CAUTIONEnsure that battery acid does not come into contact with the bodywork – risk
of damage to the paintwork.
Note
■ We recommend having all work on the vehicle battery carried out by a spe-
cialist garage.■
You should replace batteries older than 5 years.
Checking the battery condition
Fig. 142
Vehicle battery: Electrolyte level
indicator
Read and observe and on page 126 first.
The battery condition is checked regularly by a specialist garage as part of the inspection service.
Check the acid level
For car batteries with acid level indicator, acidity can be checked on the basis
of a colour display. In vehicle batteries with the label “AGM” there is no acid
level examination.
Air bubbles can influence the colour of the indicator. For this reason carefully
tap on the indicator before carrying out the check » Fig. 142.
Black colour – electrolyte level is correct.
Colourless or light yellow colour – electrolyte level too low, the battery must
be replaced.
Battery discharge
If frequent short journeys are made, the vehicle battery does not recharge suf-
ficiently.
The battery capacity decreases at low temperatures.
If the vehicle is not used for longer than 3 to 4 weeks, then disconnect the
negative terminal of the battery or charge the battery constantly with a very
low charging current.
Charging
Read and observe
and on page 126 first.
Only charge the battery when the ignition and all consumers are switched off.Refer to the instructions of the charger manufacturer.
Charging
›
For vehicles withthe START-STOPsystem or auxiliary heater
, connect the -
terminal of the charger on the battery’s -pole,
the -terminal of the charg-
er to the ground point of the engine » page 140.
›
For vehicles
without the START-STOPsystem or auxiliary heating, connect
the charger terminals to the corresponding battery poles ( to
,
to
).
›
Plug the mains cable of the charger into the power socket and switch on the
device.
›
After charging has been successful: Switch off the charger and remove the
mains cable from the power socket.
›
Disconnect the terminals of the charger from the vehicle battery.
A charging current of 0.1 multiple of the total vehicle battery capacity (or low-
er) must be used until full charging is achieved.
WARNING■ When charging the vehicle battery, hydrogen is released - risk of explo-
sion. An explosion can be caused through sparking while unclamping or
loosening the cable plug.■
So-called“quick-charging” of the vehicle battery is dangerous and re-
quires a special charger and specialist knowledge. Therefore, “Quick load-
ing” must be carried out by a specialist garage.
Disconnect/reconnect and change
Read and observe
and on page 126 first.
The new vehicle battery must have the same capacity, voltage, current and
size as the original battery.
We recommend you have the battery replaced by a specialist garage.
127Inspecting and replenishing
