2013 AUDI A6 charging

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 17
If the engine coolant level is correct, then the
radiator fan may be the cause of the malf unc­
tion .
• Coola nt te mpera tur e too high! Plea se let
e n gi ne r un with veh icle st atio nar y
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears in trailer mode*, let the engine
r u n at id le for a few m inutes to cool down.
A WARNING ,_________
- If your vehicle should break down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn off the engine and turn on the ha zard
warning lights
q page 42, Emergency
flasher.
- Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant escap ing from the en­
gine compartment -you risk being scald ­
ed . Wait until you can no longer see or
hear steam or coo la nt escaping.
- The engine compartment of any veh icle
is a dangerous area . Before you perform
any work in the engine compartment,
t ur n of the eng ine and allow it to cool.
Follow the warning sticke rs
q page 219,
Engine compartment .
(D Note
Do not continue driving if the. symbol
illuminates . There is a ma lf u nct ion in the
eng ine cooling system -you co uld damage
your engine.
0 Battery
This warning/indicator light detects a mal­
function in the generator or in the vehicle's
electrical system .
The. warning/ind icator light illuminates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the engine has started .
• Alternator fault : Batt ery i s not being
c h arg ed
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
generator or veh icle electrical system .
Drive to your authorized A udi dealer or quali­
fied workshop immediate ly . Because the vehi ­
cle batt ery is discharging , turn off all unnec­
essary electrical equipment such as the rad io.
Seek professiona l assistance if the ba ttery
charge level is too low.
(•) Low b atte ry : b atte ry will be cha rged
w hil e driv ing
If the indica tor ligh t turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there may be limited starting
ab ility .
If this message t urns off afte r a lit tle while,
the battery charged enough while driving.
If the message does not turn off, have your
autho rized Aud i dea ler o r qualified workshop
cor rect the ma lfu nction .
,{,_ Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to
put on your safety belt.
The . warn ing/ indicator light illum inates
when the ignition is switched on to remind
the d river and any front passenger to put on
the safety be lt. Addit ionally, an aco ustic warn­
i ng (gong) wi ll also so und .
For more Informat io n
q page 136, ~ Safety
belt warning light.
't::7: Engine oil pressure malfunction
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair. Driving
with a low-oil-pressure indication is likely to
inflict severe damage to the engine .
• Switch off engine and ch eck o il leve l
If the indicator light tu rn s on and the mes­
sage appears, the oi l pressure is too low .
.. Pull off the road .
.. Stop the vehicle .
.. Turn off the engine.

fuel container in your vehicle. The con­
tainer, full or empty may leak and co uld
cause a fire, especially in a crash.
- If, under exceptional circumstances, yo u
must transport a portable fuel container,
please observe the following:
- Never fi ll a po rtable fue l container
while it is anywhe re in or on the vehicle
(for examp le, in the luggage compar t­
ment, or on the tr unk). Static electric i­
ty can bui ld up while fi lling and can ig­
n ite fue l vapors causing a fire .
- Always p lace a portable fuel container
on the gro und before filling.
- Always keep the fi ller nozzle comp lete­
ly inside the po rtable conta iner before
and during filling.
- If filling a portable container made of
metal, the filler nozz le must always be
i n contact with the container. Th is w ill
he lp prevent static electricity from dis­
charging and cause a fi re .
- Never sp ill fuel inside the vehicle or
luggage compartment. Fue l vapors are
h ighly f lammable .
- Always observe local and state/provin­
cial laws regard ing the use, storage
and tra nsporta tion of fuel co ntainers .
- Make certai n the fuel container meets
industry standards (ANSI/ ASTM
F 8 52 -86) .
(D Note
If any f uel has spilled onto t he car, it
should be removed immediate ly to prevent
damage to the paint.
~ For the sake of the environment
As soon as the correctly operated nozzle sw itches off automatically fo r the fi rst
time, the tank is full. Do not try to add more fue l because fue l may spill out . In
add it io n, th e expans io n sp ace in the fuel
t ank will be fi lled -cau sin g the fue l to
over flow whe n it be come s w arm a nd pol ­
lu te the env iro nment.
Fu el suppl y and filli ng your fuel t ank 223
@ Tips
- Ru nning your eng ine whi le refue lli ng
may cause vapors to escape or even
cause fuel to sp ill out of the tank. T his
would then shut off the fuel nozzle be­
f o re the ta nk is f ull.
- Do not refuel you r vehicle with the ign i­
tion switched on. The fuel gauge may
ot herwise not i nd icate the correct fue l
lev el after r ef u ell ing .
- The fue l filler flap of yo ur vehicle is not
locked when you lock t he ve hicle from
t he insid e.
Fuel filler flap emergency release
You can open the fuel filler flap by hand if the
power locking system should fail .
Fig. 180 Lug gage compa rtm ent: ope ning th e side trim
Fig . 181 Right s ide tri m pane l in th e luggage com part ·
m ent : eme rge ncy re lease mechan is m
Opening the side trim
.. To remove the right side t rim, first remove
the retainer from the mounts
¢ fig. 180.
.. Turn bot h lock ing mechan isms 90° to the
left using a coin or a s imilar object and re-
move the locking mechanisms .
IIJ,,

-Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because acid
could leak out of the ventilation open­
ings .
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and get
medical attention.
- If you should ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks or an open light .
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and neg-
ative cables .
- When working on the battery, be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects. This would cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion
and personal injury .
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury .
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children .
- Before work is done on the electrical sys­
tem, disconnect the negative ground ca­
ble.
- Before performing any work on the elec­ trical system, switch off the engine and
ignition as well as any electrical equip­
ment. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected.
If you are just go­
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery , switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other­
wise you will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first
disconnect the negative cable and then
the positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make
sure all electrical consumers are switch­
ed off. Reconnect the positive cable first
and then the negative cable. Never inter­
change the cables - this could start a fire!
Checking and filling 237
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery . It could explode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced. A dis­
charged battery can freeze over at 32 °F
(0 oc).
-Make sure the vent hose is always attach­
ed to the opening on the side of the bat­
tery .
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al ­
ways replace a damaged battery .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­
cessories contain lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive problems . Wash hands after han­
dling .
(D Note
-Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is on or when the en­
gine is running, otherwise, you will dam­
age electronic components in the electri­
cal system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
long period of time without being driven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth­
erwise it will be damaged and will then
have to be replaced.
Battery charging
Start ing the engine requires a well charged
battery.
Fig . 189 Eng in e compart ment : co nnecto rs for a charg ·
e r and jump st art cable s
1111>

238 Check ing and filling
Al ways read and h eed all WARNING S below
¢ A and ¢ A in Working on the bottery on
page 236.
.,. Switch off the ignit ion and all electrical con­
sumers .
.,. Make sure the area is well venti lated when
yo u charge the battery.
.,. Open the engine hood
¢page 225.
.,. Open the red cover on the posit ive pole
¢ fig . 189 .
.,. Connect the charger connectors accord ing
to the instruct ions to the
jump start bol ts.
(Bolts under the red cover= "positive", Bolts
with hex head= "negative") .
.,. Only now plug the mains lead for the charg­
ing equipment into the wall outlet and turn
it on ¢.&_ .
.,. Ma ke s ure the charging ra te i s n ot o ver
30 amp s/14. 8 Volt.
.,. When the battery is fully charged: Turn the
charging equ ipment off and remove the
mains lead from the wall outlet .
.,. Now remove the clamps for the charging
equipment.
.,. Close the red cove r o n the pos it ive pole.
.,. Close the hood
¢ page 226.
A discharged batte ry can fre eze at tempera­
tures of on ly 32 F
0 (0 °C). A llow a frozen bat­
tery to thaw completely befo re attempt ing to
charge it¢
A . Howeve r, we recommend not
using a thawed battery again because the bat­
tery cas ing can be cracked d ue to ice forma­
tion and can leak battery acid.
Batt ery charging (Ma ximum charging rate
of 30 amp s/14 .8 Volt)
When charging at low voltages (e.g . w ith a
tr ickle ch arger ), the battery cables do not
have to be d isconnected first. The battery
caps should
not be opened when charging a
battery .
It is not necessary to remove the battery from
the luggage compartment, and it is also not
necessary to disconnect the cables .
Fast charging the battery (ch arging rate
a bo ve 14 .8 V olts)
For technical reasons do not use a battery
charger that uses voltage greater than 14.8
Volts to charge your vehicle's battery.
A WARNING
--Charging a battery can be dangerous .
-Always follow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charger manu­
facturer when charg ing your battery .
- Never charge a frozen battery. It may ex­
plode because of gas trapped in the ice.
Allow a frozen battery to thaw out f irst .
- Do not reuse batteries wh ich were fro­
zen. The battery housing may have
cracked and weakened when the battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated area. Keep away from open flame or elec­
tr ica l spark. Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas
generated by the battery is explos ive .
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or d isconnect charger cab les
while the charger is ope rat ing .
- Fast charging a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe­
tent techn ic ian wi th the proper equip­
ment .
- Battery acid that may sp ill dur ing cha rg­
ing should be washe d off wi th a solut ion
of wa rm water and baking soda to neu ­
tralize the ac id.
(D Note
Neve r use a fast charger as a booster to
start the eng ine. Th is w ill seriously dam­
age sensit ive e lectronic components, such
as contro l units, re lays, radio, etc., as well
as the battery charger.