# Battery Drain on 1999 Mercedes C-280 **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** c-class, batteries, mercedes-benz\ **Created:** [September 11, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-drain-on-1999-mercedes-c-280/81296 "2013-09-11T01:53:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drmac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@drmac](https://community.cartalk.com/u/drmac)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-drain-on-1999-mercedes-c-280/81296/1 "2013-09-11T01:53:11Z")
Early this Spring I went to start my wife’s MB and the battery was dead. I jumped it and it started but since then, when I leave it setting in the garage for a couple of days the battery goes dead again. I put a new battery in but the problem remained so I took it to the local MB Dealer and he ran a “drain test” for two days. They couldn’t find anything wrong but did charge me a few hundred for the experience. Anyway, it still does it. If I don’t start it every couple of days the battery will go dead. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![jesmed1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/jesmed1/32/2097_2.png) [@jesmed1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jesmed1)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-drain-on-1999-mercedes-c-280/81296/2 "2013-09-11T01:58:34Z")
Phantom battery drains can be time-consuming to track down and many mechanics don’t have the experience or the patience. I recommend doing it yourself. [http://www.diagnosticnews.com/featured/parasitic-battery-drains/](http://www.diagnosticnews.com/featured/parasitic-battery-drains/) ---
**Author:** ![jesmed1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/jesmed1/32/2097_2.png) [@jesmed1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jesmed1)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-drain-on-1999-mercedes-c-280/81296/3 "2013-09-11T02:00:42Z")
Here’s another helpful article: > **[How to Stop Car Battery Drains](https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/car-technology/a5859/how-to-stop-car-battery-drains/)** > > There are plenty of energy-robbing devices on your car that are supposed to go to sleep when it's parked, and sometimes, not all of them go to sleep. Here's how to give them a tranquilizer. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-drain-on-1999-mercedes-c-280/81296/4 "2013-09-11T03:07:37Z")
@drmac You may have to find a better dealer, or a better mechanic While it is possible that a control module is intermittently “waking up” overnight, I’d wager that your problem is more simple. I’ve had many cases where the draw is actually the radio or the cluster, even though they were off and the display wasn’t on. A few months ago, I fixed a Ford focus with a draw. The a/c on/off switch was the problem! My point is you have to be willing to consider all sorts of things, when it comes to parasitic draw ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-drain-on-1999-mercedes-c-280/81296/5 "2013-09-11T03:38:19Z")
How old is the battery? Over 3-4 years, and the shop tests show no unusual phantom current drain, then a failing battery would be my first suspect.