Checking and Filling
-If you get battery acid in your eyes or on
your skin, immediately rinse with cold wa
ter for several minutes and get medical at
tention .
- 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 nega-
tive cables.
- When working on the battery, be sure not to
short-circuit the terminals with tools or oth
er metal objects. This would cause the bat
tery to heat up very quickly, which could lead to damage or explosion and personal
injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces hy
drogen 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 cable.
- Before performing any work on the electri
cal system, switch off the engine and igni
tion as well as any electrical equipment. The negative cable 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 alarm system! Otherwise you
will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first dis
connect the negative cable and then the
positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make sure
all electrical consumers are switched off.
Reconnect the positive cable first and then
the negative cable. Never interchange the
cables - this 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 replaced. A discharged
battery 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.
214
- Never use batteries which are damaged .
There is the danger of an explosion! Always
replace a damaged battery.
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related acces
sories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and reproductive problems.
Wash hands after handling.
(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery when
the ignition is on or when the engine is run
ning, otherwise, you will damage electronic
components in the electrical system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a long
period of time without being driven, protect
the battery from "freezing", otherwise it
will be damaged and will then have to be re
placed .
- When opening the doors, the windows low
er approximately 10 mm automatically. This
function is not available when the battery is
disconnected, which means there is a risk
that the door seal or the window could be
damaged.
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged bat tery.
Fig . 188 En g in e compartment: con nectors fo r a charger
and jump start cab les
Emergency situations
General
This chapter is intended for trained emergency
crews and working personnel who have the nec
essary tools and equipment to perform these
ope rations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
(D Note
Veh icles with an automatic transmission can
not be started by pushing or towing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine can be started by con
necting it to the battery of another vehicle .
If the engine shou ld fail to start because of a dis
charged or weak battery, the battery can be con
nected to the battery of
another vehicle, using a
pair of jumpe r cables to start the engine.
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of suffic iently large cross
section
to carry the starter current safely. Refer
to the manufacturer's specifications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated term inal
clamps which are dis tinct ly marked :
plus(+) cable in most cases colored re d
minus( -) cable
in most cases colored blac k.
A WARNING
Batteries contain electricity, acid, and gas.
Any of these can cause very serious or fatal in
jury. Follow the instructions below for safe
handling of your vehicle's battery.
- Always shield your eyes and avo id leaning
over the battery whenever poss ible.
- A discharged battery can freeze at tempera
tures just below 32 °F (0 °C) . Before con
necting a jumper cable, you must thaw the
Emergency situations
frozen battery completely, otherwise it
could explode .
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes or
skin. Flush any contacted area with water immediately.
- Improper use of a booster battery to start a
vehicle may cause an exp losion.
- Vehicle batteries generate exp losive gases.
Keep sparks, flame and lighted cigarettes
away from batteries.
- Do not try to jump start any vehicle with a
low acid level in the battery .
- The vo ltage of the booster battery must also
have a 12-volt rating. The capacity (Ah) of
the booster battery should not be lower
than that of the discharged battery. Use of
batter ies of different voltage or substantial
ly different "Ah" rating may cause an exp lo
sion and personal injury .
- Never charge a frozen battery. Gas trapped
in the ice may cause an explosion.
- Never charge or use a battery that has been
frozen . The battery case may have be weak
ened .
- Use of batter ies of different voltage or sub
stantially different capacity (Ah) rating may
cause an exp losion and injury. The capac ity
(Ah) of the booster battery should not be
lowe r than that of the discharged battery.
- Before you check anything in the eng ine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
r::!)page 203.
(D Note
-Applying a higher voltage booster battery
will cause expensive damage to sensitive
electronic components, such as control
units, relays, radio, etc.
- Th ere must be no electrical contact between
the vehicles as otherwise current could al
ready start to flow as soon as the positive
(+) terminals are connected.
(D Tips
The discharged battery must be properly con-
nected to the vehicle's e lectrical system. ..,.
253
Emergency situations
When jump starting or charging the battery,
never connect the negative ground cable to
the battery negative post because the battery
manager system must be able to detect the
battery's state of charge. Always connect the
negative ground cable to the negat ive ground
post of the battery manager control unit .
Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper cable clamps in
exactly the order described below!
Fig. 212 Engine compartment: connectors for ju mp start
cab les a nd charger
® .--l @
Fig. 213 Ju mp start ing wit h the battery o f another vehicle:
@ -boos te r battery ,® -discharged vehicle battery
The procedure described below for connecting
jumper cables is intended to provide a jump start
for your vehicle.
Vehicle with discharged battery:
• Turn off lights and accessories , move lever of
automatic transmission to N (Neutral) or P
(Park) and set parking brake .
Connect POSITIVE(+) to POSITIVE(+) (red)
• Open the red cover on the positive term inal
~ fig . 212.
254
1. Connect one end of the red positive cable on
the
jump start bolt 9 fig. 213 @ (bolt under
the red cover= "positive") of the vehicle to be
started ®·
2. Connect the other end to the positive termi-
nal@ of the booster battery @.
Connect NEGATIVE (- ) to NEGATIVE (-)
(black)
3. Connect one end of the black negative cable
to the negative term inal @ of the booster
battery @.
4 . Connect the other end to the
jump start pin
@ (bolts with hex head bolt= "negat ive") of
the vehicle to be started ®·
Starting the engine
• Start the eng ine of the vehicle with the booster
battery @. Run the engine at a moderate
speed.
• Sta rt engine w ith discharged vehicle ba ttery @
in the usual manner.
• If the engine fails to start, do not keep the
starter cranking for longer than 10 seconds.
Wait for about 30 seconds and then try again.
• With engine running, remove jumper cables
from both vehicles in the exact
reverse order.
• Close the red cover on the positive terminal.
The battery is vented to the outside to prevent gases from entering the vehicle interior . Make
sure that the jumper clamps are well connected
with their metal parts in full contact with the battery terminals.
&_ WARNING
To avoid ser ious personal injury and damage
to the vehicle, heed all warnings and instruc
tions of the jumper cable manufacturer. If in
doubt, call for road service.
- Jumper cables must be long enough so that
the vehicles do not touch.
- When connecting jumper cables, make sure
that they cannot get caug ht in any moving
parts in the engine compartment.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
¢ page 203.