So yesterday my 2002 s430 started fine and i then drove home (spent night with chick) i only lived maybe 5 miles from my destination and the car was fine. started up after sitting over the night. so i get home , 30min later i get a call from work , so i go out to the car and it would not turn over , seemed as if the batt was dead. so i ask the neighbor for a jump. he has no cables nor do i. so he suggests putting it on his batt charger , so say ok , well a few hours of that it kicks over. here come the questions.

do i need to purchase a mercedes battery? im a previous owner of a bmw and could only buy a bmw battery , could this be a different malfunction? maybe the alternator has problems charging the battery and only has problems charging the batt every now and then? i never got any warning lights. also is it safe to jump the car? i could not do this with the bmw. The local auto zone wont hook up the machine to test the alt or batt. sinse the batt charging the car has been fine. i have only owned the 430 for a few weeks , so i dont know the age of said battery , nor is it marked with a date. my cables are clean , and its also full. recently topped it off.

 

You dont need a benz battery but its recommended. Buy a good battery, Interstate, Optima.i would replace it then go from there.

 

I took the car to a high dollar German auto repair place , they said my charging system was fine and my batt was full. 20 min prior to my visit , i had to get a jump just to make it over there.

 

I dont know the battery's age? its not marked in any way for some reason? however it looks to be maybe a year or less in age. i use a jumper box at the current time til i can figure out whats going on. i would hate to drop $200 and still have this same problem. there have been times when i would come out to the car a hour later and i would hear the suspension still releasing air? is that normal?

 

look on the positive or negative battery terminal.there might be a stamped date on one of the terminals. 32
08
Which is 32nd week of 2008.
you should not hear the car releasing air an hour after you park your car. You probably have a leak.