(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is sw itched on or when
the engine is running, otherwise, you will
damage electronic components in the
electrica l 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
Starting the engine requires a well charged
batt ery.
Fig. 18 7 Engine comp ar tm ent: Connecto rs for charger
and jumper cables
Always read and heed all WARNINGS be low
c::, &. and c::, &. in Working on the battery on
page
226 .
.,. Turn off the ignit ion and all electrical con-
sumer s .
.,. Make sure the area is well vent ilated when
you charge the bat t ery .
.,. Open the engi ne hood
c::, page 214 .
.,. Open t he cove r on t he posit ive pole
¢ fig. 187 .
.,. Connect the charger connectors according to
the instructions to the
jump start bolts.
(Bolts under the 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
c::,&_.
.,. Make sure the charging rate is not over
30 amps/14 .8 Volt .
Checkin g and fillin g 22 7
.,. When the bat t ery is fully cha rged : Turn t he
charging equ ipment off and
remove the
mains lead from the wa ll out let .
.,. Now remove the clamps for the charging
equ ipment.
.,. Close the cover on the positive pole .
.,. Close the hood
c::,page 214.
A d ischarged battery can freeze at tempera-
tures of only 32 °F (0 °C). Allow a frozen bat-
tery to thaw completely before attempting to
cha rge it
c::, .&.. However, we recommend not
using a thawed batte ry aga in beca use the bat-
te ry casing can be cracked due to ice fo rma-
tion and can leak battery a cid.
Battery charging (Maximum charging rate
of 30 amps/14.8 Volt )
When charg ing at low voltages (e.g. wit h a
t rickle charger), t he bat te ry cables d o not
have to be disco nne cte d f irst. The bat t ery
caps should
not be opened when charg ing a
batte ry.
It is not necessa ry t o remove the battery from
the luggage compartmen t .
Fast charging the battery (charging rate
above 14 .8 Volts)
For tec hnical rea sons do not use a bat t ery
charger that uses voltage g reater than
14 .8
Volts to charge your veh icle's battery.
A WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangero us.
-A lways follow t he operati ng instr uctions
provided by the battery charger manu -
facturer when charging your battery .
- Never charge a fro zen 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 venti lated
area . Keep away from open flame or elec-
trical spark. Do not smoke . Hydrogen gas
generated by t he battery is explos ive. ..,