[W126 Coupe] Battery for 560

[Robert Karl Stonjek]

Hi Markus & Ralph,
The two things to consider are usage and compression.  If one isn't using the car every day then the battery can suffer and I think that is half the reason why my current battery is rapidly dying, though it limped through the last two summers the coming winter is going to be just a bit too much for it.  I use the car for a couple of short trips per week on average...

The other thing is the compression.  The Euro 560 has higher compression (10:1 verses 9:1 for the US and Australian versions, mine is imported).  That means that a higher than usual Cold Crank Amperage (usually given as 'CCA') is called for.

I've done a bit more research.  The local Mercedes dealer recommends Delkor DIN88, $249 in the local money.  'Century' batteries supplier recommended the battery that I currently have, a DIN85.  Online suppliers seem to recommend DIN88 to DIN100.  Some brands supply these two batteries in the same sized case but the DIN88 has 19 plates and the DIN100 has 21 plates.

Phoning around I found 'Supercharge Gold' to be about the best.  Their DIN88H comes in at $260 and has good specs.  Here are some comparisons between the battery that was in the car when I got it, a Bosch BDIW65I, my current Battery a DIN85 Century, the battery that Mercedes recommended, a Delkor DIN88, and the SuperCharge Gold MF88H:
Model    BDIW65I/DIN85/DIN88/MF88H
CCA        550/600/750/880
RC          105/135/165/160
The weight of the Supercharge is slightly more than the Delkor (630 grams more, about a pound) ~ watch out for light batteries with heavy specs...

Who knows where or by whom these batteries are made but the supplier is local.  The only possible problem is that it is 15mm taller than the recommended battery (less than an inch), but I think it will fit OK (will experiment tomorrow ie by putting something on top of the existing battery and see if anything touches it :)


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On another matter, I note that you can get cars from China really cheap (that's where my car originated, but I didn't import it).  Hong Kong was part of the UK until 1997 when it was officially handed back to China.

Until then, and the habit has probably not abated, the cars they imported were much the same as those imported into the UK.  The Chinese are really fussy about ownership ~ number of previous owners ~ so car values tend to fall off a cliff after the first couple of owners.

I spotted this machine from a reputable source.  It is a 1994 600SL AMG, 70,000km on the clock, $88,000HKD (Hong Kong Dollars).  That's just $10,415 Australian dollars or about a quarter of what it would cost in Australia, if that model was ever available (it wasn't).  There's a company that will buy your car in Hong Kong and ship it to Australia for you for just $1,000, probably another $500 to get it to Tasmania where I live (everything costs more to ship to an Island :(  Even the USD price looks good: $11,328.38USD
Here is the beast:
 

If I had some spare cash I would be investigating this beast more closely...12 cylinders...300kW (US 560SEC is around 179kW)...nice...
http://www.adpost.com/hk/vehicles/5837/

Robert

PS: Lowly 1993 600SEC selling for $30,000HKD ($3,550.55AUD)...
http://www.adpost.com/hk/vehicles/5644/


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Day . Ralph 
To: Robert Karl Stonjek ; Mercedes Coupes Mailing Lists 
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2011 9:20 PM
Subject: RE: [W126 Coupe] Battery for 560


I am not familiar with the brands downunder, but I replaced mine with an Interstate battery about eight years ago.  I live in a climate with extremes, e.g. very warm to cold, and the battery hasn't failed yet.  I don't know if Interstate batteries are available in Oz.

 

Ralph D. Day

Senior Program Manager/ASQ LSS Certified Black Belt

MDA Master Black Belt

Dynamics Research Corporation

(301) 275-9030 (cell)

 

I've had the best luck with Interstate Batteries.  The one I replaced in my last 560 had exceeded the warranty period by almost 2 years.  I have one in one of my other cars now that is 10 years old and still going.  The one in another car is 7 years old and still going.

Mercedes used to use that brand but has recently switched to Deka.

Markus
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