Aldi battery chargers

[c107]

Aldi car battery chargers are back. They are $30 from memory and I've had mine for a year and found it very good. The only thing my expensive ctek charger has that the aldi doesn't is the auto sense function.

Just saw them again today in my local Aldi.

 

[sean sherry]

A timely Post...... as I'm nonplussed about Batteries and charging them.
I have just re-read the extensive Posts on Batteries in 2015. It seems nothing has changed.
More Battery problems after all the issues under Warranty on our C Class 2010.
Mercedes said they fitted a larger Battery ( AMG ) at three and a half years after I contacted Mercedes in Melbourne about the continual flat Batteries ( 4 Times )
Been ok ever since till last week. Battery specialist says it should hold a charge .They see a lot of Mercedes problems which they put down to the unique charging system they use. My understanding is that the Battery never
charges to full, just enough to start the engine about half a dozen times ( repeated starts ) Continual short runs could be the problem as the Battery ages. Also if the system does not allow a full charge even on a long run ,a Battery Charger
should bring a full charge. My charger now says 100% full. But can I believe it, as charging via the external access connectors means that the current has to pass through the Mercedes system.I have a Voltage reading of 12.4 after all the systems shut down , takes about 20 minutes after Car is locked. There is then no current drain
So far so good, but I will put the charger on over night every Sunday.

 

[c107]

Interesting. I've always found the opposite, although my experience is more with the older cars. Mercedes have these massive batteries that seem to last quite well. Contrast that to British cars that use these little batteries that tend to die much faster.

My Jag has a battery half the size of a Mercedes one and it has to be in peak charge to allow the lucas starter to work fast enough when the engine is cold and has not been used for a few weeks. So I replace batteries at 2x the rate on that car.

 

[sean sherry]

Yes the older Mercs are a different kettle of Fish. My 1980 280 Sl had an older Battery when I bought it , I sold it about 4 years later still going strong. It sat sometimes for weeks on end with never an issue starting.
My further understand is that Mercedes prevent the current Cars from fully charging the Battery to cut down on the alternator operating. The Alternator runs on Petrol ! This cuts down on emissions.

 

[sean sherry]

I bought a CTEK Charger recommended for AMG Batteries. I now have a 100% full Battery after 5 hours. It has 7 stations and adjusts to each stage of the Battery Charge / Condition. The on Car charging system just seems to put 14.2 Plus Volts in no matter what the Battery needs. I will check the Voltage today after a run of about 100Ks with the engine still running. If it is still 14.2/4 volts there may be a problem. We will see.

 

[Michel]

My 500SL AMG (107series) has a large AC Delco battery that stays fully charged for months.
I just go the car after many weeks and it just quick starts from the first go.

 

[sean sherry]

Had the Battery tested again when fully charged (as instructed ) All good except a bit down on available out put . It is 3 years old. Should last for another couple of years if I keep the charge up to it. Every Sunday night with specialist charger for an AMG Battery. I calculated the possible current draw in suburban short running at 20 plus amps ... Air Con and fan...Radio... and brake light sitting at traffic lights and also the ignition. Plus the initial draw and re starting from the Starter Motor. I soon starts to add up on short runs each Day.

 

[c107]

I had to change the battery in the E350 this weekend. The car is almost 10 years old (07 model) and the battery was still the original one. Not bad.

Check out the size difference between the E350 battery and the one I took out of the old Lexus GS300 last time I had to change a battery in there:

 

[sean sherry]

Long ago ( the 70's ) Mercedes and Saab, which I had new, the Batteries were Varta and easily good for at least 8 years Then, probably in the nineties, trouble started Our 3 year old Saab just died one day at the Airport, no warning, was par for the course the NRMA said. The cost accountant again !

 

[BenzBoy]

Well don't buy cheap batteries. Buy an Optima or a Yuasa - http://www.batteryworld.com.au/Products/Auto
I buy M-B batteries and they are usually Yuasa.
Regards,
Brian

 

[Styria]

Interesting thread. One tends to forget various experiences with batteries over the years. I do remember that Lion and Apollo Batteries used to be marginal. I also patronised a Battery Wholesaler at Silverwater, and his offerings included Century, Excide, I think Bosch and also Yuasa. All cases came from South Korea and he showed me the various labels that they would attach to whatever battery. The batteries were all the same, just the labels differed........

Latterly I have been using Delkor (with very satisfactory results bar one - two year warranty only extended), but Battery World no longer stock them on account of a steep price rise imposed by the Importer. Now, it is Supercharge and Supercharge Gold and, in the past, they have been trouble free. For all that this is worth. Regards. Styria

 

[c107]

I got my battery at my local battery world and they sold me an Fiamm. I have never had one before. Cost was $400 inc GST.

There was an AGM battery for over $700, but they told me it was unnecessary if the car is not fitted with start/stop. (but required if it is)

That got me to wondering, if the amount of fuel saved in 5 years by the start/stop is $350? My feeling is that it isn't unless the car is a taxi.

 

[c107]

So after not being used since monday, the battery on the E350 was down to about 10 volts. The Aldi charger was not able to charge it back up, but the ctek seems to be doing so ok.

Now I am wondering what has caused this. My wife does not lock the car when she is not using it, so I am wondering if the computers need the car to be locked before they switched off properly. Before the birth of the twins the car was being used every day, so this was not really a problem before.

So after its charged up, I'll lock it and see if that makes a difference.

 

[sean sherry]

Yes Bryce lock the Car. Service manager at Mercedes Company owned Dealership gave me that advice when I was having repeated flat batteries on our 204 C Class. Didn't fix the problem as it was elsewhere but now we always lock the car to ensure that the computers shut down. This apparently takes about 20 minutes. Just because the ignition is off and all the dash lights out does not mean that there is no longer a drain on the battery. In our case something was still drawing current. I now use a CTEK charger every 2 weeks to bring the battery to 100 percent charge. The on board electronic control system does not allow the alternator to do this.