Original Mercedes battery - no longer available?

[Charles 230SL]

I went ahead and ordered an OEM  battery (002-541-87-01-26) from my local MB dealer; MSRP was $179 minus 15% MBCA discount. Total was $152.15 plus Georgia tax - not too painful.

FWIW,  I had an Interstate battery in the car - which exploded last weekend.. really made a mess!

[mdsalemi]

Just a heads up on the Optima...They were bought out by Johnson Controls and as a result their quality has suffered.

I'm certainly not a flag-bearer for Optima, but that transaction by Johnson Controls happened 17 years ago--thus it surely isn't anything new. At that time production slowly began to move to Mexico...as if that's a surprise with anything these days.

I have had two of the OEM batteries. The first lasted about 7 years, which is surely nothing to complain about despite the common talk that they aren't good batteries. I had the second one for a few more, and it's still good: but, I tired of the battery acid nonsense (thank goodness no explosions though) so went for a sealed unit from Sears. If there's a show, I'll swap...

As for the exploding battery, Charles, I hope you have the charging system checked out. One usual suspect of an exploding battery is an overcharging condition, not necessarily the battery itself. Most places that sell or install a battery should be able to check this out for you...

[Charles 230SL]

As for the exploding battery, Charles, I hope you have the charging system checked out.

yes, will do.

I've read stories over the years about batteries exploding but I never really gave it (an explosion) much thought... The battery in question was a 6 year-old Interstate which has always held a good charge and has no history of leaking - I've never needed to use a trickle-charger or jumper cables with this particular battery.

This past weekend I took my 230 for a casual 45-minute drive to my parents' home. The car had sat for about an hour before I attempted to start it. As soon as I turned the ignition switch there was a loud 'boom' and smoke (sulfuric acid) began to stream from under the hood. I opened the hood and saw that the battery top had completely blown off. The battery caps left a couple of dents in the underside of my hood which are clearly visible on the topside. Oh well....I'm just glad the hood was closed else acid would have blown all over me and the interior of my car. What a mess... 

[mdsalemi]

As soon as I turned the ignition switch there was a loud 'boom' and smoke (sulfuric acid) began to stream from under the hood.

Yikes. How "clean" is your engine bay? If the engine bay is kind of dirty, with a greasy film on it, and perhaps moisture, this provides a unique path for high voltage. My guess is when you turned the ignition, some high voltage arced somewhere and ignited hydrogen from the battery.

Years ago I had an old Toyota and the engine bay was embarassingly filthy. On a highway trip in the rain once, it started misfiring. I pulled over at a rest stop, popped the hood, and the whole engine bay was lighting up like a flashing Christmas tree. High voltage was sparking and arcing everywhere. I turned it off, cleaned the wires and as much as I could with a cloth and that was a good temporary fix until I could clean it properly. High voltage is a wayward child...

[Charles 230SL]

The entire engine bay area is - or at least was, impeccable…its all covered in baking soda now.

[wwheeler]

Sorry to hear that Charles. I can only imagine how you felt when that happened.    

Other than the horrific mess it created, just wonder what the acid could have damaged? The plating is about the only thing that first comes to my mind. Strong acid will remove zinc/CAD plating very quickly. You might start seeing rust spots form on areas that are normally plated. Acid can also eat bare aluminum but it would take a lot longer to do any significant damage. 

Again sorry.

[alchemist]

I have an Interstate battery in my 67 230SL, it fits good and has a long life.

[Charles 230SL]

yesterday I picked up the new battery from my local MB dealer.
For those who may be contemplating an OEM battery (002-541-87-01-26), I've attached a few pictures showing the dimensions. The battery fits perfect and it looks fine. 

[Charles 230SL]

BTW, after cleaning up all the baking soda I was pleased to find no sulfuric acid damage - not even to the painted area directly beneath the battery where acid had dripped..but note that I was very quick to liberally dowse everything with baking soda once I realized the battery had exploded.   

Incidentally, although the top of the battery was missing, MB still took it as a core trade-in on the new one. 

[wwheeler]

Great to hear! Must have a good head on your shoulders to act that quickly.

[Charles 230SL]

thanks Wallace, I'm not so sure about having a level head but, the incident did confirm how critical it is to have a beverage refrigerator in the garage with baking soda (and certainly beverages) readily available.

[wwheeler]

I like your justification. I suppose if you shook a beer can up, it could act like an extinguisher of sorts when opened?

[RCS Coupe]

I thought I would tag an update onto this old, long thread about original batteries.

My battery is a white, M-B replacement that I bought in 2003, dry; activated with acid in 2007 and has been on duty reliably since. Its stock number is A003-541-33-01

After reading everyone's comments, and in need of a good battery that looked like it belonged in my engine room, I went to my local M-B dealer and bought one. The battery I was sold had an M-B part number 000-982-31-08. The parts guy assured me that this was the replacement part number. The battery was the right size, black top, with correct terminal arrangement (though sunken) but the hold-down frame did not fit. Using Charles' pictures and part number (being only a year old comment), i returned to the dealer. He input the 002-541-87-01-26 number and boom! there it was - and in stock! Granted, it looked like it had been sitting on the shelf for awhile but it fits and looks like the battery it replaced.