i have just bought a 1995 C200 Auto Petrol and I noticed today that the battery is only rated at 50ah. When in halfords, they told me the car should have a 75ah battery which is why the engine turns over sluggishly when starter motor is operated.
is this true and in your opinion, would it be worth the expense of buying a higher power battery? Or are they just trying to make a sale.
Even if the battery has a lower rating in "Ah", it should turn the starter at a normal speed. The smaller battery would just turn the starter for a shorter time before slowing down.
ie: the 50 ah would crank for 2 minutes and the 75 ah would crank for 3 minutes before running out of sufficient strength.
There are battery testers that can tell you the condition of your battery.
If you have extremely cold weather, then a strong healthy battery is the way to go.
Very many thanks for that information, very useful. I will now just get my battery tested and if it proves to be in good condition, will save my money and stick with that.
Cheers,
Paul
I called at local Kwik Fit last night for a free battery test. The lad did the test and showed me that their tester showed amber, with no ignition volts at 12.5 and cranking voltage at 9.3.
He then advised as Halfords did that the 50amp battery seemed too small for the car. He did say that their books suggest the same size battery but that every Merc he'd had in was fitted with a much bigger battery.
If you mean the it's now turning over quicker(100% improvement), then the old battery was dying and the test should have shown that.
The bigger battery is the way to go. Derek
Derek
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