Has anyone cleaned out the debris under their battery tray recently, or are you all waiting for a burst of spring fever?

I pulled out mein today, and was disgusted by the pre-cambrian primordial festerings that were lurking down there.

Ach Du Lieber! :eek:

Sounds like you have some grubs in the tray!

I clean the tray about once a year when the battery is changed. Would spray some silicon-based stuff over the tray which makes it look clean. However, I dont have any forms of harvest growth anywhere in sight. :)

Just curious - how often are your batteries changed?

Longston
 

Yes I do!!
Every spring I remove the battery and tray.
Don't forget to plug in Donald's El Cheapo memory saver into the cigar lighter.
I clean underneath applying backing soda all over and rinsing it off with water from a gargen hose.
If it needs repainting I use Zinc chromate primer and spray OEM color.
I sand the nasty spots on the tray and refinish it the same way.
IMPCO has a pad for under your battery to check the corrossion, but then you wouldn't clean those critters from underneath, could you?
Happy Trails Beep Beep from Houston!!!
Donald, El Cheapo

Wow - you sound like you did everything according to the text book.

But those critters? Call the X-files? :)

Here In California, It's The Mex Files...
 

THE MEX FILES Starring...

Scullerio! :eek:

Mulderez! :eek:

Odelay, mi madre es . . . Madre? Madre? Que es tu? :confused:

Scullerio? . . . Si! Mulderez? . . .Si! . . . Esta bien... ;)

ymsin,

Not IN the tray, homes, UNDER the damn thin' :p

And here, in Cali, our batterias last up to siete years! And sometimes even longer with proper maintenance... :)

Yo bruddas in Malaysia, you gots to change your batterias every year? That's wack, bro... :(

But perhaps, Scullerio 'e Mulderez can solve the Mystery of The Disappearing Malaysian Mercedes Battery on next week's episode of, "The Mex Files"!!! :D SI!

Longstongue
 

Ju uno loco hombre, es no quate'.
Me batre lastes mucho mucho luna.
But dem grubbies which lives under me tray aint Californ grubbies.
All of my grubbies gots verde cards.
So you se we the alliet deport them annually, only to have them swim across the Rio Grande River and return again.
Happy Trails Beep Beep from Houston!!!
Donald, El Cheapo

Don't need to clean that battery tray
 

A few years ago I swore off of cheap batteries and onto Interstates. The one in my 190SL has been abused (by the prior owner who let the car sit...) and it has a 1992 date on it. Still runs like new! Earlier this week I got a peek at my mechanic's new gel cell from Interstate in his car. We've been using these for a few years in marine applications (sailboats), and I never really thought about making the switch to gel in a car! (duh!). But, NO MORE BATTERY CORROSION! I believe I'm sold. They ain't cheap, about $125, but when you think of the damage to the tray, the car, the terminals (yes, no more corroded terminals either), wiring, etc., why not?

Bill,

For some it may be a matter of cleaning corrosion, but for most I think it's a matter of cleaning out decayed vegitation. In the DIY section, I did the sub-mounts and had to pull the battery tray to access the right mount. Underneath was years of decayed vegitation. Only a little corrosion on the tray itself, none under the tray just leaves and small animals :eek: .

Slightly off topic reply:
My 560SEL has collected a large number of oak leaves in large cavities against the firewall both under the fuse box and on the passenger side. They look like they will be hard to remove but I'm going to try to vaccuum them with a small nozzel. Being very dry and light, the leaves look like excellent fire starting material.

Look for my post under "Fire Hazard", where there was a great response to the leaves under the master cylinder area. Condensed version - a resistor resides down there, and it gets hot, lights the leaves on fire!

I used a shop vac and a piece of pvc pipe as an extension. Sucked it all out of there, easily.

Well, Now We're Finally Back On Track!
 

YES, YES, YES, Thank You all for pointing out where I was going in the first place, the land of acquired leaves, twigs and pine needles! :D

I first used a leaf blower, then the shopvac, but the decaying leafage under der battery tray required a R&R of the hardware to allow access and removal. This stuff absorbs the water, battery overflow, and whatever else gets in there and turns into a small compost heap! :eek:

Fortunately, the hood goes straight up in the air to allow excellent acces to these areas...

Here's a link to John's thread for us all to share:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=9382

We should all be driving around with fire extinguishers in our cars. Available at auto parts stores and boat shops. ;)

I have been thinking about taking the battery out and have it sprayed with RhinoLining or equivilant.

Gary

Every time I hear about battery trays on this board, I become confused. You folks must have your batteries in the wrong place. Mine is in the front of the engine compartment. Is this a specialty of the W116?

Straight Scoop, No Poop...
 

Gary,

Yer high, seek help... ;)

'Turtle, on the W 126 chassis, the battery is right in front of the firewall on the passenger side.

Now I know why you all seem to be so worried about the drain holes, battery acid, and rust holes around the battery. I think my W116 must have the better battery placement. Just My Humble Opinion, Longston. I see you're still cracking everybody up. Thanks for asking about me over at the Diesel Forum. I temporarily lost interest. P.

Why, Thank You...
 

Well, I try to be creative, and I'd like to think that I sometimes crack somebody up, but the truth is that I have also ended up locking horns with a few people on this forum from time to time. If someone posts some comment that I feel requires rebuttal, I just can't help myself. What can I say? I enjoy debate... :p

We're all interested enough in our cars that we spend a reasonable amount of time asking questions, sharing experience, and (hopefully) correcting misconceptions here on this forum. I try to make sure that I put a lot of research into information before I contribute it here. :rolleyes:

This has become a daily addiction for me. I check my email every day, and when I do, there's always updates to threads listed there. This leads me to read the updates, make (I hope) appropriate comments, and check out new postings. :)

What really annoys me is when I'm telling someone about something I read on this forum, or about a current thread under discussion, and that person makes some comment about information on the internet being unreliable, or how people intentionally leave inaccurate information on forums just as "taggers" leave spray painted grafitti on public and private property. UUUUGGGGHHHHHH!!!! :mad:

As to battery tray placement, the W126 was built after the W116, and if Mercedes chose to move the battery back by the firewall, they did it for a reason. My guess would be that it was primarily for safety in the event of a collision.:cool:

And after reading Gary's post again, I may owe him an apology. The way it reads to me, he was suggesting having the battery sprayed, but if he meant to indicate having the tray, and the area under the battery sprayed, I could understand that. But Gary, seek help anyway just to be sure. :D

Is it 'safe' to remove the battery?
 

I've been meaning to get around to taking out my '87 2-litre 190E's battery as the tray is looking a little rusted at the edges.

Is it OK to just disconnect and remove it or do I need to worry about the engine ECU/management computer losing its settings?

Cheers,
James UK.

MoTheMerc
 

Yes Mo if you disconnect the battery you will loose stored memory.
You can beat the rascal with little effort and cost.
Go to a Radio Shack Store and purchase one each:
cigarette lighter plug
9 volt battery terminal
9 volt battery
Solder the two leads or each together keeping the polarity correct.
The center of the plug is positive and is soldered to the plus wire of the 9 volt terminal.
You can tell which is positive by looking at the battery as you plug the terminal and battery together.
The remaining leads must be the negative or Ground.
Attach the battery to the terminal.
With the ignition "OFF" plug your little El Cheapo memory saver into the cigarette lighter plug.
Remove the battery.
The stored memory will remain for a short time.
Turn the ignition switch to the "RUN" position.
The reverse voltage flow will maintain the memory for you.
Pretty simple, huh?
Another El Cheapo!
Happy Trails Beep Beep from Houston!!!
Donald, El Cheapo

Longston, it's me, Patsy. ;)

Hey Longstongue
 

I think I saw an M&M winking at you.
You better watcha you face!
Happy Trails Beep Beep from Houston!!!
You can wink at me if you want
Donald, El Cheapo

:D

Glad to see you're back Patsy. We'd have definitely recognized you if you'da put the oldies in your signature.

Yeah, Patsy, what happened to "keepin those 70's oldies alive"?

P A T S Y ! ! !
 

I KNEW it was you, I just was being a discreet gentleman and respecting a lady's right to change her mind, identity, haircolor, or whatever else she chooses, by not acknowledging that I knew it was you... ;) ( I was just about to email you)

It seems that Mike and "Sensuous John" (and if you don't understand why I call him that, go to the "Valentine's Day" post in the Detail Shop), were among those who also missed you! :D

W E L C O M E B A C K !!!!! And, please don't EVER leave us again, 'K? :( snif...

Awww...Shucks fellas...:D

AND, here's one for you Donald,;)


Patsy


Still Savin' those seventies beauties.:)

Amnesia
 

Thanks for the tip Donald, boy am I glad I didn't just hoik that battery out assuming all would be OK!

Out of interest, what happens if the ECU memory gets lost following a power down - does the engine refuse to start or run rough, and how long or how many miles does it take for the memory to restore itself? Or does one have to pay an MB dealer a tidy sum to get it refreshed?

Cheers,
James.