Car Jump Started - Now Engine Light On

guy999

The car is a 4 year old A Class, low mileage hardly gets used, couple of times a month max.
Any way drove to Heathrow left it with car park staff at aiport, then a week later rang them to collect me from terminal, they rang back saying car wouldnt start but they would sort it, they then rang back asking where battery was (its under passenger seat).

They collected me and i drove home all the way with the engine light on, about 80 miles.

So hoping they havent done any lasting or expensive damage to the car.
What is best way to turn off light?
If I take car to Kwikfit ? for a new battery, would they be able to do it? Or do i need to take to Mercedes?
Any idea how much this should cost so i dont get ripped off?

Thanks

AndysDad

Whatever you do don't take it to Kwik-Fit.....you will end up paying for a battery and possibly more whether its needed or not.Get a local independant garage to have a look at it.

guy999

Thanks for that.
Will look in yellow pages.

Battery is under drivers not passenger seat.

Also after a night standing car now starts and management light gone.... 1/2 the problem fixed!
But guess do need a new battery.
Any ideas how much should cost?

Alias_Omega

What did the light look like.?

If it looked like a battery then its Charging Circuit / Battery

If it looked like a tap



Then this is the engine management light, and can be caused by many reasons.

One of them could be that the downstream sensor of the cat can sense poor engine running and give the warning. The car may require 3x cold starts to clear the fault.

So if the car was sat for ages, and a few short starts/short drives. The engine does not get up too temp and the cat see's high emissions.


The long drive may have cleared things up.



I would monitor and see how it runs over the next week or so.

guy999

Thanks, going to IKEA unfortunately!... so another long drive should help it!

guy999

Halfords -Bosch 12V Silver Car Battery HSB096 with 5 Year Guarantee.
£120+£5 fitting...
Varta appears cheaper by £20 but off ebay.
But easier if have any problems to go back to Halfords.
If still have problems will go down this route i guess

gilbert_and_sullivan

Before you pay Halfords price, ring GSF and Eurocarparts for a quote for the same battery.

Change it yourself no problem, but to be safe i'd connect jump leads to the jump points under the bonnet (assuming the A class has them, most cars with battery located elsewhere than under bonnet do) from another car/battery or jump pack to maintain constant voltage.

From the sounds of it there may be nothing wrong with the present battery anyway as MB OE batteries usually last around 8 to 10 years, it could probably do with a couple of days charge from a smart charger such as a CTEK or equvalent every now and again...you don't need to disconnect the battery to charge with these new smart chargers.

c00kiemonster_2

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

it could probably do with a couple of days charge from a smart charger such as a CTEK or equvalent every now and again...you don't need to disconnect the battery to charge with these new smart chargers.

Fantastic advice given here on the CTEK charger, I sell them myself and can't rate them enough:T

I agree on poss not needing a new battery as it was low on charge from just sitting idle for the week+;)

Plus £125 is a high price for an 096 battery, but hey thats halfords for you lol

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

There's probably nothing wrong with the battery, my Mercedes indicates a low charge problem upon starting the engine. You can't miss it, and I suspect yours will do the same. Your battery went flat because the car isn't used much, and its winter (very heavy loads on the battery, heater, fans, screen demister, etc). Batteries are charged by the engine, and if you don't drive around enough, the battery doesn't get charged up.

There are a couple of things that could be wrong. Firstly, jump-starting a Mercedes is not recommended as the electronics are not surge-protected. I've jump-started mine on several occasions however and have never had a problem. If, however, damage has occurred, well that's the airport car park's liability.

You should take it to a Mercedes independent, or a dealer, and have the codes read. My hunch though is that if its still driving and working fine, the fault will be a minor issue. Don't take it to a back street garage, they won't have the tools to diagnose this fault. STAR equipment may be required.