New car - battery fubared?

Mine has a main battery under the bonnet and a small battery hidden in the back right hand boot panel. A bit bigger than a bike battery. I presume that it is to help the engine cut out when at lights (Blue Efficiency).

Is yours the same as mine? I just noted a small silver battery type thing in the right hand panel and the was a triangle, first-aid kit and I even found two-seats I hadn't bargained for!

Just need it to start!

Identical to this...

TBH if the car is used it could just have been sitting for a while (a long while) and the battery, already old, has decided it's going to just give up and die.

My new (to me) car did this last year, it struggle along for a few months but when it was parked for two weeks while we jetted off to Vegas, I came back to collect it and found it was fudged.

Just make sure you get the correct size battery if you replace it, I think you are being a bit optimistic with your £50 battery as it is quite a big battery on a Merc and charge rate and crank power are important as the battery has to be compatible to the alternator output in order to maintain a fully charged battery.Somebody suggested using a bike battery charger but they have such a low charge rate it would need an extended charge to bring it back up to optimum charge,providing that all the cells were fully operational.CHECK the levels ,give it a charge and once it is fully charged.if you haven't brought the battery indoors to charge it pour a kettle of boiling water over the battery before you start the car.The increase in temperature is often enough to reactivate the battery fully if it has been stood for a while

I'd have stab in the dark and say battery as well. Cold weather like we have been having is a battery killer. If the battery is old and possibly not at it's best, come cold weather, it'll just die.

I'm another one saying battery. Having replaced mine this year at 110K mile and that was the original.
BUT make sure you get a decent one.
Are there any other strange things going on with it? becuase they can normally be linked back to the battery too in a merc as I found out. (only after a replaced fuses and relays and stuff)

Don't just go to Halfrauds... the battery they brought out claiming 'this is what our book says' for my Celica looked like it would have been a bit too large for a bus. Toyota supplied me with the correct battery, at nearly half the price of the Halfrauds one.

Pay your local Merc dealership a visit and see what they want.

Originally Posted by metalangel

Don't just go to Halfrauds... the battery they brought out claiming 'this is what our book says' for my Celica looked like it would have been a bit too large for a bus. Toyota supplied me with the correct battery, at nearly half the price of the Halfrauds one.

Pay your local Merc dealership a visit and see what they want.

or partco trade prices over the cash counter

Right it starts to crank, but it is as if it doesn't quite have the guts.

RAC came out and the bloody thing started no issues, turned it off and started it again - no issues. The bolke wasn't exactly forth coming with testing things or helping out much.

Went out this morning, put some water in for now, and it fired up and it ran beautifully. Sat in heavy traffic at just over 80 degs (is that right?) and did exactly what I asked of it. All electrics work too.

What anti-freeze do I need for it?

[G]

Battery or alternator not charging the battery. Both easy fixes.