I was at the point of giving the original battery in my year-2000 300m

an over-night boost with a battery charger about once every week for the

past month, and noticing that the engine wasn't turning over with the

same pep that it should.

I'm sure this god-damn heat we've had this summer hasn't helped.

I really wanted for it to go another 2 months - when it would be 12

years old.

And now I discover that the electrical cord under the hood that I've

been using on some of those cold winter nights is actually connected to

a 70-watt battery warmer/blanket - not a block heater.

I'll get a new battery tommorrow.  I'll clean up this old one and take

some pictures of it before it goes to the recycler.  I'll try to get a

build-date and manufacturer from it.