecharging it, DOH! So then it was to full so I had to suck some back out. Kinda sucks I started off this one's life by dilluting the acid down. But the first battery I got I could see a half inch below the top of the cells!!!!!
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  #14  
Old 07-31-2003, 06:24 AM
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Champion batteries are made by Exide.
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Old 07-31-2003, 10:20 AM
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Well I guess that explains that. Oh well, normally when the battery gets weak I just pop the clutch to get myself going. I still have a couple more years of free battery exchange before buying a real battery.

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