New battery

First order of repair had to be a new battery. For a car that starts so easy it seemed wrong to have to jump start. I was dismayed to find the Group 49 I pulled out of the '84 190D (when I replaced the battery in that car I turned in the one from my '83 240D which was really old keeping this one as a spare) would fit the battery box acceptably well but the cables wouldn't stay on. My local Car Quest sold me a group 48 for $25 less than Autozone wanted for a smaller group 47, love my local Car Quest.

Before installing the battery I thought I should clean up the battery box some. Battery boxes (really a battery platform in this car) get all nasty and corroded from battery acid dropping on them. I couldn't get the box out so I brushed the worst of the rust an corrosion off and vacuumed out the debris, then hit it with some Rustoleum.

I soaked the hold down bracket overnight in Evapo-rust and painted it also. Hopefully this will keep rust at bay for awhile.

Next step: Why don't the interior lights and sunroof work?