1993 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF ABS

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine VEHICLE LITERATURE
In the vehicle wallet you will find, in addition
to this Instruction manual, a Service Schedule and a Service address list.
Also depending on vehicle model and equip­ment there can be various Supplements
(e.g. for car radio, Taxicabs and Hire cars)
If one of these publications appears to be
missing or you have the impression that the
information on some equipment or model
version
is not complete, please contact your
Volkswagen dealer. He will be pleased to
help you.
The Instruction Manual
should be read carefully as soon as possible
so that you get to know your vehicle quickly.
Besides regular care
and maintenance, cor­
rect operation serves to maintain the value
of the vehicle and
is, in many cases, also
one of the stipulations for upholding war­
ranty claims.
For safety reasons please note also the information on Accessories, modifications and the renewal of parts on page 111.
The Service Schedule
contains
identification data for your car
- the Service intervals
- the Service operations
- important details about Warranty
Service
work which has been carried out is also confirmed in the Service Schedule.
This can be important when a claim is made
under warranty.
Your should always present the Service
Schedule when taking the vehicle to a
Volkswagen dealer.
The Service address list
contains
- important addresses
and telephone
numbers
in Europe and overseas.
- important information on the Volks­
wagen dealer emergency services
Notes on the layout of this Manual:
It describes the largest possible rang e of
equipm ent envisa ged at the time of go in g to
press Some 0 the equipment may be avall­
able lat er on or n o t at all or will not be offere d in certain Expo rt markets.
Items of equip ment marked
with a * are
only standard on certain model versio ns or
are only availa b
le as optional extras on cer­
tain models.
All blocks of text which have this colour backing and the title "Attention" refer to potential accident or injury risks.
& Texts following this symbol and ~printed in italics are i m p ortant notes on environmental protection.
One final request:
When you sell your car please give the co m ­
plete Vehic le Wallet to the new owner be ­
caus e the v ehicle literature belongs to the
vehicl e
2

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT

• Attention • When the engine is running it is necessary to hold the vehicle with the foot brake in all gears. Because with an automatic gear­box the transfer of power is not fully interrupted even at idling speed -and the vehicle tends to "creep". If a driving range is selected while the vehicle is stationary, the throttle must on no account be opened (e.g. by hand from in­side the engine compartment). The vehicle can then start mov­ing, possibly even when the hand brake is applied.
Before working on a running en­gine, ensure that selector lever is
in position "p" and thatthe hand­brake is applied.
Moving off
Select driving range (R, 0, 3, 2, 1) Wait until the gearbox has shifted and the power flow is made to the driving
wheels (light selection jerk perceptible). Then one can accelerate.
Stopping
To stop vehicle temporarily such as at traffic
lights, it is only necessary to apply the
brakes. It is not necessary to move selector
lever to "N". The engine should however on ly be running at idling speed.
Parking
On level ground all you need do is engage
the parking lock. On a gradient the hand­
brake should be applied firmly first and then
the parking lock engaged. This will ensure
that the locking mechanism
is not too heav­
ily loaded and makes the lock easier to dis­
engage .
Tow starting
On vehicles w ith automatic gearbox the en­
gine cannot be started by towing or pushing
the vehicle. See page130 .
When the battery
is flat. the engine can be started from the battery of another vehicle
by using jumper cables See" Emergency starting", page 128.
Towing
If the vehicle has to be towed at any time ,
you must read the instructions in the sec­
tion "Towing/tow starting on page 129.
Emergency programme
If functional defects occur in the electronic system the gearbox can, amongst other
things, carry on operating in two emergency
programmes: •
The gearbox continues to change up
and
down automatically as before but hard shift

jerks are however noticeable. The vehicle

should
be taken to a Volkswagen dealer.

• The gearbox no longer changes up and
down automatically.

The gearbox can then be shifted manually

but in the selector leve r positions "0", "3"
and "2" only the 3rd gear is available.

I n se lector lever positions " 1 " and " R", the
1 st and reverse gears
are available as nor­
mal .
However, the converter must. due to the
absence of 2nd gear work harder ,
and under
certain circumstances this causes the con­
verte r to overheat.
In a case such as this the
vehicle should be taken, as soon as poss­
ible, to a Volkswagen dealer.
34

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT

2 -Engine oil pressure ~
e wa rning lamp flashes when ignition is :ched on. the lamp must go out when ,=~g ne has started.
, 'Il e warning lamp does not go out or
ash es when driving -a buzzer also sounds
-' e!,gine spe,eds above 2000 rpm -stop, switch engine off, check oil level and if ecessary, add oil -see page 94.
- - he lamp comes
on although the oil level 5 n order, do not drive on. Do not even "'., t he engine at idling speed -call in expert ~slstance.
-du ring the Journe y the engine is operated
a : a speed less than idling speed, it ca n ~ appen that the oil warning lamp lights up. "crease engine speed by accelerating or :'langing down .
Note Th e oil pressure warning lamp is not an oil level indicator. The oil level shou.'d therefore be checked at reg, ular Intervals, preferably every time the fuel tank is filled.J
3 -Alternator
The warning lamp comes on w hen the igni­

tion IS sWitched on and must go out when

the engine is started .

The alternator
is driven by a long-life ribbed

belt.

If the warning lamp lights during the

Journey ,
stop, switch off engine and
check ribbed belt.

If
t~e ribbed belt is loose or broken, do not
drive on -the coolant pump is no longer

being driven. The ribbed belt must be
checked/renewed by the next Volkswagen

dealer.

If the ribbed belt
is not loose or broken, one
can normally drive on to the next Vo lks­

wag en dea ler. However as the battery is
then discharging co ntinuously , all electrical

consumers which are not absolutely essen­

tial should be switched off.

4 -Glow plugs
(Diesel engines only)

When the engine
is cold the w arning lamp

come s on when key IS turned to Drive posi­

tion (ignition on)

If the warning lamp does not come on, there IS a defectln the glow plug system -call in expert assistance.
When the lamp goes out, start the engine
Immediately -see page 37.
As the 55 kWDiesel engine glow period be­
gins automatically after closing the drivers'
door,
It can happen that after switching to
the driving position (Ignition on) with a cold
engine, that the glow plug warning lamp
does not light up . The engine
can be started
straight away
When the engine
is warm the glow plug
lamp does not come on -the engine ca n be started straight away
Note
If while driving a fault occurs in the engine
management system of the 66 kW Diesel
engine, this
is indicated by a flashing warn­Ing lamp The engine must be checked by a
Volkswagen dealer as soon as possible.
47

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine ----CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT
Q1~ Trailer turn signals(8 ) Anti-locking Brake System
(ABS)* The warning lamp" flashes when turn sig­
nals are switched on when towing a trailer. The warning lamp comes on for a few sec­
onds when the ignition is switched on. The If a turn signal fai ls on the trailer or vehicle,
lamp goes out after
an automatic test se­ the
warning lamp does not flash.
quence has taken place,
If the ASS warning lamp does not go out. or if the ASS warning lamp comes on when
driving, the system is fau lty The vehicle can then only be braked with the normal system
- that is w ith out ASS. The vehicle must be taken to a Vol kswagen dealer as soon as possible .
- ne
warning lamp cluster can contain Further details on ASS is given on page 76 . •anous warning lamps. The warning lamps actually fitted can be recognized by the 5 mbols
to ~Airbag system
n e warning lamp lights for about 3 seconds Nhen the ignition is switched on. If the
N arning lamp does not go out or lights/
;Iickers during the Journey, there is a fault in :he Airbag system , The system should be ct16cked immediately by a Volkswagen
:lealer For further details see page 18.
49

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine DRIVING TIPS
Brakes
General notes
• Brake lining wear depends to a la rge ex­
t e nt on the operating conditions and style of riving. On vehicles which are used mainly
n town traffi c and stop/start conditions or are driven hard it may be nece ssary to have the thickness of the brake linings checked by a Volkswagen dealer in be tween the in­
t er vals given in the Ser vice Schedule. On 'ehic les with brake pad wear indicato r, worn front pads w ill b e indic ated by a wa rn­Ing lamp -see page 48.
• Change down in good time when driving
d ownhill , in order to make use of the engine
braking effect. This relieves strain on the
brake system . When the brakes are appl ied
d o not keep them on conti nuo usly, apply
a n d release alternately.
• Under certain
operating conditions, for
ex ample after driv ing through water, after
h eavy ra in or after washi ng the vehicle the
braking effect may be reduced by wet, or in linter iced-up brake discs and linings -the
brakes must be dried out first by applying th e footbrake. The
fu
ll braking effect may also be reduced
when vehicle has been driven for som e
tim e on heavily salted roads witho ut using the bra kes, because th e layer of salt on
discs and pads has to wear off first.
Attention
If a front spoiler or full size wheel trims are retrofitted, it is necess­ary to ensure that the flow of air to the front brakes is not re­stricted -otherwise the brakes can overheat.
Brake serve
Attention The servo is operated by vacuum which is only generated when en­
gine is running. For this reason the vehicle should not be allowed to roll with the engine switched off.
When the brake servo is not working because, for example, the vehicle is being towed or be­cause a defect has occurred on the brake servo itself, the brake pedal must be pressed consider­ably harder to compensate for the absence of servo assistance.
75

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine DRIVING TIPS

Anti-locking brake system *
The AB S plays a major part in i ncreasing the active safety of the vehicle . The big adva n­tage when compa red with a conve ntional brake system is t hat even when braking
hard on a s lippery road surfac e the bes t
poss ib le ste erabili ty is retained for the road
cond it io n because the wheels do not lock.
H
owever o ne mus t not expec t the ABS
sys tem t~ sho rt en the brak ing dis ta nce in all co nditions. When driv ing on grave l or o n
fr esh snow cove ring a slipp ery surf ace, I.e. when one shou ld be driving very care fully In
a ny case, the s topping distance may even be slightly longer
How the ABS system works
A n automatic check is made when a speed
of approx. 7 km/h is reached,. When this
hap pens a pumping no ise can be heard. W
he n the tu
rning speed of a w heel reac hes a leve l which is too low fo r the ve hicle speed
and it ten ds to lock , the brake pre ssu re to
t his whee l is r educ ed. On the fron t axle the
b rake press ure is regulated fo r eac h wheel
ind iv idually, whereas on the rear axle, the
press ure is regulated fo r bo th wheels at the
sam e tim e. As a result the braking effect IS the same f or both rear w heels and the driv­ing stabi lity is reta ined as f a r as po~sible. This regulating process makes Itself known by movement .of the b~ake pedal and is accompanied by nOises. This is do ne deli berat ely as a warni ng to the
driver that a wheel or the wheels a re In th e
lock ing range So that the ABS can r egu la te
effec tively in th is range the brake peda l
must remai n depressed -on no account
should it be pumped l
Attention However the ABS system cannot overcome the physical limits. This must be borne in mind par­ticularly on slippery or wet roads. When the ABS com es into the control range the speed must immediately be adapted to the road and traffic conditions. The increased amount of safety avail­able must not tempt one into tak­ing risks.
If a def ect occurs o n the ASS It is indicated by a warni ng lamp -see page 49.
76

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine DRIVING TIPS
Trailer towing
The vehicle is intended main ly for the trans­
portation of persons and luggage but it can, with the appropriate technical equipment,
also be used to tow a trailer.
Technical requirements
• If the vehicle is suppl ied with a factory­fi tted towing bracket, all that is technically
a nd legally necessary for trailer towing wil l
have been taken into account.
• If the trailer to be towed
has a 7 pin plug, an adapte r cable can be used whi ch IS ob­
tained from a Volkswagen dealer.
• Volkswagen dealers have
all the necess­ary information on the In stallation of towing
brackets and the fitti ng of a heavy-duty cool­ing system. The installation should there­
f ore be done by them .
Operations instructions
• On the Golf saloon with a factory
fitted towing bracket* the removable ball
coupling will
be fitted. Fitting/remo ving in­
struc tions and instructions on correct stow­age of the ball coupling in the spare wheel
well can be found in a linen bag in the ve­
hicle luggage compartment.
•
On the Golf estate with a factory fitted
towing bracket* the remova ble ball coupl­
ing is stored inside the vehicle next to the
spare wheel, together w ith instructions on
fitting.
• Pitching movements between towing
vehicle
and trailer can be reduced by hea vy­
duty springs and shock absorbers on the
rear axle. If these springs and shock ab­sorbers have not alread y been fitted at the
factory, they can, in many cases, be service­
installed by a Volkswagen dealer.
• The permissible trailer weight -see
page 144 -m ust not
be exceeded on any ac­count.
• If the the trailer weight
is below the
permissible maximum, a correspondingly
steeper gradient
can be climbed. •
The given trailer weights
are only appli­
cable for altitudes up to 1000 m above sea level. As the engine output and thus the
climbing ability drops due to the decreasing
air density , the weight of vehic le and trailer
must also be reduced by 10 % for each
further 1000 m or part thereof.
• Where possible make full use of the
maximum permissible drawbar weight
on ball of the towing bracket -see page 144 ­
but do not exceed it.
• While observing the permissible trailer
and drawbar weight, distribute the load in the trailer so that heavy objects are as nea r as possible to the axle. The objects must
also be secured so that they cannot slip
about.
• Check the ty
re pressures on the towing
v ehicle, and adjust for full load conditions,
and also check the pressures on the trailer
• T he headlight settings, should
be checked w ith trailer attached before mov­
ing off and adjusted as necessary. On vehicles with headlight beam control it is on ly necessary to turn the knurled disc in dash in the appropriate directIOn .
77

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.
99