Not a mercedes but I left my lights on in my 1986 chevy 6.2l diesel today and have to go start it in about an hour. Ive already attempted and its to drained to start. it has two optima red top batteries. Is jumping these really that bad, or do I need to take em home and charge them all night? I dont want to hurt them, so fast input would be great...

thanks,
Zach

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1987 300D(Erma)- #14 head, 193k
2003 TDI Beetle sold
1985 300sd sold
1987 300D(Ursala)- #14 head, 157k when sold
1987 300D(Wilbur)- #14head, 356,000+miles, sold after 7 days of owning it.
1992mercedes 300d- totaled and in a junk yard somewhere..
1983 mercedes 300sd- scrapped
1980 mercedes 300sd first mercedes diesel-sold

Ive jumped my box truck at least 100 times. Dont use cheap cables otherwise they will melt.

Just connect it to one battery, wait a few minutes, then crank.

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Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

Yeah, no reason not to jump the Optimas.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I've jumped Optimas many many times.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

on the diesel truck with it's HUGE starter, don't just JUMP the optimas
connect BIG jumpercables, and CHARGE them for at least 30 minutes... otherwise you will kill your alternator, and likely not be able to start the truck anyway.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

You have a bit of a point there. Most of the times I've "jumped" Optimas, I was using NATO slave cables, which are pretty beefy, and I almost always allow a few minutes charging time before attempting to start the dead vehicle.

You should have seen me and my friend trying to jump off my 300D (not an Optima) after I pulled it out of a year's storage last month. The cables were pretty small, and the current was provided by a Toyota MR2 which has a battery only a bit bigger than what you find in a Harley. It took a while.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

According to their website, Optimas can take a 100A charge without any ill effects! ("unlimited amperage input" it's worded...) I charged mine with the charger in 100A "start" mode and it (amazingly) worked! 3 min from flat to full chg!

I stand back and wear safety glasses anyway.

FWIW I think MBs do not like Optimas. And Optimas are waaay overpriced, unless you need a battery that can mount upside down. their reserve capacity number is total bull****. I have been thru 3 (seperate) incidences where they die in only 10 to 15 minutes when rated for ninety. I put the stock gigantic MB battery in and drove the car 2 hrs and that's with a 10 yr old battery!

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RIP "Betsy" (Oo=*=oO)
'96 E 3 2 0 (W 2 1 0) M 1 0 4 (Totalled)
Spaces in sig so as not to screw up the SEARCH; every time someone searches for that MB they don't want my sig!

2004 Audi A8L
'98 VW Passat 1.8T 5M
'87 Alfa Romeo Milano 2.5L 5M
'67 Impala convertible, 327cid

Isn't it worth it to fix the underlying cause rather than jump something a hundred times?

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

He's a pretty good delivery guy, just forgetful... But I have thought about "fixing the problem" a few times

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Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

The "100 amp start mode" amperage isn't a problem, but the voltage might be, test it and you might find it pushing 17vdc or more with a light load.

Optimas have worked great on my 300D/TD/E320s. I have no complaint. I buy them from Autozone when they go out of date (1 year) for $35.00 as a "used battery".

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I had no idea they did that! I just ordered one online for the boat and arrived 2 days ago.....darn! I thought I had a pretty good deal

Do you just go in and ask every once in a while?

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1987 300TD 147,000 miles- Palomino leather interior, 1995 facelift and body cladding, E350 wheels, Rebuilt suspension and sport springs, rebuilt turbo, New Monarch injection pump and injectors....and the list goes on and on...

Whenever I'm in there I ask if there are any used batteries. There were two "professional series" (Bosch I'm told) Group 49s there last week for $35/ea.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

In my show truck I had a pair or the red tops, and I also have one in my 87. I would constantly have to jump the truck after a long day at the show due to running the show lights, stereo etc... no issue at all. (I had to do it so often that I made a quick connect to jump it like you see on race cars etc) The 87 I have jumped a few times, leaving the lights on by accident etc. (that damned switch for the rear dome lights on the dash gets me every time).. again... no issue.

Sorry this thread took a turn. I was at Advance Auto and all the used batteries are $35, except they wanted $60 for the small used Optima yellow top (didn't even know they sold used ones). Still a good price, but $35 would have been a steal. Thanks for the info!!!!!

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1987 300TD 147,000 miles- Palomino leather interior, 1995 facelift and body cladding, E350 wheels, Rebuilt suspension and sport springs, rebuilt turbo, New Monarch injection pump and injectors....and the list goes on and on...

Aren't used batteries typically returned because somebody else was having problems with them? ...

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL