Checking and Filling
-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
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.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explos ion! A lways
rep lace a damaged battery .
A WARNING
California Propositio n 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and re lated acces
sories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cance r and rep roduct ive p roblems.
Wash hands after handling.
(D Note
- Do not d isconnect the vehicle battery when
the ig nitio n is switched on or when the en
g ine is r unning, o therwise, you w ill damage
electron ic compone nts in t he e lectr ica l sys
t em.
- If your vehicle is going to stan d for a long
period of t ime without be ing dr iven, p rotect
the b attery from "free zing", o therwise it
will be d am age d and will then h ave to be re
placed .
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged ba t
tery.
F ig . 2 5 1 Eng ine compartmen t: Co nnectors for charger and
jump er cables
314
Alway s read and heed all WARNINGS below
¢ A and c:> A in Working on the battery on
page 313.
.. Tur n off the ign ition and all ele ctrica l consum
ers .
.. Make sure the area is well ventilated when you
charge the battery .
.. Open the engine hood
c:> page 305 .
.. Open the cover on the positive pole c:> fig. 251 .
.. Connect the charger connectors according to
the instruct ions to the
jump start bolts. (Bo lts
unde r the cover= "positive", Bolts with hex
head= "n ega tive").
.. Onl y now plug the m ain s lead fo r the ch arging
equ ipment in to the wall o utlet and tu rn it on
¢ _A .
.. Make sure the charging rate is not over
30 amps /14.8 Volt.
.. When the battery is fully charged: Turn the
charging equipment off and remove the mains
lead from the wa ll out let .
.. Now remove the clamps for the c harg ing equip-
ment.
.. Close the cover on the posi tive pole.
.. Close the hood
¢ page 305.
A d ischa rged battery can freeze at temperat ures
of only 32 °F (0 °C). Allow a fro zen ba ttery to
thaw completely befo re a ttemp ting to ch arge it
¢ &. . However, we recommend not u sing a
thawed battery aga in beca use the ba tte ry casing
can be cracke d due to ice formation a nd 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
disconnected fir st. The batte ry caps should
not
be opened when charging a battery.
It is not necessary to remove the battery from
the luggage compartment .
Fast charging the battery (charging rate
above 14 .8 Volts)
For technica l reasons do not use a battery cha rg
er that uses voltage greater than 14.8 Vo lts to
c h arge your veh icle's battery.
Emergency situations
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
operations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
CD Note
Vehicles with an automatic transmission
cannot be started by pushing or towing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engin e con be started by con
necting it to the battery of another vehicle.
If the engine should 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 jumper cables to start the engine.
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently large cross
section
to carry the starter current safely. Refer
to the manufacturer's specifications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated terminal
clamps which are distinctly marked :
plus(+) cable in most cases colored red
minus(-) cable
in most cases colored black.
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 avoid leaning
over the battery whenever possible.
-A discharged battery can freeze at tempera
tures just below 32 °F (0 °C). Before con
necting a jumper cable, you must thaw the
356
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 explosion.
- Vehicle batteries generate explosive 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 voltage 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
batteries of different voltage or substantial
ly different "Ah" rating may cause an explo
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 batteries of different voltage or sub
stantially different capacity (Ah) rating may
cause an explosion and injury. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery should not be
lower than that of the discharged battery.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
~page 304.
CD Note
-Applying a higher voltage booster battery
will cause expensive damage to sensitive
electronic components, such as control
units, relays, radio, etc.
- There 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.
@ Tips
The discharged battery must be properly con-
nected to the vehicle's electrical system. .,..
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 .
Using the jump start
cable
Both jump start cables must be connected in the
correct order!
Fig. 274 Engine co mpa rtment: connecto rs for jump start
cables and a charger
@
Fig. 275 Ju mp sta rting us ing a battery in another vehicle:
@ -providing cu rre nt, @ - drained
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 automatic
transmission lever to N (Neutral) or P (Park)
and set parking brake .
Emergency situations
Connecting the positive cable (red) to the
po sitive terminal
.. Open the red cover on the positive terminal
r=>fig.274 .
1. Secure one end of the positive cable (red) to
the jump start pin
r=> fig. 275 (D (pin under
the red cover = "posit ive") on the vehicle that
needs to be started @.
2. Secure the other end of the pos itive cable
(red) to the positive termina l@ on the bat
tery provid ing the current @.
Connecting the negative cable (black) to the
negative terminal
3. Secure one end of the black negat ive cab le to
the negative terminal @on the battery that
i s p roviding the current@.
4. Secure the other end of the negative cable
(black) to the jump start pin@ (hex head pin
= "negative") on the vehicle that needs to be
started @.
Starting the engine
.. Start the engine on the vehicle providing the
jump start @and let it run at idle .
.. Now start the engine on the vehicle with the
drained battery @ .
.. If the engine does not start, stop the starting
procedure after 10 seconds and then repeat it
after approx imately 30 seconds .
.. Remove the cables when the engines are run
ning. Remove them in reverse order from the
way they were installed.
.. Close the red cover on the positive terminal.
T he battery is vented to the outside to prevent
gases from enter ing the vehicle interior . Make
s ur e that the jumper clamps are well connected
with their
metal ports in full contact with the
battery terminals.
_& WARNING
-To avoid serious 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 . ..,_
357