1995 C280 Battery Blues
 

Hi,

I have a battery problem with my 1995 C280. We bought the car new in 1995 and it still has less than 60,000 miles.

In the last several years, we've used the car less frequently and I confess that sometimes it has sat for several weeks without being driven.

In the last three years, we've had to replace the battery about five times because the batteries keep going dead even it is driven. We've taken it to the dealer and to an independent mechanic. They both say the alternator does not need to be replaced.

The independent mechanic has said we need to drive the car at least once a week in order to keep the battery charged. He also sold us a better battery and told us not to buy the batteries sold with the AAA road side service. He doesn't think they hold up.

Unfortunately, the new "better" battery has the same problem the other batteries had. We had out of town visitors and the car was not driven for three days, the new battery went dead. This battery is less than three months old. If it were the first battery with this problem, I might blame the battery. I think something else is going on and so does my husband.

Based on an experience his sister had in a Honda Accord, my husband suspects that the factory installed car alarm is draining the battery. He wants to permanently disconnect it. That would mean no car alarm and no panic button if I needed it.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Based on over 15 years of C280 car ownership, we think it is a pretty good car. The only ding I would give it is that the electrical system (fuses, etc.) has been somewhat unreliable over the years. Other than that, the car hasn't really had very many problems. We recently redid the headliner (it started sagging) and replaced the back speakers, which were rattling. We also upgraded the stereo with something that can handle an I-pod and Bluetooth. We'd be rolling in style but for this battery issue.

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks!

Additional Thought on Battery Blues
 

Has anyone had issues with the power seats draining the batteries in c280s? After doing a search on battery problems, I saw this was an issue in other Mercedes models (C 240 I think).

I don't believe this is battery problem. I hope of the 5 batteries youve had to replce that you don't pay full price for them since batteries are pro rated for the time used calculated by the warranty period. I can leave my car for 2 months and it'll start right up.
Back to your problem, I think you have something that's on that you might not know that's draining your battery. This could be your trunk light, hood light courtesy light or the alarm. The best way to find out is to connect a light between the battery terminal and the battery cable that you disconnect. Disconnect one fuse at a time and see which fuse turns out the light, once you find it you'll know which circuit is on which should be off. Note that all the doors, hood, trunk and radio should be off/closed when doing this test.

You can also get yourself a Battery Tender and keep the car plugged in when you're not driving it. The Battery Tender comes with a pigtail that you can connect to the battery and run out the front of the car someplace. (It might not be quite long enough if your battery is in the same place as the battery on my 230, but you can buy extensions if needed) Then, any time you're not going to drive the car for a few days/weeks, just plug in the tender and it will be fully charged when you're ready to go. I use these things on all my motorcycles and they are one of the best investments I ever made. (About $50 for a good one) You can also use it to maintain the batteries on your RV or garden tractor if you have them.

This is NOT a battery charger. That's different. This thing will monitor your battery and give it only as much charge as it needs.

x2 on Tender on a lightly used vehicle. And look for the bulb that is on.