2016 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET battery

Intelligent Technology
With the engine running
A lthough electrical energy is generated whi le
driving, the battery can drain . This can happen
when little energy is generated, and much is used
and the charge leve l of the battery is not optima l.
To restore the balance o f energy, components
that requ ire large amounts o f energy are tempo ­
rari ly scaled back o r switched off . Heating sys­
tems in particu lar require a great deal of energy.
If you notice, for example, that the seat heating*
or rear window defroster is not working, then it has bee n temporarily reduced or switched off.
These systems are available again as soon as the
energy supp ly has been restored.
In addition, you may notice that the idle speed
has slightly increased. T hat is norma l and no
cause for concern. Due to the increased idling
speed, the add itiona l requ ired e ne rgy w ill be
generated and the battery w ill be cha rged.
Notice about data recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and vehicle control modules
E vent Data Recorder
This vehicle is equipped wi th an Event Da ta Re ­
corde r (EDR) . The main purpose of an EDR is to
record, in certain crash o r near crash-like situa­
tions, such as an a irbag deployment or h itting a
road obstacle, data that will assist in understand­
ing how a veh icle's systems performed . The EDR
is designed to record data related to veh icle dy­
namics and safe ty systems for a sho rt pe riod of
time, typically 30 seconds or less. The EDR in this
veh icle is designed to reco rd s uch data as:
- How various systems in your vehicle were oper­
at ing;
- Whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts we re buckled/fastened;
- How far ( if at all) the driver was depress ing the
acce lerator and/or brake peda l; and,
- How fast the ve hicle was trave ling.
These data can help provide a better understand­ ing of the circ umstances in which crashes and in ­
juries occur. NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your veh icle only if a non-trivia l crash situat ion occurs;
no data are recorded by the EDR under norma l
122
driving cond itions and no personal data (e .g .,
name, gender, age, and crash location) are re­
corded. However, other parties, such as law en­
fo rcement, co uld comb ine the EDR data with the
type of persona lly identifying data rout inely ac­
quired du ring a crash investigation .
To read data recorded by an EDR, spec ial eq uip­
ment is required, and access to the vehicle or the
EDR is needed. In addition to the ve hicle manu­
facturer, other part ies, such as law enforcement,
t h at have the spec ial eq uipment, can read the in­
fo rmat io n if they have access to the vehicle or the
EDR .
Some state laws restrict the retrieval or down­
l oad ing of data stored by ED Rs ins talled in a ve hi­
cle for the exp ress p urpose of ret riev ing data af­
te r an accident or c rash event withou t the own­
e r's consent.
Audi will not access the EDR and/or simi la r data
or g ive i t to others -
- unless the ve hicle owner (or lessee if the vehi­
cle has been leased) agrees; o r
- upon the offic ial request by the police; or
- upon the order of a court o f law or a govern -
ment agency; or
- for the defense of a lawsuit thro ugh the judicia l
discovery process.
- Audi may a lso use the data for research about
veh icle operation and safety perfo rmance or
prov ide the data to a third party for research
purposes without identify ing the specific vehi­
cle or information about the ident ity of its own­
er or lessee and only afte r the recorded vehicle
data has been accessed.
Vehicle control modules
You r vehicle is also eq uipped with a number of
electronic control modules for various vehicle
systems, such as e ngine management, em iss ion
contro l, airbags, and safety be lts.
These elect ronic contro l modules record data
dur ing norma l vehicle operation that may be
needed by trained techn ic ians for d iagnost ic and
r epa ir purposes. The recording capab ility of these
modules is lim ited to data (no sound is record­
ed). Only a sma ll am ount of data is actually

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must be performe d by qualified workshops
only. Make sure that any airbag service ac­
tion is entered in your Audi Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet under AIRBAG RE­
PLACEMENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
alternator and starter are separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechn ic circuit
interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circ uit interrupt­
er must only be performed by a qualified
technicians who have the experience, in­
formation and special tools necessary to
perform the work safely.
- If the veh icle or the c ircuit interrupter is
scrapped, all app licable safety precautions
must be followed .
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al - special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­
rate. When the veh icle or parts of the re­
strai nt system including airbag modules and
safety bel ts wit h pretensione rs are scrapped,
all a ppli cable laws and regulations mus t be
observed. Your a uthorized Audi dealer is fa­
m iliar with these requirements and we recom ­
mend that you have your dealer perform this
service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that t he Advanced Airbag System
pe rforms in a crash. For examp le, using tire-r im
comb inat ions no t approved by Audi, lowering the
ve hicle, changing the s tiffness of the suspens ion,
includ ing the springs, suspension struts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
e lectronic contro l unit . Some suspens ion changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not dep loy if
the changes had no t been made. Other kinds of
Airb ag sys tem
changes may red uce the force levels measured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy­
i ng when it sho uld.
A WARNING
=
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced Airbag performance a nd in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that do not have the same performance charac­
ter istics as the components origina lly instal­
led on you r vehi cle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that have
not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to: vehicles wi th knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig. 14 1 Driver 's k nee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
underneath the s teer ing whee l
~fig. 141, the
airbag fo r the passenger is at abou t the same
heig ht in the i nstr ume nt p ane l underneath the
glove compa rtment.
The knee airbag offers add itiona l protection to
t h e d river's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
l ower thigh areas a nd supplements the p rotec­
t ion prov ided by the safety bel ts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee a irbags also
deploy in frontal coll is ions when the deploymen t
Iii--
159

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-Keep children away from the engine com­
partment.
- Never spill fluids on a hot engine. These flu­
ids (such as the freeze protection contained
in the coolant) can catch fire .
- Avoid short circuits in the e lectrical system,
especially the battery.
- When working in the engine compartment,
remember that the radiator fan can switch
on even if the ignition is switched off, which
increases the risk of personal injury.
- Never open the cap on the coolant expan­
sion tank when the engine is warm. The
cooling system is under pressure.
- To protect your face, hands, and arms from
hot steam or coolant, cover the cap with a
large cloth when opening.
- Do not remove the engine cover under any
circumstances . This increases the risk of
burns.
- If tests need to be performed w ith the en­
gine running, there is additional danger due
to moving components (such as the ribbed
belt, alternator and radiator fan) and from
t he high vo ltage ig nition system.
- Never reach into the radiator fan . The e lec­
t ric a uxiliary fan is cont rolled by tempera­
t ur e and can switch on sudde nly.
- Pay atte ntion to the fo llow ing warnings list­
ed when wo rk on the fuel system or on t he
ele ct rical eq uipment is requ ired.
- Always d isconnect the ve hicle battery
from the vehicle electrical system
- Do not smoke
- Never work near open flames
- Always have a working fire ex tinguisher
nearby
- T o red uce the risk of e lec tric shoc k and in­
jury, neve r touch the followi ng components
when the eng ine is r unning or is being star t­
ed :
- Ignition cable
- Other components in the electronic high
voltage ignition system
- If you must check or perform work on the
engine while it is runn ing:
Ch eck ing and Filling
-Set the parking brake and place the selec­
tor lever in the P (park) posit ion first.
- Always proceed with extreme caution so
that clothing, jewelry or long hair do not become caught in the radiator fan, fan
belt or other moving components or do
not come into con tact with ho t compo­
nen ts . Tie bac k long hair befo re beginn ing
work and do not wea r clothing that can
hang down into t he engine.
- Lim it yo ur exposure to exhaust and chemi­
cals to as short a time as possible
~ .&. .
&_ WARNING
Ca lifo rnia Proposition 65 Warning:
- E ngine exhaust, some of its const ituents,
and certa in vehicle components conta in or
emit chemi cals know n to the State of Cali ­
forni a to ca use cance r and birth defects and
reproductive harm. In add ition, cert ain flu ­
ids contained in vehicles and certain prod­
ucts of component wea r contain or em it
chemicals known to the State o f Californ ia
to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm .
- Battery posts, term inals and related acces­
sories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals know n to the State of Californ ia
to cause cancer and reproductive harms .
Wash hands afte r handling .
(D Note
When filling fluids, be sure not to m ix the f lu­
i ds up. Otherwise severe malfunctions and en­
gine damage will occur .
@) For the sake of the environment
You should regularly check the ground under
your vehicle i n order to detect leaks quic kly. If
the re are visible spots from o il or other fluids,
bring your veh icle to an authorized Audi deal­
er o r autho rize d Aud i Serv ice Facility to be
chec ke d .
189

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Checking and Filling
Gasoline engine compartment overview
The most important check points .
Fig. 161 Typical location of the rese rvoir , engine oil dipst ick, and engine oil filler opening
(D Coolant expansion tank (-L) .....
@
®
©
®
©
(J)
®
Engine oil dipstick ............ .
Engine oil filling opening
('er.) . .
Brake fluid reservoir (0))
Battery(+) under a cover
Body ground point(-)
Washer fluid reservoir
(O) ..... .
Fuse housing . .... .... ....... .
195
193
193
197
199
202
240
The engine oil filler opening and the dipstick
(items ® and @)
¢ fig. 161 may be located in a
different area depending on engine version.
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS before check­
ing anything in the engine compartment
¢page 188.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used must conform to exact speci­
fications.
The service interval d isplay in the instrument
cluster of your vehicle will inform you when it is
time for an oil change. We recommend that you
have your oil changed by an authorized Audi Serv­
ice Advisor.
If you have to top off the oil between oil changes,
us e the Audi oil quality standard specified in the
tab~ .
~
191

Check ing and F illing
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal of
brake fluid as we ll as the special tools re­
quired and the necessary expertise, we rec­
ommend that you have the b rake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer .
Battery ( 12 V)
General information
All work on the battery requires expert knowl­
edge .
Read and follow the WARNINGS
before check­
i n g a nyth ing in the engine compartment
c::> page 188, Working in the engine compart­
ment.
The batte ry in you r Aud i does not need any main­
tena nce unde r
normal operating cond itions. A udi
re commends hav ing the e lectro lyte level check
by an au thor ized A udi dealer or au thori ze d Audi
Serv ice Facility when there a re
high outs ide tem ­
peratures or when driving a ll day. The elect rolyte
level sho uld a lso be checked each time the bat­
tery is charged
c::> page 200.
Have the battery checked when you bring your ve ­
hicle in for an inspection. It is a good idea to re­
p lace the battery if it is more than 5 years old .
T he batte ry is located in the eng ine compar tment
and is practically
maintenance-free .
Disconnecting the battery terminals
The battery shou ld not be d isconnected. Severa l
veh icle functions (power w indows, for example)
w ill be lost w hen the b attery is disconne cted. The
f u nctions mus t be reprog rammed after connect­
in g the battery. To avo id th is, the battery shou ld
only be disconn ecte d from the vehicle e lectrica l
system when it is abso lutely necessary.
T o reprogram the func tions, proceed as follows:
198
Function Reprogramming
Power window one-c::> page 35, Correcting
touch up/down func-power window malfunc-
tion tions
Remote control key o r If the vehicle does no t
Convenience key react to the key, it must
be synchronized
c::> page29
Dig ita l cl ock c::>page 10
ESC indicator light The ind icator light goes
o ut after driving a few
meters
Not running the vehicle for long period s of
time
If you do not drive your vehicle for severa l days o r
weeks, electrical components are gradually re­ d u ced or switched off . This reduces energy con­
s u mp tion and mai ntain s the vehicle's ability to
st art over a long perio d of time
c::> page 1 21.
Some conven ien ce f unctions, such as inter ior
li ght ing o r power seats* may not wor k. T hese
convenience functions will be availab le aga in
once you sw itch the ignition on and start the en­
gine.
Winter operation
D ur ing the winte r mon ths, it is common for the
batte ry capac ity to decrease as the temperatures
become lower . This is because more power is
needed to start the vehicle and components such
as the headlights and the rear window defogger
a re used more freque ntly .
Avoid using power unnecessa rily, espec ia lly in
c ity dr iving o r on short t rips. Have your author­
i z ed Audi dealer or author iz ed Audi Se rvice Facili­
ty check the battery capacity be fore the start of
winter
c::> page 200 . A well -cha rged battery will
not only reduce sta rting prob lems in cold wea th­
e r, bu t it will a lso l ast longer.
.&_ WARNING
- W ork on the b attery requires e xper t knowl­
e d ge. Con tact an a uthor ized Audi dealer or
author ized Audi Se rvice Facility for info rma ­
tion rega rding the vehicle batte ry. There is a
-
ris k for chemical burns or e xplosions . ..,.

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-Never open the vehicle battery. Do not try to
change the battery electro lyte level. Other­
wise explosive gas will escape from the bat­
tery and increase the r isk of an explos ion .
(D Tips
If your vehicle is not driven for several weeks
in very cold temperatures, remove the battery
and store it in a place where it will not freeze.
This prevents the battery from being dam­
aged and needing to be replaced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery .
The battery (12 V) is located in the engine com­
partment.
Always heed the
safety warnings, when working
on the vehicle battery or the vehicle electrical
system to prevent injury.
The following WARNINGS are very important
when working on the battery:
Always heed the following WARNING SYM-
BOLS and safety precautions when working on
the battery.
®
Always wear eye protection.
&
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid. Al-
ways wear gloves and eye protection.
@
No
- sparks
- flames
- smoking.
A
When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
.
could cause personal injury .
®
Always keep the battery well out of
reach of children.
A WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on the
electrical system, there is the risk of injury,
-
Checking and Filling
accident and even fire . Read and heed the fol­
low ing WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let bat­
tery acid or any lead particles get on your
skin or clothing. Shield your eyes. Explosive
gases can cause blindness or other injury.
- Battery acid contains sulfur ic acid. Sulfuric
acid can cause blindness and severe burns.
- Always wea r gloves and eye protection. Do
not tilt the battery because acid could lea k
out of the ventilation openings.
- If you get battery acid in yo ur eyes or on
you r skin, immed iate ly r inse with cold wa­
ter for severa l min utes and get medical at­
tent ion .
- If you shou ld ingest any battery acid, seek
medica l attention immediate ly.
- Do not expose the battery to an open flame,
electric sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and nega-
tive cables.
- When working on the battery, be sure not to
short-circuit the termina ls with tools or oth­
er metal objects. This would cause the bat­
tery to heat up very quickly, which could
lead to damage or exp losion and personal
inj ury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces hy­
drogen gas which is explosive and could
cause persona l injury.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
- Before work is done on the e lectrical sys­
tem, disconnect the negative ground cable.
- Before performing any work on the electri­
cal system, switch off the engine and igni­
tion as well as any electrical equipment. The
negat ive cab le on the battery must be dis­
connected. If you are just going to replace a
light bulb, then it is enough to switch off
the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch off
the anti-theft a larm system! Otherwise you
will set off the alarm .
- When disconnecting the battery, first dis­
connect the negat ive cable and then the
positive cable.
199

Checking and Filling
-Before reconnecting the battery, make sure
all electrical consumers are switched off.
Reconnect the posit ive cab le first and then
the negative cable. Never interchange the cables -th is could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out bat­
tery. It could explode! If a battery has fro­
zen, then it must be rep laced . A discharged
batte ry can freeze over at 32 °F (0 °C).
- Make sure the vent hose is always attached
to the opening on the side of the battery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
The re is the danger of an explos ion! Always
r e place a damaged batte ry .
A WARNING
California Proposit ion 65 Wa rning:
- Battery posts, termina ls and re lated acces­
sories contai n lead and lead compounds,
c hem icals known to the State of Califo rnia
to ca use c ancer and rep rodu ctive p roblems.
Wash hands after h andling.
(D Note
- Do no t disconnect the veh icle bat tery when
the ig nition is o n or when the engine is run­
n ing, othe rw ise, you will damage elec tronic
componen ts in the ele ct ric al sys tem.
- If you r vehicle is goi ng to stand for a l ong
period of time wi thout be ing driven, p rotect
the battery from "freezing", otherwise it
will be damaged and will then have to be re­ placed .
200
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged bat­
tery .
Fig. 166 Eng ine compartment: connectors for a c harge r
a n d jum p start cab les
Alway s re ad and h eed a ll WARN IN GS below
c:> ,& and c:> .& in Working on the battery on
page 199 .
.,. Switch off the ignit ion and all electrical con­
sumers .
.,. Make sure the area is we ll ventilated when you
charge the battery .
.,. Open the eng ine hood
i=!.) page 190 .
.,. Open the red cover on the pos itive pole
i=!,) fig. 166.
.,. Clamp the charger terminal clamps as instruct­
ed on the
battery terminal (+ ) and only on the
body ground point (· ).
.,. On ly now plug the mains lead for the charging
equipment into the wall outlet and turn it on
i=!,) ,& .
.,. M ake sure th e charg ing rate i s not o ver
30 amp s/ 14.8 V olt .
.,. When the bat tery is fully charged : Turn the
charging equipment off and remove the mains
lead from the wall outlet .
.,. Now remove the clamps for the charging equip -
ment .
.,. Close the red cover on the positive pole .
.,. Close the hood
q page 190.
A discharged battery can freeze at temperatures
of only 32 F
0 (0 °C). Allow a frozen battery to
thaw completely before attempting to charge it
c:> .&.. However, we recommend not using a
thawed battery aga in because the battery casing .,..

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can be cracked due to ice format ion and can leak
battery acid.
Battery charging (Maximum charging rate of
30 amps/ 14.8 Volt)
When charging at
low voltages (e.g. with a trick­
le charger), 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 nec­
essary to disconnect the cables.
Fast charging the battery (charging rate
above 14.8 Volts)
F or technical reasons do not use a battery charg­
er 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 manufactur­
er when charging your battery.
-Never charge a frozen battery. It may ex­
plode because of gas trapped in the ice. Al­
low a frozen battery to thaw out first.
- Do not reuse batteries which were frozen.
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 electrical
spark. Do not smoke . Hydrogen gas generat­
ed by the battery is exp losive.
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or disconnect charger cables wh ile
the charger is operat ing.
- Fast charging a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a competent
technician with the proper equipment.
- Battery acid that may spill during charging
should be washed off with a solution of
warm water and baking soda to neutralize
the acid.
Checking and Filling
(D Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to start
the engine. This will seriously damage sensi­
tive electronic components, such as control units, relays, radio, etc., as well as the battery
charger.
Battery replacement
The new battery must hove the some specifica­
tions and dimensions as the original equipment
battery.
Intelligent energy management in your vehicle is
responsible for distribut ing the e lectrical energy
throughout your vehicle
c;, page 121 . The intelli ­
gent energy management system will keep the
engine battery charged better than vehicles with­
out this system. To make sure the additional
electrical energy is available once again after you
have changed the battery, we recommend that
you install batteries of the same type and manu­
facture only (the same as those installed at the
t ime your vehicle was delivered). Specifications
are listed on the battery housing . Your author­
ized dealer must code the battery in the energy
management system to enable you to use the en­
ergy management functions correctly after re­
plac ing the battery.
The new battery must have the same capacity,
voltage (12-volts), amperage, construction and plug seal ing.
When install ing the battery, make sure the ign i­
t ion and all electr ical consumers are switched
off .
(D Note
Make sure the venti lation hose on the s ide of
the battery is connected, otherwise fumes or battery acid can leak out .
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper d isposal of
a battery, we recommend your authorized
Audi dealer change the battery for you. Bat­
teries contain sulfur ic acid and lead and must
always be disposed of properly in compliance .,.
201