Battery Life

[sean sherry]

What ever happened to the Days when I was an Apprentice ( 1950 + ) when the Electrician dismantled and replaced faulty Battery cells and Tires were re-treaded ? The point about Waste Disposal Costs are very valid. Perhaps water will find its own level. Two steps forward and one step back.

 

[Oversize]

A throw away society with an enormous cost to dispose of waste makes no sense!!

 

[SEL_69L]

Actually, batteries CAN be brought back to life.
One of my friends owns a remote property, that is electrically supplied off a battery and generator set. With the gen. set going, he has cooking and minimal heating, without the gen. set going, he has three four 240 volt lights only, for quite a practical time into the evening.

Has gas cooking as a backup, and campfire just for fun.

He picks up ANY 12 V battery, left on the side the road.
I do not know of the exact technique he uses but,
he empties the electroyte from the battery, and completely discharges and re charges them 2 or 3 times. All of them can be brought back to life, but the plates can be thinner, which makes them more prone to warping.
That is the reason why they should not be used in cars but,
as part of a set of a dozen or more batteries wired to produce 240 volts, they can be quite viable.

He has made a printed circuit for himself so that the voltage delivery is always close to 240 V.

 

[Michel]

Actually, batteries CAN be brought back to life.
One of my friends owns a remote property, that is electrically supplied off a battery and generator set. With the gen. set going, he has cooking and minimal heating, without the gen. set going, he has three four 240 volt lights only, for quite a practical time into the evening.

Has gas cooking as a backup, and campfire just for fun.

He picks up ANY 12 V battery, left on the side the road.
I do not know of the exact technique he uses but,
he empties the electroyte from the battery, and completely discharges and re charges them 2 or 3 times. All of them can be brought back to life, but the plates can be thinner, which makes them more prone to warping.
That is the reason why they should not be used in cars but,
as part of a set of a dozen or more batteries wired to produce 240 volts, they can be quite viable.

He has made a printed circuit for himself so that the voltage delivery is always close to 240 V.

I like the idea...

 

[BenzBoy]

Here is an update:
I have several Mercedes-Benz.
No. 1 got a new battery last week or so.
No. 2 has a replacement battery (NOT a Benz battery) and it suddenly died without warning.
Solution? Call NRMA batteries. Well, the very pleasant young fellow arrived with the correct battery and from there things went down hill. Firstly I had to loan him a socket set to remove the battery holder because his battery driven socket wrench just didn't have enough grunt. Then he found he could not work out how to get out the battery so he started dismantling the surrounding air cleaner hoses and unclipping various lines so he had more room to work - and still he could not get the battery to move. At this point he advised me he did not know what to do or how to proceed.
I suggested he simply put the whole thing back together and kindly go away.
I did my own jump-start (using a protected lead kit) and simply motored off to MBS.
"Yes Brian, a new battery will be $449 +$168 to install." Hmmm, I say, but $168 is a lot of money for 5 minutes work. "Quite correct; there is no labour charge."
Moral of the story? Call the NRMA only when you need a tow truck - anything else is a waste.
The second moral of the story? Use the service facility that knows you and expect good service without extra costs.
Regards,
Brian

 

[Michel]

Here is an update:
I have several Mercedes-Benz.
No. 1 got a new battery last week or so.
No. 2 has a replacement battery (NOT a Benz battery) and it suddenly died without warning.
Solution? Call NRMA batteries. Well, the very pleasant young fellow arrived with the correct battery and from there things went down hill. Firstly I had to loan him a socket set to remove the battery holder because his battery driven socket wrench just didn't have enough grunt. Then he found he could not work out how to get out the battery so he started dismantling the surrounding air cleaner hoses and unclipping various lines so he had more room to work - and still he could not get the battery to move. At this point he advised me he did not know what to do or how to proceed.
I suggested he simply put the whole thing back together and kindly go away.
I did my own jump-start (using a protected lead kit) and simply motored off to MBS.
"Yes Brian, a new battery will be $449 +$168 to install." Hmmm, I say, but $168 is a lot of money for 5 minutes work. "Quite correct; there is no labour charge."
Moral of the story? Call the NRMA only when you need a tow truck - anything else is a waste.
The second moral of the story? Use the service facility that knows you and expect good service without extra costs.
Regards,
Brian

I just like your stories very much

They all have a happy ending

 

[BenzBoy]

I just like your stories very much

They all have a happy ending

All my stories have a happy ending because that's the way I work - I guess you do the same! Positive people get positive results.
Regards,
Brian

 

[Helmet]

Here is an update:
I have several Mercedes-Benz.
No. 1 got a new battery last week or so.
No. 2 has a replacement battery (NOT a Benz battery) and it suddenly died without warning.
Solution? Call NRMA batteries. Well, the very pleasant young fellow arrived with the correct battery and from there things went down hill. Firstly I had to loan him a socket set to remove the battery holder because his battery driven socket wrench just didn't have enough grunt. Then he found he could not work out how to get out the battery so he started dismantling the surrounding air cleaner hoses and unclipping various lines so he had more room to work - and still he could not get the battery to move. At this point he advised me he did not know what to do or how to proceed.
I suggested he simply put the whole thing back together and kindly go away.
I did my own jump-start (using a protected lead kit) and simply motored off to MBS.
"Yes Brian, a new battery will be $449 +$168 to install." Hmmm, I say, but $168 is a lot of money for 5 minutes work. "Quite correct; there is no labour charge."
Moral of the story? Call the NRMA only when you need a tow truck - anything else is a waste.
The second moral of the story? Use the service facility that knows you and expect good service without extra costs.
Regards,
Brian

Curious what model "number 2" is ?

 

[BenzBoy]

Curious what model "number 2" is ?

In order:
ML320; CLK350; PII; PV; SSII; 306GTi6.
That is: 1,2,3,4,5,6. They are known by their parking order.
Regards,
Brian

 

[Styria]

Interesting facts as they are from the Professor. If the battery for the No. 2 car came to $449.00, what was the cost of the battery for the No. 1 car ? You didn't mention the price of that one. Regarding the No. 2 purchase, I supplied a Club member with a Supercharge item (2nd size down - it fits under the back seat) for $165.00 - that was my price. Whilst I picked up for him at no cost, he did fit it himself.

That's my story. I must admit that I would have some difficulty in accepting the cost of the Mercedes Benz battery at the price they have charged you. Basically, for two batteries, you'd be up close enough to a thousand dollars. I wonder how many others would come at that sort of figure - among the TK fraternity. Regards. Styria

 

[sean sherry]

And Batteries for vehicles with the Stop / Start Systems, how much ? I understand twice as much with a shorter life cycle. I switch mine off in the Golf at every Start. Two reasons , the cost of a replacement ( just out of Warranty ? ) and it is a pain in the arse in traffic.
On a positive note , the 4th Battery ,fitted under Warranty, in our C Class is now holding up after a year and a half of Suburban use. The Dealer said that they fitted a higher Amp/ Hour sealed unit.
Probably sorted the charging circuit as well. Blame the Battery ( shoot the messenger )

 

[BenzBoy]

Interesting facts as they are from the Professor. If the battery for the No. 2 car came to $449.00, what was the cost of the battery for the No. 1 car ? You didn't mention the price of that one. Regarding the No. 2 purchase, I supplied a Club member with a Supercharge item (2nd size down - it fits under the back seat) for $165.00 - that was my price. Whilst I picked up for him at no cost, he did fit it himself.

That's my story. I must admit that I would have some difficulty in accepting the cost of the Mercedes Benz battery at the price they have charged you. Basically, for two batteries, you'd be up close enough to a thousand dollars. I wonder how many others would come at that sort of figure - among the TK fraternity. Regards. Styria

The same price - but bear in mind I have never had anything less than 10 years from a Benz battery.
Regards,
Brian

 

[Styria]

The same price - but bear in mind I have never had anything less than 10 years from a Benz battery.
Regards,
Brian

BenzBoy, the battery (non Benz) that suddenly died, do you recall how old, and make of battery ? Also, regarding the No. 1 car, and its battery replacement, did you have to pay for the cost of installation ? Just curious. Regards Styria

 

[BenzBoy]

Questions answered in order:
1. NRMA.
2. No.
I also had a chat to my local auto-electrician who despaired over the cheap quality of most after-market batteries on the basis that each year the plates are made thinner to cut costs because people like to buy cheap. He recommended I not buy a battery from him when the Benz battery costs only a little more for better quality.
Interesting!
Regards,
Brian

 

[sean sherry]

Interesting Brian, the first thing Mercedes did when my first Battery failed which had been replaced by "Road Service" was to fit a Mercedes supplied Battery. The Road Service is now subcontracted. And the Batteries they use ? who knows.
With Battery life Brian," somebody up there likes you "! Our last C Class also had a Battery replaced under Warranty at two years old. Both our neighbours had Battery failure under Warranty in the past year One was a $200,000 + Car.

 

[Helmet]

The auxiliary battery failed in my wife's ML250 when the car was 6 months old.

 

[BenzBoy]

Interesting Brian, the first thing Mercedes did when my first Battery failed which had been replaced by "Road Service" was to fit a Mercedes supplied Battery. The Road Service is now subcontracted. And the Batteries they use ? who knows.
With Battery life Brian," somebody up there likes you "! Our last C Class also had a Battery replaced under Warranty at two years old. Both our neighbours had Battery failure under Warranty in the past year One was a $200,000 + Car.

Well cross fingers that the Battery God is good to me - I have the Battery Devil in the SSII. It doesn't seem what I use, Bosch, Century or Supercharge, they just limp to the last day of the warranty and die.
Yes; charging rates are checked and there is no hidden drain ....
A colleague tried Optima Spiral Cell in his Turbo R and it gave grief beyond belief - would never charge to capacity.
The technology has been with us for over 100 years and the problem seems to be that people want what is cheap. That can mean thinner plates or it can mean lower levels of quality control.
Why on earth would the battery on an ML250 fail at 6 months?
Imagine if tyres suffered the same failure rate ....
Regards,
Brian

 

[Helmet]

Why on earth would the battery on an ML250 fail at 6 months?
Imagine if tyres suffered the same failure rate ....
Regards,
Brian

Poor quality? maybe made in Mexico? Who knows, it wasn't abuse or lack of maintenance at 6 months.

 

[motec 6.9]

I put a Optima battery in my old XD ESP Ghia in 98. Ran into friend who bought it from me in 2000. Still has the car and has not changed the battery. I guess you get what you pay for. http://www.optimabatteries.com.au/

 

[BenzBoy]

Well it would appear that MB original batteries are made by Varta - which is part of the American Johnson's Control systems. The batteries themselves are made in Spain.
It turns out that the Peugeot battery (which was a freebie when I had the timing belt replaced) is branded Peugeot Genuine but is also a Varta made in Spain.
How complex can it get?
Regards,
Brian