1993 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF check engine light

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE
Bonnet
To release lock, pull lever on left under in­
strument panel until bonnet springs up slightly.
Note
Before opening the bo nnet ensure that the
wiper arms are not lifted off the wind ­
screen. Othe rwise damage can occur to the
palntwork. To
open, lift
bonnet slightly and disengage

hook by pressing it to the side.

Lift bonnet, take rod out of
clip
and put end

of rod in hole provided (see right illustra­

tion)

To
close, lift bonnet slightly and unhoo k
rod. Press rod into retaining cl ip on front

cross panel. Let bonnet fall into the lock

from a height of about 30 cm -do not press

it down.

B1H -043
Attention For safety reasons the bonnet must always be properly closed when vehicle is moving. Always check therefore after closing the bonnet that the lock is engaged. This is the case when the bonnet is flush with the adiacent body panels.
Should you notice at any time when driving
that the bonnet is not properly secured,
stop at once and close it.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE
Cooling system
The cooling system is filled at the factory with a perman ent coolant whic h is not
changed . The coo lant consists of w ater and a 40 % concent ration of our coolant additive
G 11 V8B (anti-f reeze on glycol basi s with
anti-corrosion additives). Thi s mi xture not
only gives the necessary frost prot ection
down to -25°C but also pro te cts the allo y
parts in the cooling system against cor­
rosion. In add it ion it pr event s scal ing and ra­ises the boiling point of the coo lant
The concentr atio n of the co olant therefore
must not be reduce d in the summer or in
wa rm countries, by tOPPing up with plain
w ater. The coolant additive propor­tion must be at least 40 %.
If greater protection against frost is re­
qu ired, th e propor tion of G 11 V8B additive
c a n be increased, but onl y up to 60 % (Irost
prot ection to appr ox. -40 Cl. oth erwise the
a n ti-freeze prot ection is red uced and fur­
t h ermore the cool ing effec t is im paired .
Vehicles for expor t to cold cou ntries usually
h ave frost protection down to -35°C.
Only our G 11 V8B or an addi tive with the specification TL-VW 774 B (ma rked on container ) should be added to the coolant.
The ad dit ive s can be obtained from Volks­
w ag
en dealer s.
Other additives c a n b e very detri­mental to the anti·corrosion effect in particular.
The subsequent corro sion damage can lead to coolant loss resulting in major engine damage.
Checking coolant level
The expansion tank is in the engine com­
p artm ent on the bulkhead -see Fig
The level can o nly be checked properly
w he n engin e is not running .
The coo lant level must be bet ween the MIN
and Mt>,X marks on e xpansion tank when
engine is cold and can be slightly above the
MAX mark when it is warm .
07

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Coolant losses
Coolant loss normally indicates leaks in the
system . In this case the cooling system
should be checked by a Volkswagen dealer
w it h out delay . It is not sufficient merely to
add coolant.
Ii'! ~ ~MI~d ~v~t~m IMMS canonly occur if the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as a result of overheating, and coolant is forced out of the system.
Topping up coolant
Switch engine off and let it cool down . Then
cover expansion tank cap with a cloth and
turn cap carefully
to the left
and remove.
Attention Do not remove expansion tank cap when engine is hot -Danger of scalding. System is under pressure.
If, in an emergency only water can be added the correct mixture concentration
must be restored with the specified coolant
additive (see previous page) as soon as possible. If
a lot of coolant has been lost.
on l y add cold
coolant after the engine has cooled down.
This will prevent engine damage.
Do not fill above the MAX. mark.
The excess coolant will be forced out
through the pressure rel ief valve in the cap
when engine becomes hot.
Screw cap on again tightly.
Attention The coolant additive and the coolant are a danger to health. The additive must therefore only be stored in the original con­tainer well out of reach of children. If the coolant has to be drained at any time it must be caught and also stored in a safe place.
dih Drained coolant should not nor­~mally be reused, it must be dis­posed of, bearing in mind environ­mental protection regulations.
Fan
The radiator fan is driven electrically and controlled by a thermoswitch from the cool­
ant temperature (also from the engine com­
partment temperature
on some models).
Attention After the engine has been stopped the fan can continue running for a while -even with the engine switched off -(up to about 10 minutes). It can also start to run again suddenly after a short time if -the coolant temperature in­creases due to heat build-up
when engine is hot and the en­gine compartment is heated additionally by strong sun­light.
Special care must therefore be taken when working in the en­gine compartment.
98

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE
Brake fluid
The brake fluid reservoir is on the left in the

e ngine compartment.

O n vehicles with ABS* the brake fluid reser­

voir
can be found in the same place, only the

s hape of the reserv oir is different to that

s hown .

O n
vehicles with right-hand drive the reser­

voir is on the other side of the engine com­

p artment.

Checking fluid level
T he fluid level must always be between the
" MAX" and "MIN" marks.
T he
level of flu id tends to sin k slightly when the vehicle is used due to the automatic ad­Ju stment of brake linings . This IS quite nor­
mal.
H owever, if the level sinks noticeably in a
s h ort time or drops below the" MIN" mark
t h e system may be leaking. A low fluid level
in the reservoir is indicated by the brake
wa rning lamp lighting up (see page 48 also)
If this happens, take car to a Volkswagen
dealer immediately and have the brake sys­
tem checked.
Renewing brake fluid
Brake fluid absorbs moisture. In the course
of time it takes in water from the ambient air. Too high a content of wa ter in the brake
fluid can In time cause corrosion damage in the system Furthermore the boiling point
of the brake fluid IS reduced considerably. For this reason the brake fluid must be renewed every f'wo years.
Attention When the brake fluid becomes too old vapour bubbles can form in the brake system when the brakes are used hard. The effi­ciency of the brakes and thus the vehicle safety is then seriously affected.
Only use our genuine brake fluid (spec ifica­
tion to US standard FMVSS 116 DOT 4). The fluid must be new.
Attention Brake fluid is poisonous! It must therefore only be stored in the closed original container out of reach of children.
Remember also that brake fluid will attack the paintwork.

,.Q,., Because of the disposal prob­
~lems, the special tools necessary
and the specialist knowledge re­
quired, the brake fluid changing should preferably be done by a Vo/kswagen dealer.
It is advisable to have the fluid change car­
ried out during an Inspection Service.
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• When disconnecting the bat­
tery from th e vehic le e lectrical
system first disconnect the nega­
tive cable and then the positive
cable.
The battery must not b e discon­
nected with th e engine ru nning,
as this will damage t he e lectrica l
system (e lectro n ic components).

• When reconnecting t h e bat­
tery connect the positive cable
first and then the negative cable.
The connect ing cables must on
no account interchang ed -can
cause wiring to burn out.

In order to protect the c asing from UV radiation, do not expose battery to direct sunlight.
Checking acid level
In norma l operating conditions the ba ttery re quires hardly any maintenance . At 111(;)11 am bient tem peratu res Ilowever It I S advIs­
a b le to check th e acid le ve l a t r egula r inter ­als. It shou ld always be between the M IN
a nd MAX marks on th e batter y I
f th e ac
id leve l drops below the MIN mark, the aff ecte d c ells must be topped -up to the
MAX mark W ith dis tille d wa ter.
It
is recommen ded that the acid level is checked and correcte d by a Volkswag en dea ler.
Winter driving
W inte r wea ther is part icu larly hard on the
battery. Furt h er more at low temperatures it has only a par t of th e capacity it has at nor ­
ma l temperatures . We reco mmend there­
for e th at
the bat te ry sho uld be c h ecked pre­
f erably by a Volkswage1l dea le r before the onset of cold weat her an d charge d if
necessary
I f the vehicle is not driven for sev­e ral weeks when te m peratures are very low, the battery should be taken out and stored in a frost-free room, s o tha t it cannot freeze up and become damaged.
To ake battery out, first d isconnect the two cables an d th en remov e retainer.
Charging battery
W hen charg ing with a lo w curren t (e.g. with a smal l char ger) the battery cables need not
no rmally b e taken off. The instructions from the charger manufactu re r must however be
noted.
Bef ore
Quick charging, that is charging
wi th a high current, both battery cables
must b e disconnec ted .
T
he f o llowin g inf ormation must be noted:
• Whe n charging the
battery do not re­
move caps.
• A discha rged battery
can freeze at -10°e. It is essential to thaw out a frozen battery before it is given a quick charge otherwise it may ex­plode!
• The mains cable of the charger should
n ot be connec ted unti l afte r the clips of the charger have been prop erly secured to th e
battery terminals Red =pos itive
Black = negative
•
Recon nect cables correct ly after ch arg­ing battery.
101

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine DO-lT-YOURSELF
• After loosening remove wheel bolts
using box spanner in screwdriver handle,
place them on a clean surface (hub cap, cloth, paper) next to the jack and take the
wheel off.
• Fit spare w heel
and lightly tighten all bolts using box spanner in screwdriver
handle. The wheel bolts must be clean and
easy to turn -do not under any circum­
stances use grease or oill
• L o
wer vehicle and fully tighten bolts in diagonal sequence. With the extendible handle wheel spanner* the wheel spanner must not be used to tighten wheel bolts with handle pulled out!
• On vehicles w ith normal spare, fit the
wheel trim again.
• Place defective wheel
in well and secure
with wing nut.
Notes
• When using the temporary spare wheel
or a spare wheel wh ich differs from those
on the vehicle, the points on pages 107 and
114 must be noted I
• Pay attention to the following after
changing a wheel:
- Check the tyre pressure immediatel y on
the spare wheel which has been fitted .
-
Have the tightening torque of the wheel
bolts checked with a torque wrench as soon as possible. The torque for steel and alloy wheels, and for the temporary
wheel is 110 Nm .
If it has been established when changing
the wheel that wheel bolts are corroded and
hard to screw
in, they must be renewed be­
fore checking the tightening torque.
Until these checks have been carried out
one should, for safe ty reasons, only drive at
a moderate speed. •
The defective wheel
must be repaired as soon as possible and, on vehicles with tem­
porary spare wheel, put back on vehicle im­
mediately. The wheel trim cover must also be installed.
Attention If the vehicle is to be subse­quently fitted with wheels or tyres which differ from those fitted by the factory. it is essen­tial to read the remarks in the centre and right-hand columns on page 108.
118