The sad issue I think most of us can appreciate here is the fact someone was willing and had the resources to have a car towed cross-country to you because they trust you as a 100% honest tech. You aren't going to shaft anyone. It is *immensely* difficult to find a trustworthy, intelligent, capable tech in most areas. That's why so many of us (like me) have taken the DIY route on most things unless faced with literally no other option. As an example, a friend has a 20-year-old Honda that was running rough, and a local shop wanted to charge him $800 for four ignition coils. I pointed him to a reputable retailer for OEM coils and put them in for him. Car owners are in a constant fight not to get ripped off. That's why we *so* appreciate guys like you, and Eric O who try to make all of us smarter and avoid getting ripped off. Thanks as always, Ivan.
When you pull into a shop with a Benz for repairs, the shop has multiple $$$ above their head and will find issues that don't exist. It is sad to have worries concerning the trust of a shop. Trustworthy shops are very rare.
Watching from Tokyo. Thorough diagnosis of suspected parasitic draw and ending with “spanked” battery replacement solving the problem. Steps were very well explained, thanks Ivan.
Bro towed his car halfway across the country before going to AutoZone and having a 3 year old battery checked, or even just replacing it. Mercedes owner checks out.
I stored a Camaro for years. Years! I never had a problem. I had a battery minder hooked up all the time, and it never failed me. Couple of times a month I would start it and drive it. With this, I never had issues...and I never had to tow it 2000 miles to replace a battery.
When my son went over TDY seas, we disconnect the battery. Then driving down for vacation quarterly, hook up and drive it for a week. Worked every time.
Hey Ivan, I'm really impressed with the detailed technical notes on your invoice. Typically, what I see out in the field on invoices are just "R&R something" or "check something." When it comes to high-end European cars, especially those like a Mercedes-Benz AMG, you're definitely not shopping at the Walmart of auto parts like AutoZone. I'm not familiar with that make and model, but don't you need to do a battery reset when you install a new battery so the system may reset its charging system strategy?
Leave a battery flat for 8 months...even a week the plates start to sulphate .a car like that and skimp on buying a new battery?...tells a story...thanks ivan 5 star vid
Sometimes I walk into work & my boss says, how are you John, and I respond, "things are good, been watching a lot of pine hollow Automotive diagnostics!!!
Very few people seem to understand just how quickly normal car batteries are wrecked if they are allowed to run down too far! After being flattened (just very briefly) around five or six times, you are very lucky if one will start a car after being just left overnight.
HAD THIS ENGINE (CAR) BEEN TO ANOTHER SHOP... THERE WILL BE AT LEAT 10-50 MODULES REPLACED BY NOW AND WON'T EVEN BE THE SAME ENGINE (CAR) AFTER ALL. OWNER MADE THE RIGHT CALL! IVAN, GET THIS AMG.. WE KNOW YOU LOVE IT
Lead acid 12v batteries absolutely hate going flat and being recharged to full capacity. We see this constantly in the marine industry as boats will sink on land, killing the batteries with bilge pumps trying to pump out rain water. A deep cycle battery will tolerate it much better as that is what they are designed to handle but they are not designed to be starting batteries (under normal conditions).
Excellent diagnosis, as a Mercedes Mechanic I seen this situations a lot of time the most Mercedes owners leve the cars sitting for long long time and they expect a full battery after that and just one thing always use OEM parts Mercedes battery don't forget Ivan 😂😂😂😂
Pretty sure reserve capacity is measured in minutes Ivan. That battery is closer to 50 AH, which is still substantial and will allow the car to sit a good month before too much headache. But careful with that calculation! Nice work keeping them on the road!
IIRC, RC is either specified in minutes till the voltage drops to 10,5V @ 25A drain or amp-hours @ 5A drain. 50AH is a pretty small battery, German cars usually have pretty big batteries.
For a quick idea of the sleep current draw, I like to use a clamp on current probe and my Picoscope. I don't have to insert a current meter, but you do need to be able to access the battery even if buried in the trunk. Almost all of the time on newer cars the parasitic draw is periodic or dynamic in some way. The Pico current clamp resolution is not that great under about 50 mA, but most of the time the peak draw is above 250 mA so it is fine to see the dynamic behavior and not exact values with high resolution. If there is a parasitic draw I then look at the fuse junction boxes and dash (etc.) with my thermal camera to see if I can identify a fuse or a module or component producing a hot spot. If you can easily access the battery, that is it is not buried in the trunk somewhere, and disconnect the ground, you can then use a battery internal impedance capacity tester with an isolated battery to estimate the capacity (state of charge) of the battery after a full charge. I find this to be very reliable in estimating battery capacity without draining the battery like a carbon pile battery load tester. I should note that to fully charge the battery (up till float charge) it may take 10 to 12 hours. If you work a lot with car batteries in the shop you will invariably tend to always charge batteries when given the chance. To me it seems that in normal driving, especially in the winter, automotive starting batteries are very rarely fully charged. I think most experience a bulk charge and that's it. When you buy a new battery you can fully charge it and then test with the internal impedance tester and the CCA rating should be at or a little greater than the rating on the battery. I generally find it is about 5% greater in CCA rating. Always clean both the battery posts and battery lugs in the vehicle when installing a new battery. If the battery is under hood you can also seal the battery to lug connection with a sealant like NOCO NCP2 in the brush on can. It is good idea to look up the OEM battery specification to see what battery was in the vehicle when first manufactured. Many times the owners have AAA road side service, who will replace the battery when they are stranded, but many times install a different battery having lower capacity. I think AAA road side service only has certain battery CCA ratings so the tech will install the best option, which I find is the lower capacity than the factory original so they know it will fit. If anybody works for AAA please correct me if I am wrong. Perhaps AAA tells the customer to take their car to their mechanic as soon as possible to analyze the vehicle, where by the mechanic would discover that the battery needs to be upgraded. If you look at the battery and it does not fill out the battery tray you should really research what battery is original to the car. A 60 Ah battery will only provide at nominal discharge rate at rated capacity at a 1/8C or 1/10C rate. At 60 Amps I really doubt the battery will last an hour at that 60 Amps, and in trying to do so will get very hot. I say this because the rating is incomplete. The battery should give a Ah rating at a specific current draw like a 1/8C rate (draw). It is very difficult to correlate Ah to A supplied per hour without a tested current rating, 1/10C is usually a good starting point for a flooded battery. Ah capacity is dependent on current draw where the relationship between current and time is not linear. A common goal of the OEMs is to have a vehicle stand time of 28 days (4 weeks) at 20 degrees C when the battery and car are new. If the temperature drops below 20 degrees C than the ability to start the car at the end of the stand time is in question. This is way many high sleep current draw luxury cars and trucks have new dual purpose (deep cycle + starting) AGM batteries installed, which are very expensive as compared to a regular flooded starting battery. I think there should be a rubber boot or a insulating plastic cover over the battery positive terminal.
Another post mentions becoming a DIYer due to distrust of mechanics and this applies to me, here in Miami, Florida. Not only I do repair and maintain our two old cars but have also ( wife and I ) learned to repair our barrel-tiled roof leaks because of the shoddy and defective repairs costing $1,000 for one small leak. We have completed eight of them in the last 10 years, to our total satisfaction. I wouldn't mind paying the $1,000 if their work wouldn't leak soon afterward.
Great job! When things are so complicated, people are afraid a basic solution isn't possible or enough. I have a friend who works for a dealership, and he told me that because of government regulations (MPG maximization), cars don't charge the battery any more than absolutely necessary. He said they stopped putting ammeters in trucks because they charge the battery so little - people would see the ammeter on zero and think the alternator wasn't working.
I like doing a load test on the battery using a load tester & the battery in my dads 2000 model Holden VX Commodore which is fitted with the 3.8 litre Holden/Buick L36 V6 engine went flat after the car wasn't driven for about 3 months so I recharged it overnight using my 5 amp trickle charger then I load tested the battery the next day. It tested at its rated 650 Cold cranking amp capacity & it did take quite a few hours to recharge the battery,I have had stuffed batteries which appeared to be fully charged start a car but it only took 1/2 an hour to recharge using my old 4 amp trickle charger so it wasn't holding a deep charge. My dad has been driving his car no problems & he got 7 years out of the last battery. The reason that I say Holden/Buick is because it's different to the U.S. version, it's fitted with Holdens own ECOTEC aluminium alloy inlet manifold, it's fitted with Holdens own aluminium alloy oil pan & it's run by a Bosch OBD1 PCM albeit it's an OBD1.5 setup in the car since it's fitted with an OBD2 type of diagnostic port in Australia. The U.S. version is fitted with a composite plastic inlet manifold & Delphi OBD2 PCM !
I've always had a need for speed! At one point I had a Ford van and a Chevy Cavalier so I had to buy a motorcycle to satisfy that need. A couple of hours of thrashing the motorcycle was great therapy!
Great diagnostic, Ivan! What a beast of a car - sounds almost like a Lamborghini :-) No parasitic draw, but the objective procedure took out all doubts. Simple repair :-) Had a similar problem with my humble Ford - battery started to give up after 8 years and had to be replaced (no parasitic draw, no charging problem - just 5 years of city drive, with little motorway in between).
I figured early in the video that an '09 Florida Merc probably would have a damaged module from water intrusion causing the parasitic draw. I wasn't prepared for there to be no parasitic draw or for a code scan to pass 100%! That's why you diagnose: sometimes it really is a unicorn!
I worked on designing and testing seat control modules for Mercedes about 30 years ago. What fails? Do the modules fail to go to sleep? Do capacitors fail after the years?
Just wanted to say that I really appreciate your attention to detail and how thorough you are with your diagnosis. It is a sign of a honest and truly professional person. Wish every mechanic was more like you. Is easy to see why customers all over the country would rather go to the trouble of sending their vehicles to you.
Hey, nicd job on this one. Tip, when you did the first battery disconnect for the amperage draw, you reset the whole system by removing the vehicles ground path. The trick is usally have a small wire clip attached to the voltmeter and the negative cable so it never breaks a connection.
No, I had the battery charger connected and maintaining system voltage while setting up the in-series meter to avoid waking anything up. Pay attention! ;)
I was so excited when i saw the car, then so disappointed it was going to be a parasitic draw, what a waste could have been a great video with am engine problem.
166K. It's nice to see a car that has been driven and enjoyed. Hopefully, it will get garaged and treated properly in its senior years once it reaches its destination.
@@scrappy7571 It can't be as bad as my 1999 Turbo Diesel E-Class (purchased new). That thing was back at the dealer every other month. Luckily, I bought an extended warranty from the dealer, which covered every repair.
@@kerrylewis2581 Or my fathers 1984 190. It was back to the dealer 100's of times for intermittent stall no start. After 75,000 miles of that non sense it got sent to auction, far far away overseas. Good riddens. I would have preferred to watch it crushed.
You had me worried there for a minute. It was getting close to the end of the video and no test drive? I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to test drive that beast either!! Great video Ivan! Nice car!! lol
You can't park a vehicle for any time over 1 month without having the battery capacity severly lowered unless you put a battery maintainer on it. I have one for when I'm driving one and the other one sits for sometimes 1 to 2 months like now. The one in the back yard has the maintainer on it, yet even after 1 month it started right up with no problem. My maintainer's max output is 5 amps. It starts out at 14.5 volts, 5 amps for 2 minutes. Then it drops to 13 volts, lower amperage depending how much the battery needs. Good one Ivan.
I think you needed SDS for this procedure. The owner should put the car on a trickle charger as a 2021 battery shouldn’t be done and dusted by now. Good explanations and guidance.
my 2015 mustang GT , I have to have a trickle charger on it all winter as I only use it 2 months in the summer , my 91 GMC show truck I dont have too .
That car like Mine needs a AMG battery and Auto Zone Battery is not recommended. I played the battery game and after trying Napa and Auto zone and a Die Hard they all gave me issues. Ended up Buying an Interstate AMG Battery and it has lasted 7 years. I just replaced it this year out of concern not failure. The Interstate Guy told me that it still had 50% life left. I told him buy it from the shop if he want’s it. I want a fresh battery so he Ordered me a Fresh one from the Factory. And just so you know unmodified that car will Snap a Speed in 10.5 seconds. And for all you nonspeed enthusiasts that is 0 to 100mph in 10.5 seconds. 🤘🏼🤘🏼🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Hey Ivan, I wonder how 'Rainman Ray' feels about you poaching Florida cars? Just kidding, of course! As usual, a straight forward, logical analysis and conclusion - bravo.
Hello Ivan, Great video as always and completely agree main battery suffered to "dead". Q: Did you check secondary/small battery? As part of the anti-theft system, this battery may draw current from the main system. It is designed to have power if main battery power is removed. NOTE: the horn/siren will not pull down the system unless relay is stuck "open (passing current)" and it would emit sound. If it, small battery, is also "dead", it may pull down the main system prematurely while trying to maintain voltage. It should stop requesting help once main battery system reaches a predetermined cut-off, but may be an issue with parasitic draw on this vehicle. Would love to see amp draw "overnight" on your Pico scope. My theory is that with all the charge given to the vehicle, the small battery was happy during diagnostics. ??
I had the same problem with 2 cars. My 2008 Honda Crv, sat around for awhile while I had surgery and became unreliable. I replaced problems went away. My other car a 1984 Mustang had a battery tender, but wasn’t used much, so now I have to buy a battery……normal.
If I towed my bmw e60 530d to your place would you look at it, only one dig problem I live in Sheffield UK, I am fascinated by your diagnostics and honesty.
Me as a diy saw a video about a bmw battery story. Basicly the car computer is programed for battery natural decay. When replacing these modern cars batteries you need to tell the computer that it is now equiped with a new battery otherwise the thing will not charge the battery correctly.
On this Mercedes, the regular operation of the control modules of the multimedia center should be checked, it also goes into full sleep mode when the car is locked with central locking. If any component in the control module is non-functioning and broken, then it does not go into sleep mode and continues to consume a large amount of Mamps. This car has about 40 Ma. about a lot.
A partially sulphated battery can also wreak havoc on electrical modules especially the ecm -ecu ! I get alot of good use from battery's just by using a battery tender when stored !
This is one of the reasons why Mercedies and BMW's usually have such large batteries. Half of the systems in the car are constantly sipping power. And they stack up to draw more than what is considered acceptable. So, you need to drive them regularly or invest in a trickle charger. Ivan, your pretty much spot on. After 2 months of sitting with a healthy battery, it will probably need a jump to get it started. After 3 months, you'll be buying a battery because it's too far depleted to recover fully.
Judging by what i have seen on these different car repair channels ALL these new vehicles with their multitude of modules are sipping power, not just Mercedes and BMW's.
Was the siren functioning, I didn't hear a chirp when you locked the doors? My E55 AMG had the same issue. I diagnosed by disco-ing the siren and 150ma draw at the batt went away. My siren resides in the driver side wheel well behind the coweling. Ordered and replaced the siren and all good. On my car, the siren is inches from the roof/windshield drains. This could be a factor in the siren failure. I think there's a vsb that includes removal of the restrictive end plug on the roof drains. The draw may be worse when the siren is wetish. It also took 2 or 3 months to kill my battery after it stopped making sound when locking. I would absolutely replace or leave disco-ed with that message since these sirens are a known fail point. Bonus info, the motor in these cars is called the Hammer, a rock solid 300k mile 469HP motor which utilizes 16 spark plugs. The 4 door E55 AMG sedan was actually a tenth second faster from 0-60 than the lamborgini Gallardo that same year and was the fastest production sedan ever at that time. It has a braking system from the F1 Mclaren. The brake system has longevity issues so Mercedes has put a 25 year extended warranty on it. Believe it or not, my car with 130k on it came with both original MB batteries still in it dated 2003. This issue killed the primary permanently. The secondary agm is still kicking.
Its called Sulfation. Sulfation occurs when a lead acid battery is deprived of a full charge, sulfation is the formation or build-up of lead sulfate crystals on the surface and in the pores of the active material of the batteries' lead plates. This will effectively reduce the plate area and subsequently battery performance. In severe cases the sulfate becomes permanent. years ago you could buy "battery rejuvenating" tablets which you popped into the battery and they attempted to remove the sulfate from the plates. Another problem is this debris can fall to the bottom of the battery and if it comes in contact with the plates the battery develops an internal discharge path. Modern batteries tend to have a lot less room below the plates compared to older ones.
My neighbour went to Florida as a snowbird, leaving his Chrysler Crossfire with the alarm set. After a few weeks the alarm started to go off intermittently. It’s a very similar car to the SLK. Finally the battery just died and he returned later to a very dead car. We weren’t impressed. 🇨🇦
Holy cow Ivan. Looks like you smacked your thumb on something. They must have throbbed for a while. Now ya have me curious. Too bad a lot of folks still don’t realize if you park your vehicle for more than a month you should have a battery maintainer to keep the battery at full charge. I’m sure most people don’t know but this guys does. I would have loved to take that car for a nice little drive myself. Sounds sporty. See ya next video Ivan
for long time parking, battery should be hooked up to smart charger/maintainer like noco genius type. This kind of charger monitor the voltage in real time while the car is parked. Noco provide all optional accessories for hooking up as needed
Fun fact... Volkwagen used to ship cars with solar panels put on inside of windshield (2000's ?) and plugged into always on lighter socket. This would keep the battery charged in transit. May not be a bad idea for this car if it sits idle for long periods of time.
Using a battery maintainer long term will cause the battery to sulfate. I have been a victim of this first hand, the best way is to use a battery conditoner in repair mode that only comes on once a week via a smart switch for a few hours.
an opption on my new Camaro was a smart battery saver ( $135 from GM but it says Camaro on it) . It is simply one of those low amp smart charger. They Know that most Camaro owners park the car for winter months. . Hook it up plug it in and in the spring your battery is ready to go
In the recent Audi, past 4 days, stopped, you got to connect a charger or disconnect the batteries. . Because too many security devices draining the battery at all time. .
Just changed the battery on my wife's RAV 4. Had it tested and test showed it was not to good anymore. Best place was Costco for a replacement. Toyota batteries tend to last a long time
I have gotten in the habit of adding water to my car batteries about every other year. Got 2 past 4 year mark in south Alabama. They loose a surprising amount of water. Given how expensive batteries are is worth the few cents in distilled water and time it takes to recondition.
I was trouble shooting a similar issue on a Nissan. The battery seemed fine but died every night. And like this vehicle very low parasitic drain when in sleep mod. I finally took the battery completely out of the vehicle and charged it fully then let it set over night. Dead. Internal short I’m assuming. Least technical item and hardest to pin down in a short time. But I got to play with my fluke and a few tools so.
A friend bought a 2002 Jaguar XK8 with a very strange battery draw which when the car was not started for a few weeks it would be too week to start. The previous owner did not drive it often and kept a trickle charger attached. I have a lot of electronics test equipment and spent an afternoon testing all the electronics for an excessive draw. The battery is in the trunk so I used a wireless multimeter displayed on my phone as we checked different fuses and fuse boxes but nothing was unusual. About one month later he was in his garage around 2AM and the car radio turned on! If the radio was on when the key was removed it would turn off then back on at 2AM for a few hours. If the radio was turned off before turning off the engine it did not turn on and the battery remained charged. I expect the proper way to detect something like this would be with a current recording meter left connected for a few days. With a new car this may happen all the time when the car contacts the manufacturer to send usage data or check for maintenance updates.
Hello! Benz SLK 55 AMG, I recently watched a video of the problems with the hydraulic drive of the opening roof of this car! The roof folded and unfolded on a similar car with 12 hydraulic cylinders with complex hydraulics and a control module. I never thought that something like this could be built into a Mercedes.
This model only has 5 hydraulic cylinders. They are pretty reliable and when they fail, is not a big deal. I have a 2003 SLK and hydraulic system still working good
Regular flooded batteries last about three years in the Florida heat. People that travel back and forth in the winter and summer will leave their cars sitting for months and expect them to start when they return. I see it all the time. You need to either use a battery maintainer or disconnect the battery. The maintainer is the best option.
Do trickle chargers work? I have a 2001 600cc Suzuki Bandit motorcycle that I put over 100k miles on... When the bike wasn't on the road, it was in the garage on a Deltran smart charger. I got 12 years of service out of one of the batteries I've used over the years. I'm retired now and most of my daily transportation needs are handled by bicycle. So, all of my vehicles sit for long periods of time without use. They're all hooked up to smart trickle chargers. I have multiple electric start backup generators. They too are on smart trickle chargers. Batteries are getting way too expensive to neglect.
I have a 2001 C240, and the alarm horn ( which looks very similiar to the SLKs, albeit mjne is behind the front wheel ) shorted out in the rain, and drained the battery. Apparently, it is/was a problem on those years Benz', where the wiring or control box shorts out.
Yey! Ivan is back with a mercedes 🙃 Edit: getting a good diagnosis is worth his drive, + this is great content for us, never seen anyone test a battery this way, a great tip for everyone if you ask me!
People that own expensive cars, they often have responsibilities that take them away from home for weeks to months at a time. You know, business trips, vacations, overseas filming, court appearances, jail sentences, all that kind of stuff. Hollywood folks see this happen a lot. On the opposite extreme, my son has a 2019 Honda CR-V. He eats in his car quite a bit. And his battery went bad. How so? A few bread crumbs landed on the parking brake switch. Eventually they worked their way into the switch, moving it about one millimeter. Enough to close the circuit. Enough to drain the battery down a bit, every day. After a few months if this extra draw (never measured it), the battery gave up.
The reserve capacity is not the Ah rating of the battery. That size battery typically has an Ah rating of 70Ah. The reserve capacity is listed in minutes and is how long the battery can sustain a 25A load at 80° without dropping below 10.5V (1.75V per cell).
I have a 2004 amg Sl55. The alarm is a known parasitic draw. On mine the internal batteries corroded and completely wiped out the circuit board. I keep mine on a trickle charger at all times.
A mate just bought one of these for $500 as unclaimed property. The whole dash is in pieces as someone tyried to diagnose a non start issue without the help of a scanner (DUH!) .I saw another instance of no start here on YT where the wrong series of inductor plate was fitted in the trans .There are several different types and get the wrong one and the car wont even turn over.
The sad issue I think most of us can appreciate here is the fact someone was willing and had the resources to have a car towed cross-country to you because they trust you as a 100% honest tech. You aren't going to shaft anyone. It is *immensely* difficult to find a trustworthy, intelligent, capable tech in most areas. That's why so many of us (like me) have taken the DIY route on most things unless faced with literally no other option. As an example, a friend has a 20-year-old Honda that was running rough, and a local shop wanted to charge him $800 for four ignition coils. I pointed him to a reputable retailer for OEM coils and put them in for him. Car owners are in a constant fight not to get ripped off. That's why we *so* appreciate guys like you, and Eric O who try to make all of us smarter and avoid getting ripped off. Thanks as always, Ivan.
Amen, brother.
WELL stated!
I love Ivan and do not trust anyone to work on my vehicles. I do all (within DIY scope).
True that
When you pull into a shop with a Benz for repairs, the shop has multiple $$$ above their head and will find issues that don't exist. It is sad to have worries concerning the trust of a shop. Trustworthy shops are very rare.
Supermario is down FLA way?
Watching from Tokyo. Thorough diagnosis of suspected parasitic draw and ending with “spanked” battery replacement solving the problem. Steps were very well explained, thanks Ivan.
We appreciate you making certain the ‘nator is stable over 5,000 rpm. No noticeable bearing noise. Very thorough.
Think he was checking wheel bearings too😂
You gotta check your own pulse every now and then.. make sure the ticker is working.
Bro towed his car halfway across the country before going to AutoZone and having a 3 year old battery checked, or even just replacing it. Mercedes owner checks out.
I stored a Camaro for years. Years! I never had a problem. I had a battery minder hooked up all the time, and it never failed me. Couple of times a month I would start it and drive it. With this, I never had issues...and I never had to tow it 2000 miles to replace a battery.
I’m terrible with electrical diagnostics, so always enjoy your insight. Hey, even an AMG requires a test run before it can be returned to customer😉
always appreciate an electrical problem diagnosed, and explained. Not a field of expertise for me, but always a learning opportunity.
When my son went over TDY seas, we disconnect the battery. Then driving down for vacation quarterly, hook up and drive it for a week. Worked every time.
Getting cars towed to you from as far away as Florida is a testament to just how good a mechanic you really are. That's something to be proud of.
Hey Ivan, I'm really impressed with the detailed technical notes on your invoice. Typically, what I see out in the field on invoices are just "R&R something" or "check something." When it comes to high-end European cars, especially those like a Mercedes-Benz AMG, you're definitely not shopping at the Walmart of auto parts like AutoZone. I'm not familiar with that make and model, but don't you need to do a battery reset when you install a new battery so the system may reset its charging system strategy?
Leave a battery flat for 8 months...even a week the plates start to sulphate .a car like that and skimp on buying a new battery?...tells a story...thanks ivan 5 star vid
He didn't skimp, he abandoned the car for months and had no knowledge to diagnose the problem, smart to go to Ivan.
Great diagnostics once again Ivan..That's why some ppl with ship their car from wherever to you to get the job done right...!! Kuos..!!
Sometimes I walk into work & my boss says, how are you John, and I respond, "things are good, been watching a lot of pine hollow Automotive diagnostics!!!
Very few people seem to understand just how quickly normal car batteries are wrecked if they are allowed to run down too far!
After being flattened (just very briefly) around five or six times, you are very lucky if one will start a car after being just left overnight.
I change our batteries out every 4 years
That grinning and giggle that Ivan had on the test drive is the same way I feel when I take my Corvette out on a run through the gears! 😃
HAD THIS ENGINE (CAR) BEEN TO ANOTHER SHOP... THERE WILL BE AT LEAT 10-50 MODULES REPLACED BY NOW AND WON'T EVEN BE THE SAME ENGINE (CAR) AFTER ALL. OWNER MADE THE RIGHT CALL! IVAN, GET THIS AMG.. WE KNOW YOU LOVE IT
why don't you just type car instead of engine?
Lead acid 12v batteries absolutely hate going flat and being recharged to full capacity. We see this constantly in the marine industry as boats will sink on land, killing the batteries with bilge pumps trying to pump out rain water.
A deep cycle battery will tolerate it much better as that is what they are designed to handle but they are not designed to be starting batteries (under normal conditions).
Good video. Customer got a lot of value with the thorough parasitic testing, module scanning, and test drive.
Excellent diagnosis, as a Mercedes Mechanic I seen this situations a lot of time the most Mercedes owners leve the cars sitting for long long time and they expect a full battery after that and just one thing always use OEM parts Mercedes battery don't forget Ivan 😂😂😂😂
Why is that? I replaced mine with an equivalent after market battery. That was three years ago and all is well.
You got to be a rather 'special kind of diagnostic guru' You are indeed.
Towed from Florida. Even if he owned a tow truck that is a definite WOW!
FUNNY HOW U SMILE WHEN SAYING YOUR GIVING IT A TEST DRIVE,,IM SURE YOU CAN'T WAIT TO GIVE IT THE BEANS😅😅😅😅😅
I just had a big can of beans... I'm happy
Pretty sure reserve capacity is measured in minutes Ivan. That battery is closer to 50 AH, which is still substantial and will allow the car to sit a good month before too much headache. But careful with that calculation! Nice work keeping them on the road!
IIRC, RC is either specified in minutes till the voltage drops to 10,5V @ 25A drain or amp-hours @ 5A drain. 50AH is a pretty small battery, German cars usually have pretty big batteries.
For a quick idea of the sleep current draw, I like to use a clamp on current probe and my Picoscope. I don't have to insert a current meter, but you do need to be able to access the battery even if buried in the trunk. Almost all of the time on newer cars the parasitic draw is periodic or dynamic in some way. The Pico current clamp resolution is not that great under about 50 mA, but most of the time the peak draw is above 250 mA so it is fine to see the dynamic behavior and not exact values with high resolution. If there is a parasitic draw I then look at the fuse junction boxes and dash (etc.) with my thermal camera to see if I can identify a fuse or a module or component producing a hot spot.
If you can easily access the battery, that is it is not buried in the trunk somewhere, and disconnect the ground, you can then use a battery internal impedance capacity tester with an isolated battery to estimate the capacity (state of charge) of the battery after a full charge. I find this to be very reliable in estimating battery capacity without draining the battery like a carbon pile battery load tester. I should note that to fully charge the battery (up till float charge) it may take 10 to 12 hours. If you work a lot with car batteries in the shop you will invariably tend to always charge batteries when given the chance. To me it seems that in normal driving, especially in the winter, automotive starting batteries are very rarely fully charged. I think most experience a bulk charge and that's it.
When you buy a new battery you can fully charge it and then test with the internal impedance tester and the CCA rating should be at or a little greater than the rating on the battery. I generally find it is about 5% greater in CCA rating. Always clean both the battery posts and battery lugs in the vehicle when installing a new battery. If the battery is under hood you can also seal the battery to lug connection with a sealant like NOCO NCP2 in the brush on can.
It is good idea to look up the OEM battery specification to see what battery was in the vehicle when first manufactured. Many times the owners have AAA road side service, who will replace the battery when they are stranded, but many times install a different battery having lower capacity. I think AAA road side service only has certain battery CCA ratings so the tech will install the best option, which I find is the lower capacity than the factory original so they know it will fit. If anybody works for AAA please correct me if I am wrong. Perhaps AAA tells the customer to take their car to their mechanic as soon as possible to analyze the vehicle, where by the mechanic would discover that the battery needs to be upgraded. If you look at the battery and it does not fill out the battery tray you should really research what battery is original to the car.
A 60 Ah battery will only provide at nominal discharge rate at rated capacity at a 1/8C or 1/10C rate. At 60 Amps I really doubt the battery will last an hour at that 60 Amps, and in trying to do so will get very hot. I say this because the rating is incomplete. The battery should give a Ah rating at a specific current draw like a 1/8C rate (draw). It is very difficult to correlate Ah to A supplied per hour without a tested current rating, 1/10C is usually a good starting point for a flooded battery. Ah capacity is dependent on current draw where the relationship between current and time is not linear.
A common goal of the OEMs is to have a vehicle stand time of 28 days (4 weeks) at 20 degrees C when the battery and car are new. If the temperature drops below 20 degrees C than the ability to start the car at the end of the stand time is in question. This is way many high sleep current draw luxury cars and trucks have new dual purpose (deep cycle + starting) AGM batteries installed, which are very expensive as compared to a regular flooded starting battery.
I think there should be a rubber boot or a insulating plastic cover over the battery positive terminal.
your test drive made me smile
Another post mentions becoming a DIYer due to distrust of mechanics and this applies to me, here in Miami, Florida. Not only I do repair and maintain our two old cars but have also ( wife and I ) learned to repair our barrel-tiled roof leaks because of the shoddy and defective repairs costing $1,000 for one small leak. We have completed eight of them in the last 10 years, to our total satisfaction. I wouldn't mind paying the $1,000 if their work wouldn't leak soon afterward.
Great job! When things are so complicated, people are afraid a basic solution isn't possible or enough. I have a friend who works for a dealership, and he told me that because of government regulations (MPG maximization), cars don't charge the battery any more than absolutely necessary. He said they stopped putting ammeters in trucks because they charge the battery so little - people would see the ammeter on zero and think the alternator wasn't working.
I like doing a load test on the battery using a load tester & the battery in my dads 2000 model Holden VX Commodore which is fitted with the 3.8 litre Holden/Buick L36 V6 engine went flat after the car wasn't driven for about 3 months so I recharged it overnight using my 5 amp trickle charger then I load tested the battery the next day.
It tested at its rated 650 Cold cranking amp capacity & it did take quite a few hours to recharge the battery,I have had stuffed batteries which appeared to be fully charged start a car but it only took 1/2 an hour to recharge using my old 4 amp trickle charger so it wasn't holding a deep charge.
My dad has been driving his car no problems & he got 7 years out of the last battery.
The reason that I say Holden/Buick is because it's different to the U.S. version, it's fitted with Holdens own ECOTEC aluminium alloy inlet manifold, it's fitted with Holdens own aluminium alloy oil pan & it's run by a Bosch OBD1 PCM albeit it's an OBD1.5 setup in the car since it's fitted with an OBD2 type of diagnostic port in Australia.
The U.S. version is fitted with a composite plastic inlet manifold & Delphi OBD2 PCM !
I've always had a need for speed! At one point I had a Ford van and a Chevy Cavalier so I had to buy a motorcycle to satisfy that need. A couple of hours of thrashing the motorcycle was great therapy!
Great diagnostic, Ivan! What a beast of a car - sounds almost like a Lamborghini :-) No parasitic draw, but the objective procedure took out all doubts. Simple repair :-)
Had a similar problem with my humble Ford - battery started to give up after 8 years and had to be replaced (no parasitic draw, no charging problem - just 5 years of city drive, with little motorway in between).
Any battery that goes flat is toast because they’ll never recover properly, good video for theses that don’t know 👍
I figured early in the video that an '09 Florida Merc probably would have a damaged module from water intrusion causing the parasitic draw. I wasn't prepared for there to be no parasitic draw or for a code scan to pass 100%! That's why you diagnose: sometimes it really is a unicorn!
A true miracle . . . a Eurocar with no active codes!
Still rocking a original Mercedes battery. Probably has a decent service history.
You nailed this one with the siren ivan. I was literally typing to check for the oozing siren and you said it . Had to remove mine on my 05 xfire
Replaced many a seat control modules on Mercedes in my day, for parasitic draw. Hope this helps
I worked on designing and testing seat control modules for Mercedes about 30 years ago. What fails? Do the modules fail to go to sleep? Do capacitors fail after the years?
Just wanted to say that I really appreciate your attention to detail and how thorough you are with your diagnosis. It is a sign of a honest and truly professional person. Wish every mechanic was more like you. Is easy to see why customers all over the country would rather go to the trouble of sending their vehicles to you.
I’m glad he tested the seatbelt light on that drive! 🇺🇸
Was thinking about wearing my motorcycle helmet as well haha!
Hey, nicd job on this one. Tip, when you did the first battery disconnect for the amperage draw, you reset the whole system by removing the vehicles ground path. The trick is usally have a small wire clip attached to the voltmeter and the negative cable so it never breaks a connection.
No, I had the battery charger connected and maintaining system voltage while setting up the in-series meter to avoid waking anything up. Pay attention! ;)
I am wanting to say that car is on the same chassis as that Chrysler Crossfire you repaired previously. GREAT VIDEO!
I was so excited when i saw the car, then so disappointed it was going to be a parasitic draw, what a waste could have been a great video with am engine problem.
I hope you took this for a spin. These are high 12 second cars believe it or not. And one of the most bulletproof drivetrains Mercedes ever made.
Brave man to put that top down
166K. It's nice to see a car that has been driven and enjoyed. Hopefully, it will get garaged and treated properly in its senior years once it reaches its destination.
Hopefully it goes to scrap.
@@scrappy7571 Why?
@@kerrylewis2581 junk
@@scrappy7571 It can't be as bad as my 1999 Turbo Diesel E-Class (purchased new). That thing was back at the dealer every other month. Luckily, I bought an extended warranty from the dealer, which covered every repair.
@@kerrylewis2581 Or my fathers 1984 190. It was back to the dealer 100's of times for intermittent stall no start. After 75,000 miles of that non sense it got sent to auction, far far away overseas. Good riddens. I would have preferred to watch it crushed.
You had me worried there for a minute. It was getting close to the end of the video and no test drive? I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to test drive that beast either!! Great video Ivan! Nice car!! lol
You should have treated the wife to a spin Ivan! Nice little sports car!
I did... Had to feather the throttle to keep her from freaking out 😂
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics They love it, don’t they!
You can't park a vehicle for any time over 1 month without having the battery capacity severly lowered unless you put a battery maintainer on it. I have one for when I'm driving one and the other one sits for sometimes 1 to 2 months like now. The one in the back yard has the maintainer on it, yet even after 1 month it started right up with no problem.
My maintainer's max output is 5 amps. It starts out at 14.5 volts, 5 amps for 2 minutes. Then it drops to 13 volts, lower amperage depending how much the battery needs.
Good one Ivan.
I think you needed SDS for this procedure. The owner should put the car on a trickle charger as a 2021 battery shouldn’t be done and dusted by now. Good explanations and guidance.
Even Ivan was surprised that no modules had any codes.
my 2015 mustang GT , I have to have a trickle charger on it all winter as I only use it 2 months in the summer , my 91 GMC show truck I dont have too .
That car like Mine needs a AMG battery and Auto Zone Battery is not recommended. I played the battery game and after trying Napa and Auto zone and a Die Hard they all gave me issues. Ended up Buying an Interstate AMG Battery and it has lasted 7 years. I just replaced it this year out of concern not failure. The Interstate Guy told me that it still had 50% life left. I told him buy it from the shop if he want’s it. I want a fresh battery so he Ordered me a Fresh one from the Factory. And just so you know unmodified that car will Snap a Speed in 10.5 seconds. And for all you nonspeed enthusiasts that is 0 to 100mph in 10.5 seconds. 🤘🏼🤘🏼🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Kind of doubt Auto Zone doesn't sell AMG batteries. At one time a lot of these different branded batteries came from the same manufacturer.
Hey Ivan, I wonder how 'Rainman Ray' feels about you poaching Florida cars? Just kidding, of course! As usual, a straight forward, logical analysis and conclusion - bravo.
Hello Ivan,
Great video as always and completely agree main battery suffered to "dead".
Q: Did you check secondary/small battery? As part of the anti-theft system, this battery may draw current from the main system. It is designed to have power if main battery power is removed. NOTE: the horn/siren will not pull down the system unless relay is stuck "open (passing current)" and it would emit sound. If it, small battery, is also "dead", it may pull down the main system prematurely while trying to maintain voltage. It should stop requesting help once main battery system reaches a predetermined cut-off, but may be an issue with parasitic draw on this vehicle.
Would love to see amp draw "overnight" on your Pico scope. My theory is that with all the charge given to the vehicle, the small battery was happy during diagnostics.
??
I had the same problem with 2 cars. My 2008 Honda Crv, sat around for awhile while I had surgery and became unreliable. I replaced problems went away. My other car a 1984 Mustang had a battery tender, but wasn’t used much, so now I have to buy a battery……normal.
Beautiful car ,bit of a pain having to spend extra time with a test drive,but you have to make sure it is OK.
If I towed my bmw e60 530d to your place would you look at it, only one dig problem I live in Sheffield UK, I am fascinated by your diagnostics and honesty.
Good video for those of us that have cars we don't daily drive. Helps explain the how and why of a battery maintainer. Good explanation thanks!
I think you should buy one of those Ivan.
I already have a couple "quick" motorcycles... Same luggage capacity as this Benz, but they are happy to leave the pavement 😅
Me as a diy saw a video about a bmw battery story. Basicly the car computer is programed for battery natural decay. When replacing these modern cars batteries you need to tell the computer that it is now equiped with a new battery otherwise the thing will not charge the battery correctly.
On this Mercedes, the regular operation of the control modules of the multimedia center should be checked, it also goes into full sleep mode when the car is locked with central locking. If any component in the control module is non-functioning and broken, then it does not go into sleep mode and continues to consume a large amount of Mamps. This car has about 40 Ma. about a lot.
A partially sulphated battery can also wreak havoc on electrical modules especially the ecm -ecu ! I get alot of good use from battery's just by using a battery tender when stored !
This is one of the reasons why Mercedies and BMW's usually have such large batteries. Half of the systems in the car are constantly sipping power. And they stack up to draw more than what is considered acceptable. So, you need to drive them regularly or invest in a trickle charger. Ivan, your pretty much spot on. After 2 months of sitting with a healthy battery, it will probably need a jump to get it started. After 3 months, you'll be buying a battery because it's too far depleted to recover fully.
Judging by what i have seen on these different car repair channels ALL these new vehicles with their multitude of modules are sipping power, not just Mercedes and BMW's.
@@KStewart-th4sk Oh, some of them do too. But that was just an example of the more widely known offenders.
Ivan must not watch the car wizard, you’re playing with fire with those convertible tops lol 23:27
Usually Mercedes vario tops (the metal ones) are pretty damm good. The seals hold up and they are pretty reliable.
Was the siren functioning, I didn't hear a chirp when you locked the doors? My E55 AMG had the same issue. I diagnosed by disco-ing the siren and 150ma draw at the batt went away. My siren resides in the driver side wheel well behind the coweling. Ordered and replaced the siren and all good. On my car, the siren is inches from the roof/windshield drains. This could be a factor in the siren failure. I think there's a vsb that includes removal of the restrictive end plug on the roof drains. The draw may be worse when the siren is wetish. It also took 2 or 3 months to kill my battery after it stopped making sound when locking. I would absolutely replace or leave disco-ed with that message since these sirens are a known fail point. Bonus info, the motor in these cars is called the Hammer, a rock solid 300k mile 469HP motor which utilizes 16 spark plugs. The 4 door E55 AMG sedan was actually a tenth second faster from 0-60 than the lamborgini Gallardo that same year and was the fastest production sedan ever at that time. It has a braking system from the F1 Mclaren. The brake system has longevity issues so Mercedes has put a 25 year extended warranty on it. Believe it or not, my car with 130k on it came with both original MB batteries still in it dated 2003. This issue killed the primary permanently. The secondary agm is still kicking.
supprised the fuel is still good after sitting so long, thanks for posting
I predict it will be back for fuel related issue.
2021 on the battery. Customer should have purchased a New battery before towing all that way. More $ than common sense. imo
Its called Sulfation. Sulfation occurs when a lead acid battery is deprived of a full charge, sulfation is the formation or build-up of lead sulfate crystals on the surface and in the pores of the active material of the batteries' lead plates. This will effectively reduce the plate area and subsequently battery performance. In severe cases the sulfate becomes permanent. years ago you could buy "battery rejuvenating" tablets which you popped into the battery and they attempted to remove the sulfate from the plates. Another problem is this debris can fall to the bottom of the battery and if it comes in contact with the plates the battery develops an internal discharge path. Modern batteries tend to have a lot less room below the plates compared to older ones.
I can't believe he didn't try new battery first. That was a waste of time and money.
My neighbour went to Florida as a snowbird, leaving his Chrysler Crossfire with the alarm set. After a few weeks the alarm started to go off intermittently. It’s a very similar car to the SLK. Finally the battery just died and he returned later to a very dead car. We weren’t impressed. 🇨🇦
Holy cow Ivan. Looks like you smacked your thumb on something. They must have throbbed for a while. Now ya have me curious. Too bad a lot of folks still don’t realize if you park your vehicle for more than a month you should have a battery maintainer to keep the battery at full charge. I’m sure most people don’t know but this guys does. I would have loved to take that car for a nice little drive myself. Sounds sporty. See ya next video Ivan
That is quite a nice tarmac shredder yes.
for long time parking, battery should be hooked up to smart charger/maintainer like noco genius type. This kind of charger monitor the voltage in real time while the car is parked. Noco provide all optional accessories for hooking up as needed
Fun fact... Volkwagen used to ship cars with solar panels put on inside of windshield (2000's ?) and plugged into always on lighter socket. This would keep the battery charged in transit. May not be a bad idea for this car if it sits idle for long periods of time.
Dark inside a ship.
@@heyinway They usually disconnect the battery to avoid fires too.
I learn so much just by watching you.
Using a battery maintainer long term will cause the battery to sulfate. I have been a victim of this first hand, the best way is to use a battery conditoner in repair mode that only comes on once a week via a smart switch for a few hours.
an opption on my new Camaro was a smart battery saver ( $135 from GM but it says Camaro on it) . It is simply one of those low amp smart charger. They Know that most Camaro owners park the car for winter months. . Hook it up plug it in and in the spring your battery is ready to go
In the recent Audi, past 4 days, stopped, you got to connect a charger or disconnect the batteries. . Because too many security devices draining the battery at all time. .
Nice to see your pricing. USA is an expensive country!
Good old Autozone Battery. To a Fisher Auto Parts Battery. 👍 OOPS forgot great video Ivan.
Just changed the battery on my wife's RAV 4. Had it tested and test showed it was not to good anymore. Best place was Costco for a replacement. Toyota batteries tend to last a long time
I have gotten in the habit of adding water to my car batteries about every other year. Got 2 past 4 year mark in south Alabama. They loose a surprising amount of water. Given how expensive batteries are is worth the few cents in distilled water and time it takes to recondition.
Out west with the heat even with a car that starts every day you can expect 2 years at most with a battery, very rare they last more then that
I was trouble shooting a similar issue on a Nissan. The battery seemed fine but died every night. And like this vehicle very low parasitic drain when in sleep mod. I finally took the battery completely out of the vehicle and charged it fully then let it set over night. Dead. Internal short I’m assuming. Least technical item and hardest to pin down in a short time. But I got to play with my fluke and a few tools so.
A friend bought a 2002 Jaguar XK8 with a very strange battery draw which when the car was not started for a few weeks it would be too week to start. The previous owner did not drive it often and kept a trickle charger attached. I have a lot of electronics test equipment and spent an afternoon testing all the electronics for an excessive draw. The battery is in the trunk so I used a wireless multimeter displayed on my phone as we checked different fuses and fuse boxes but nothing was unusual. About one month later he was in his garage around 2AM and the car radio turned on! If the radio was on when the key was removed it would turn off then back on at 2AM for a few hours. If the radio was turned off before turning off the engine it did not turn on and the battery remained charged. I expect the proper way to detect something like this would be with a current recording meter left connected for a few days.
With a new car this may happen all the time when the car contacts the manufacturer to send usage data or check for maintenance updates.
You got balls testing that convertible. Those hydraulic pistons leak all the time.
Hello! Benz SLK 55 AMG, I recently watched a video of the problems with the hydraulic drive of the opening roof of this car! The roof folded and unfolded on a similar car with 12 hydraulic cylinders with complex hydraulics and a control module. I never thought that something like this could be built into a Mercedes.
This model only has 5 hydraulic cylinders. They are pretty reliable and when they fail, is not a big deal. I have a 2003 SLK and hydraulic system still working good
Regular flooded batteries last about three years in the Florida heat. People that travel back and forth in the winter and summer will leave their cars sitting for months and expect them to start when they return. I see it all the time. You need to either use a battery maintainer or disconnect the battery. The maintainer is the best option.
You look great on the test drive
no napa legend i never had good luck out of auto zone battery's
Do trickle chargers work?
I have a 2001 600cc Suzuki Bandit motorcycle that I put over 100k miles on... When the bike wasn't on the road, it was in the garage on a Deltran smart charger. I got 12 years of service out of one of the batteries I've used over the years.
I'm retired now and most of my daily transportation needs are handled by bicycle. So, all of my vehicles sit for long periods of time without use. They're all hooked up to smart trickle chargers. I have multiple electric start backup generators. They too are on smart trickle chargers.
Batteries are getting way too expensive to neglect.
I have a 2001 C240, and the alarm horn ( which looks very similiar to the SLKs, albeit mjne is behind the front wheel ) shorted out in the rain, and drained the battery. Apparently, it is/was a problem on those years Benz', where the wiring or control box shorts out.
I own an SLK200 from 99'. Fun little car.
Take it for a " TEST DRIVE " too make sure nothing else is wrong with it, sure Ivan, ok, right.
Yey! Ivan is back with a mercedes 🙃
Edit: getting a good diagnosis is worth his drive, + this is great content for us, never seen anyone test a battery this way, a great tip for everyone if you ask me!
Looks like you showed us the invoice 😳😉🤫😂
Towed from Florida obviously rainman ray couldn't fix this one 😂
I thought it was going to be another swimming pool in the trunk.
People that own expensive cars, they often have responsibilities that take them away from home for weeks to months at a time. You know, business trips, vacations, overseas filming, court appearances, jail sentences, all that kind of stuff. Hollywood folks see this happen a lot.
On the opposite extreme, my son has a 2019 Honda CR-V. He eats in his car quite a bit. And his battery went bad. How so? A few bread crumbs landed on the parking brake switch. Eventually they worked their way into the switch, moving it about one millimeter. Enough to close the circuit. Enough to drain the battery down a bit, every day. After a few months if this extra draw (never measured it), the battery gave up.
Crazy
I love watching your vids. So informative. Ty for all the information you give some of us techs🎉
I wonder what one of those battery testers would have shown. I have a TopDon one that's pretty cool. Shows resistance, capacity, voltage, health, etc.
Man, I’ve always wanted one of these. Wish they offered a clutch, though.
The reserve capacity is not the Ah rating of the battery. That size battery typically has an Ah rating of 70Ah. The reserve capacity is listed in minutes and is how long the battery can sustain a 25A load at 80° without dropping below 10.5V (1.75V per cell).
I have a 2004 amg Sl55. The alarm is a known parasitic draw. On mine the internal batteries corroded and completely wiped out the circuit board. I keep mine on a trickle charger at all times.
A mate just bought one of these for $500 as unclaimed property. The whole dash is in pieces as someone tyried to diagnose a non start issue without the help of a scanner (DUH!) .I saw another instance of no start here on YT where the wrong series of inductor plate was fitted in the trans .There are several different types and get the wrong one and the car wont even turn over.
I loved the smile on your face when you said...."This car is a beast""