Help - W140 Battery

[lowan74]

Hello,

Unfortunately I have let the battery in my W140 S500 go flat (left a light on while it was unused in the garage for several days..)

Apart from the challenge of getting to the battery in the tight environs of my garage, fortunately the car was unlocked at the time and I expect to be able to get into the boot when I get home tonight.

I am looking for any recommendations for brands of batteries that members have had success with, and/or any tricks I should be aware of when changing it. The literature nominates a 100Ah battery.

Your thoughts, as always, would be much appreciated.

Cheers-

Matt

 

[260ebenz]

Hello Matt,

From my own personal experience Super Charge are a good battery and also Century.

Have used NRMA batteries before very ordinary enough said!

Global Yusa batteries are also good.

Had a Super Charge battery fitted for my W124 and it cost $160 from memory that was 18 months ago and never had a problem with the battery since.

Hope that helps Matt?

Cheers Tim.

 

[Tony66_au]

I've had a great 10 year run with Delkor Calcium plate batteries, they don't lose charge if a car is stored and can happily be recharged from dead flat with no side effects.

Bosch Gold series batteries are also excellent quality.

 

[Tony66_au]

It seems the Bosch gold series is now known as S5!


http://www.bosch.com.au/content/language1/downloads/Bosch_Battery_Catalogue_Web_Ready.pdf

 

[Tony66_au]

It seems the Bosch gold series is now known as S5!


http://www.bosch.com.au/content/language1/downloads/Bosch_Battery_Catalogue_Web_Ready.pdf

 

[BenzBoy]

I've used NRMA batteries and found them to be excellent value for money - and very useful when your battery dies and leave you stranded... They are not expensive.

Have you had personal experience Tim or is your evaluation heresay?

Century and Yuasa are the same company.

The cream of the crop is - http://www.optimabatteries.com/home.php
You will find them in Australia if you do a google search.

The most expensive batteries I've used are the ones sourced through a dealer - and they have been the longest lasting.

Regards,
Brian

 

[Tony66_au]

I remember checking the Local dealer when I was looking for a battery for the SEL (As the year old RACV battery died and refused to recharge) and they had Bosch batteries in stock and at a close to auto shop prices.

 

[Tony66_au]

Some links of interest.

http://www.delkor.com/language/eng/company/delkoris.asp

Australian distributor.

http://www.rjbatteries.com.au/index...r-automotive?gclid=COP5xoTIi68CFWhKpgodBxMz8g

 

[BenzBoy]

Some links of interest.

http://www.delkor.com/language/eng/company/delkoris.asp

Australian distributor.

http://www.rjbatteries.com.au/index...r-automotive?gclid=COP5xoTIi68CFWhKpgodBxMz8g

Delkor is owned by Johnson Controls who also own Optima. Small world.
Regards,
Brian

 

[Tony66_au]

I did not know that Brian, I've used Optima in the past but found they were fairly expensive.

I could not fault them however and their marine batteries are fantastic and last a few seasons unlike other brands.

I have Delkor batteries here that have been in cars for 10 years and never missed a beat and when they do eventually die it is due to lack of electrolyte and I jemmy the batteries open, top them up and relegate them to workshop or paddock cruiser duty.

I purchased 3 at a wreckers for $5 each and still have 2 in service over 8 years later in resto cars that only get run a few times a month.

The last one I bought was for the 450SE, cost $167.00 (retail) and it has done a lot of work cranking and seen the death of 2 starters.

An overnight trickle charge and she is once again good to go.

I know I waffle on about these things but results speak for themselves and the longevity and reliability still astounds me.

The only hiccup was that 12 months ago Delkor still did not have a recessed terminal model so its a bit dicey with the W116's and bonnet clearance.

Tony

 

[Tony66_au]

Id also like to add that I retailed Delkor in my workshop for a few years and never had a return or complaint, My reason for stocking this brand was that my clients tended to store their cars during winter and I needed to fond something reasonably priced that wouldn't die in storage.

Cheers,
Tony

 

[Michel]

Matt,

Your battery should recover if you charge it.

Give that a try first.

 

[Styria]

Hi Lowan74 - that, indeed, is a big battery - rated higher than the ones for the 450 and 6.9. Before talking about my experiences, such as they are, you may have to be careful and make allowance for some possible problems when hooking up the new battery. The boys in Victoria, namely Oversize and Tony, may be able to elaborate further on my thoughts in this regard.

I have bought Supercheap over the last three to four years, and have had only the one failure out of about six batteries that I purchased. Latterly, they've gone a bit funny (strange, the people I bought from) and I guess it stemmed from the lack of business I was directing towards them. As a result, I switched to Delkor, and for an 88 amp/hrs. I paid $195.00. I thought that was a good price. I have bought three so far (in the last six months), but I did have one failure that was replaced with a new unit under warranty conditions, albeit two years only (normal warranty period), but the period was reduced from two years, less the three or four months of usage until the failure. Supercharge give you three years. Regards Michael

 

[Oversize]

Matt,

Your battery should recover if you charge it.

Give that a try first.

I concur!! If the battery was ok it's highly likely it'll recharge.

I do like the Century and Yuasa batteries and I found Battery World the cheapest and Burson and Autobarn the dearest. However if you know the model you need it does pay to shop around, as they sometimes have specials. I always tend to go for the largest battery that will suit my application, as there's nothing more infuriating than an engine that barely cranks. I hate maintenance free batteries as they can go dry and there's not much that can be done.

Even good batteries aren't infallible and I've had Centurys with dead cells and cracked cases. To be fair though, they were inherited and of unknown age.

I usually smear the terminals with Vaseline to prevent corrosion. It melts with engine heat and is very effective (and cheap). It works far better than spray-on stuff which is far dearer and means you can't jump-start your mates car, as it's an effective insulator.

 

[BenzBoy]

If you are thinking of jump starting the car I suggest you first find out if there is a special sequence or process. For example, does leaving the key in the ignition during jump starting activate the computers even if the key is turned off? On some cars leaving the key in while jump starting can fry a circuit or two...
And that's with a protected start pack...
It's worth checking even if you end up concluding that I am over-cautious.
I always disconnect the battery before charging - just to be safe.
Regards,
Brian

 

[Tony66_au]

Car "computers" are always hot or "On" especially in something like a W140 where there are multiple ECU's.

Michel I have found over the last 10 years since we all got eco friendly whether we wanted too or not that a lot of truths regarding lead acid type batteries no longer applied.

And in 90% of cases where a standard battery has been totally discharged and then left for a day or so the material that coats the plates actually falls off and shorts the bottom of the plates partially or completely leading to a far lower Amp hour capacity or the thing turns out to be stone cold dead shorted.

Either way the uninitiated can end up in the poo with hydrogen gas and/or exploding batteries so if he does charge it PLEASE remove it from the car first.

If the battery is a high quality unit then it should be ok if its not too old but anything less needs to be treated with respect and caution.

My 2 cents worth.

Cheers,
Tony

 

[260ebenz]

I've used NRMA batteries and found them to be excellent value for money - and very useful when your battery dies and leave you stranded... They are not expensive.

Have you had personal experience Tim or is your evaluation heresay?

Century and Yuasa are the same company.

The cream of the crop is - http://www.optimabatteries.com/home.php
You will find them in Australia if you do a google search.

The most expensive batteries I've used are the ones sourced through a dealer - and they have been the longest lasting.

Regards,
Brian

Personal experience with NRMA batteries Brian which were useless when fitted to our 1983 Toyota Corolla CS sedan 1.8ltr 4cyl.

Not one, not two but 3 NRMA batteries failed very annoying! so we decided no more NRMA batteries.

Cheers.

 

[260ebenz]

Matt if you speak to W140 owner and TopKlasse Member Mat Kean he is very good with the W140 series S-Class and can provide good advice with your W140 queries.

Cheers.

 

[Oversize]

We had a sequence that took into account the airbags that were newly introduced... And you also may need to consider radio codes and whether you have access to them and if they're current (if the radio's been replaced).

BTW when jump starting always connect the negative terminals last. I leave the good vehicle running and hook the negative clamp to that as the final connection. Once the other car is running, I disconnect that first. I'd suggest it's a good idea to make sure the keys are out of the ignition on the car with the flat battery and go so far to make sure you have them in your posession, unless the damn thing decides to lock itself as soon as it has power! But doing this I've never had a fried computer, despite not having a set of anti-spike leads, or using a 9V backup supply plugged into the cigarette lighter.

I have once fried a battery charger though, by using it in 'start' mode. I thought you could just hook it up to a flat battery and crank away, not knowing I should've charged the battery a little first! Many people don't realize a battery gives off highly flammable, lighter than air hydrogen gas when charging and it should only be done in a well ventilated area. Best out of the car in case of some disaster like acid spillage or fire. If not, at least disconnect the cables from the car....

Don't leave a battery on a cold concrete floor, or fail to have it secured in the car (they don't like vibration) as you'll significantly reduce battery life. When topping up the electrolyte only use distilled water and never fill over the maximum level. There are usually maximum level indicators tongues on the back of the caps, or ones that are perrmanently in the case and you shouldn't fill it higher than the bottom of the tongue.

 

[lowan74]

All-

Thank you so much for your kind advice and comments. I disconnected the Century battery from the car and charged it over the weekend - it worked well and the car is back to normal. Took if for a 200km drive yesterday and it enjoyed every minute.


Thanks again for the input-

Matt