Over the last few months strange intermittent glitches in the electronics in my '00 E430 have been driving me nuts.
For example, the COMAND system would sometime have audio issues on startup (one side working only with no volume control - or muting itself for a second during initialization;
The ABS warning would come on for no apparent reason;
The security system refused to let the car start. Key inseted and key mechanically unlocked, but car would turn over and run for any a secod or two before shutting itself down.
I suspected the battery, but it tested fine at the local AutoZone and it had plenty of "juice". Even after leaving the lights on for an hour, it would start no-problem.
Finally decided to call roadside assitance and have the battery swapped out ($145). It was the original battery after all (car manufactured 1in January '00).
All glitches are now gone I suspect the battery must have had some sort of intenral problem that reduced its voltage without substantially reducing its ability to put out lots of amps. This must have fooled the battery tester at AutoZone and didn't present the classic bad battery symptoms I'm used to.
The low voltage condition with the car turned off must have played havoc with the electroncs.
Moral of the story: first thing to replace when your car starts acting "funny" is the battery - even if it tests fine.
Everything was A OK on my 280 till one day it just refused to crank,... called the dealership who said i'd need a whole new wiring harness and ECU,... it was just a faulty (old) battery!!
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same thing happened to me, i would get an abs, or a bas light every now and then and my local stealership said the battery tested fine and i would probably need a new master cylinder and brake booster for mucho dinero. Then I brought it to a Sears (!) service center to have the battery checked and the tech said that the amps we're checking out fine but some other test showed a "dead" cell, a new battery and 8 months with no lights. simplest, easiest explanation/answer is usually the right one.
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I think I may be in this neck of the woods.
I'm not experiencing the same electronic craziness, but I am starting to distrust my battery. All was fine until Thursday morning. I went out to start the car and it just sat there. Everything seemed fine inside, full electrical power, but only a single "Click" when I turned the key. I jump started the car, threw my portable jumpstart battery in the trunk and went to work.
After work the car started, but it didn't really jump to life like it normally does. Before I run out to get a new battery, I figured I'd monitor the situation a bit rather than start throwing parts at it. Friday morning I had to jump start it again. So I figure a new battery is coming my way.
Saturday morning it starts like nothing ever happened. So I take it in for a state inspection and ask the mechanics to test the battery while they are at it. Of course, it passes. That evening it is a little weak starting again. I figure if I have any trouble with it today, I'm slapping a battery in it.
Some other info that's pertinent.
1. When I say it's weak starting, I mean electrically. You can see the power drain happen when the starter rolls over.
2. The alternator is putting a good 14V or so across the battery when the motor is running, so I'm pretty confident the electrical system is charging it.
3. I can't seem to find a date on the battery to determine it's age. It's a Merc OEM and looks brand new, but it's been under the seat, so I expect it to look new. The car is a 2001 so it could be as much as 6 years old as well.
Do you guys think it's possibly an electrical drain somewhere, or likely the battery?
I just went out and did my Sunday start to see what would happen. I measured the voltage across the terminals under the hood before I tried and it was right at 12.0 V. That seems a tad low to me.
The car struggled to life, but it did start. I shut it down and tried to start again, and of course it won't turn over now. I'll give the battery a shot and see what results I get.
Battery testing using volt meter is the easiest, but the hygrometer is able to test
specific gravity of the electrolyte and a even stronger indication of the health of
the battery. it can reveal possible short across cell such as sulfation.
low SG reading indicates worn out battery which may not hold charge...or at least
not much pending trickle charging.
the car's alternator is not designed to repleanish a battery which has undergone
deep discharge. it is designed only for superficial, maintenance charges.
hygrometers are relatively inexpensive.
I experienced 8-years old battery going bad and the symptoms were, that computer would not engage starter with voltage dropped below certain level. All electronics worked just fine, although 99 model didn't have navigation.
I suspect that electronic glitches might be more due dirty battery connectors, that cost voltage drops and spikes. My personal impression is that 75% of replaced batteries might still work for couple more years with terminals cleaning.
The 9-years old battery in our original ML runs still strong. We had it parked for full week and it started the engine without hesitation.
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