check engine AUDI A4 2015 Owner's Guide

222 Check ing and filling
@ For the sake of the environment
Becau se of the pr oblem of proper disposa l
of brake flu id as we ll as the special tools
requ ired and the necessary expert ise, we
recommend that you have the brake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer.
Battery
General information
Unde r normal operating conditions, the bat ­
tery in your Audi does not need any mainte ­
nance. With
high outside temperatures or
long daily dr ives we recommend that you have
the electro lyte level checked by an authorized
Aud i dea ler o r qualified workshop . The elec­
trolyte leve l sho uld a lso be checked each t ime
the battery is charged ¢
page 224.
Have the battery checked when you take your
ve hicle in for service . Yo u are well adv ised to
replace a bat tery that is older tha n 5 yea rs .
W ith certa in types of a irbag deployment, t he
battery is d isconnected from the vehicle elec­
tr ica l system fo r safety reasons ¢
& in Re­
pair, core and disposal of the airbags on
page 157.
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some veh icle functions (power w indow regu­
lato rs, for example) are lost if the battery ter­
m inals a re discon nected. These functions have
to be re lea rned after the batte ry terminals a re
connec ted agai n. T o prevent this, the battery
should o nly be d isconnec ted from the vehicle
e lec trica l syste m when absolu tely necess ary
for repairs.
Vehicles not driven for long periods
I f yo u do not drive you r vehicle over a pe riod
of severa l days or weeks, elec trical co m po­
nen ts are gr adually cu t back o r swi tched off .
T his reduces energy consumption and main­
tains sta rting capab ility over a lon ger period
¢ page 191.
Some o f the conven ien ce f unct ions m ay no t
ope rate, su ch as the in ter ior lights o r the power seat adjus
tment. The convenience
funct ions wi ll be available again when yo u
tu rn on the ignition and sta rt t he engine.
Winter operation
Du ring the w inte r mon ths , b att ery capac ity
tends to dec rease as temperatures drop . This
is beca use more power is a lso consumed w hile
starting, and the headlights, rear win dow de­
f ogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessa ry powe r consumpt ion, pa r­
ticu lar ly in ci ty traffic o r when traveling only
sho rt distances . Let yo ur autho rized A udi
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat ­
tery before w inter sets in ¢
page 224. A well
charged battery will not on ly prevent starting
problems when the weather is cold, but will
also last longer .
@ Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery s hou ld be removed and
s tored w her e it w ill not freeze. This will
preve nt i t fr om be ing d amaged and having
t o be repla ced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compar t­
ment under the floor . Befo re you che ck any­
t hi ng in the luggage co mpartment,
read and
heed all WARNINGS
¢ .&, .
Always heed the safety warnings , when work­
i ng on the veh icle ba tte ry or the vehicle e le c­
t ric al sys tem to p reven t inju ry.
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 .

224 Checking and filling
(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is switched on or when
the engine is running, otherwise, you will
damage e lectronic components i n the
electrical system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
long period of time without being driven,
protect t he battery from "freezing", oth­
e rwise it w ill be damaged and w ill then
have t o be repla ced.
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged
batt ery.
Fig. 187 Eng ine compartment: Connectors for charger
a nd jumper cables
Always read and heed all WARNINGS below
c::> & and c::> & in Working on the battery on
page 223 .
•Turnoff th e ignit ion and all electrical con­
sumers.
• Make sure the area is well vent ilated when
yo u cha rge the battery .
• Ope n the engi ne hood
i=!.> page 2 12.
• Open the cove r o n the pos it ive pole
e!.>fig. 187.
• Connect the charger connectors according to
t h e instr uctions to the
jump start bolts.
(Bo lts under the cover = "positive", Bolts
with hex head= "negative").
• Only now plug the mains lead for the charg­
i ng equipment into the wall outlet and turn
i t on
c::> .&,. .
• Make sure the charging rate i s not over
30 amps /14.8 Volt .
• When the battery is fully cha rged: Turn the
charging equipment off and remove the
mains lead from the wall out let.
• Now remove the clamps for the charging
equ ipment.
.,. Close the cover on the positive pole .
.,. Close the hood
c::> page 212.
A discha rged battery can freeze at tempera­
tures of only 32 °F (0 °C). Allow a frozen bat­
tery to thaw comp letely before attempting to
charge i t
c::> .&.. However, we recommend not
u sing a thawed batte ry aga in because the ba t­
te ry casing can be c racked due to ic e f orma­
t io n an d can leak ba ttery a cid.
Battery charging (Maximum charging rate
of
30 amps/14.8 Volt)
When ch arg ing at low vo lta ges (e.g. wi th a
trickle charger ), the ba tte ry cables do not
have to be disconnected f irs t. T he bat tery
caps should
not be opened when charg ing a
battery .
It is no t necessa ry to remove the b att ery from
t h e luggage com partmen t.
Fast charging the battery (charging rate
above 14.8 Volts)
F or te chnica l re asons do not u se a batt ery
ch arger that uses voltage greater than
14 .8
Volts to c harge yo ur vehicle's battery.
A WARNING
.------
C harging a battery can be dan gero us.
-A lways follow t he operati ng inst ru ctions
p rovi ded by the battery charger manu ­
facturer when charg ing your battery.
- Never charge a frozen batte ry . I t may ex­
p lode because of gas trap ped in the ice.
A llow a frozen battery to thaw out f irst.
- Do not reuse batteries w hich were fro­
zen. The battery housing may have
cracked and weakened w hen the battery
froze .
- Charge the battery in a we ll ventilated
area. Keep away from o pen flame or elec­
tr ica l spark. Do not s moke. Hyd rogen gas
ge nera ted by t he battery is explos ive .

"" N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
-To r educe the danger of explosion, never
connect or disconnect charger cables
while the charger is operating.
- Fast charg ing a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe­
tent technician w ith the proper equip­
ment .
- Battery acid that may spill during charg­
ing should be washed
off with a solution
of warm water and baking soda to neu ­
t ralize the acid .
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine . This will seriously dam­
age sensitive elect ronic components, such
as control units, relays, radio, etc. , as we ll
as t he battery charger.
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi­
cations and dimensions as the original equip­
ment battery.
Intell igent energy management in your veh i­
cle is respons ible for d istr ibuting the e lectr i­
cal energy throughout you r vehicle
¢ page 191. T he inte lligen t en ergy ma nage­
men t system w ill keep the engine b attery
charged be tter then vehicles w ithout this sys­
tem . To make sure t he additional e lectrica l e n­
ergy is available once again after you have
changed t he battery, we recommend that you
install ba tteries of the same type and man u­
facture only (the same as t hose installed at
the t ime your vehicle was delivered) . Specifi­
cations a re listed on the battery hous ing . You r
author ized Audi dealer must code the bat tery
in the energy management system to enable
you to use the energy management functions
correctly after rep lac ing the battery .
I f it is not poss ible to use a battery of this
type, the new bat tery mus t have the s ame ca­
pacity, vo ltage ( 12-volts), ampe rage, con­
struction and pl ug sea ling.
Checkin g and fillin g 225
When installing the battery, make su re the ig ­
nition and a ll electrical consume rs a re turned
off.
Q) Note
M ake sure the ven tilat ion hose on the side
of the batte ry is connecte d, otherwise
fumes o r batte ry acid can leak out .
@ For the sake of the environment
Because o f the p rob lem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommen d your author­
i zed A udi dealer change the battery for
you. Batteries contain sulfur ic acid and
l ead and must always be disposed of prop­
erly in comp liance with a ll environmental
r egula tions . Dispos ing of vehicle batter ies
i mprope rly is v ery dange rous to th e envi­
r o nmen t.
Windshield/headlight*
washer container
Fi g. 18 8 Eng in e co mpartm en t: Cove r o n th e w ind­
s h iel d a nd headlig ht• was her fluid conta in er
T he was her fluid conta iner is mar ked w ith the
symbol
O on its cap ¢ fig . 188, ¢page 214,
fig . 182.
.. Before yo u check any thing in t he engine
compa rtment,
alwa ys re ad and heed all
WARNINGS ¢ & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 212 .
.. Lift the fi ller cap tongue to add washer flu ­
id. You can f ill the container to t he top.
.. Press the cap back o nto the fi lle r neck after
filling the co nta iner .
You can find the reservo ir
capacity in the table
in ¢
page 281. 111>
•
•

226 Checking and filling
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
the washer jets. Always add a glass cleaner
solut ion (with frost protection in the winter) .
Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the wind­
shie ld washer reservoir.

2 7 4 Emergency situations
Emergency situations
General
This chapter is intended for trained emer­
gency crews and working per sonnel who
have the necessary tools and equ ipment to
perform these ope rations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
Q;) Note
Vehicle s with an automati c transmission
cannot be started by pushing or towing .
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi­
cle.
If the engine should fail to start because of a
discha rged or wea k batte ry, the battery can be
connected to the battery o f
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumper cables to start the en­
g ine .
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cab les of sufficiently
large cross section to carry the starter cur rent
safely. Refer to the manufact urer's spec ifica­
ti ons.
Use on ly jumper cables with
insulated te rmi­
na l clamps wh ic h are d istinctly mar ked :
plus (+) cable in most c ases co lore d red
minu s (-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batterie s cont ain e lec tricity, a cid, a nd gas.
A ny o f these c an ca use ve ry ser io us or f atal
in ju ry . F ollow the i nstruc tio ns below for
safe ha ndling of your ve hicle's bat tery.
- Alw ay s sh ield yo ur eye s and a vo id le an­
ing over the batte ry w henever p ossib le . -
A discharged battery can freeze at tem­
pe rat ures just below 32 °F (0 °C). Before
connecting a jumper cable, you must
thaw the fr ozen battery complete ly , ot h­
e rwise it cou ld explode.
- Do not allow batte ry acid to contact eyes
or skin . Fl ush any contacted a rea wi th
wate r im media tely.
- Imp roper use of a booster battery to
s tart a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batter ies generate explosive gas­
es . Keep sparks, flame and lighted ciga­
rettes away from ba tte ries .
- Do not try to jump start a ny ve hicle w ith
a low ac id leve l in the battery .
- The vo ltage of the booster batte ry m ust
a lso have a 12-Vo lt rat ing . The capacity
(A h) of the booster batte ry should not b e
lowe r than that of the discharged bat­
tery . U se o f batt erie s of d iffe ren t voltage
or subs tanti ally diffe ren t "Ah" rat ing
may c ause an exp losion and person al in­
ju ry .
- N ever ch arge a fr ozen bat te ry. Gas t rap ­
ped in the ice may ca use an ex plosion .
- N ever ch arge o r use a batt ery th at has
been fro zen. T he battery case may have
be weakened.
- Us e of batt erie s of di ffere nt vo ltag e or
substan tially differen t ca pa city (Ah) rat ­
i ng may cause an exp losion and injury.
T he capac ity (Ah) of the booster battery
should not be lower than that of the dis­
charged batte ry.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
W ARNI NGS¢
page 212.
(D Note
- App lyi ng a hig her voltage booste r bat­
tery wi ll cause expens ive damage to sen­
sitive e lectronic components, such as
cont ro l units, relays, rad io, etc.
- There must be no electrical contact be­ twee n the vehicles as otherwise current
co uld already start to f low as soon as t he
posi tive(+) terminals a re con nected . ..,.

2 76 Em ergency sit uat ions
-Jumper cables must be long enough so
that the vehicles do not touch.
- When connecting jumper cables, make
sure that they cannot get caught in any
moving parts in the eng ine compart­
ment.
- Do not bend over the batteries - danger of chemical burns!
- The battery ce ll locking screws must be
tightened securely .
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
9 page 212.
Improper hook-up of jumper cables can ru ­
in the generator.
- Always connect POSITIVE( +) to POS I­
TIVE(+), and NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control unit.
- Check that a ll screw plugs on the battery
cells are screwed in firmly . If not, tighten
plugs p rior to connecting clamp on nega­
tive battery terminal.
- Please note that the procedure for con­ nect ing a jumper cable as described
above applies spec ifically to the case of
your vehicle being jump started. When
you are giving a jump start to another ve­ hicle, do
not connect the negat ive( -) ca­
ble to the negat ive (-) term inal on the
discharged battery@)
9fig. 212. In­
stead, securely connect the negative(- )
cable to e ither a solid metal component
that is firm ly bolted to the engine block
or to the engine block itself. If the bat­
tery that is being charged does not vent
to the outside, escaping battery gas
could ignite and explode!
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow­
ing.
T he following information is to be used by
commercial tow truck operators who know
how to operate their equipment safely.
- Nev er tow your Audi , towing will cau se
damage to the engine and tr an smi ssion .
- Ne ver wrap th e safety chain s or winch ca­
ble s around the brak e lines.
- To pre vent unne ce ss ary dam age, your Audi
mus t be tr an sp o rt ed with a flat bed tru ck.
- To load th e vehicle on to th e flat b ed, use
the towing l oop found in t he vehicle to ols
a nd att ach to th e front or rea r a nchor age
c;,page 277 and c;,page 277 .
& WARNING
= -
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas-
sengers. Never allow anyone to ride in a
vehicle being towed, for any reason.

"' N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
This might happen, for example, when
heavy components such as the engine
b lock or transmiss io n are removed.
- When removing heavy components like
these, anchor vehicle to ho ist or add cor­
responding weig hts to mai nta in the cen ­
ter of g ravity. Otherwise, the veh icle
m ight tilt o r slip off t he hois t, causi ng
serious p ersona l injury.
(I) Note
- Be awa re of th e fo llowing points befo re
li fting the vehicle:
- The vehicle should never be lifted or
jacked up from underneath the engine oil pan , the transmission housing , the
front or rear axle or the body s ide
members. This could lead to ser ious
damage.
- To avoid damage to the underbody or
chassis frame , a rubber pad must be
inserted between the floor jack and
the lift points .
-Before driv ing over a workshop hoist,
check that the vehicle weight does not
exceed the permi ssible lifting capacity
of the hoi st.
- Before driv ing over a workshop hoist,
ensure that there i s sufficient clear­
ance between the hoist and low parts
of the vehicle.
Emergency situations 2 79
•
•

280 Technical Dat a
Technical Data
Vehicle identification
F ig. 220 Vehicle I dent ifica tion Num be r (VlN) pla te: lo·
cat ion on driver 's side dash pane l
XXXXX XX · X -XXXX XXX
r,"\__l f~ -11!111 · NII. ~ V!Hlll -llllll . NO.
xx
XXXXXXXX XX X XXXXXXXX
XXX XXX IYP IT'fl'E
XX XXXXXXX XX X X XX
XXX
KW XXX
®i ~~:f :l~~ XXXX XXX XXX
@+ ~~r= XXXX I XXXX XXX I XX M ,. AIIISl./ lflllllS
EOA 7D5 4 UB 6XM SSG 5RW
2E H JDZ llB l AS lBA
3FC 5MU 7Xl
FO A
9G3 OG7 O
YH OJF
TL6 3
KA BEH
UlA X9B QZ 7
l XW
8Q3 9Q8 82 4 020
7T6 CV 7 7KO 4X3 2K2
3L4 4 KC 3YO 4I3 502
lS A 7GB Q1A 4GQ
XX X
XX X XX X XXXX
Fig. 221 Th e ve hicle identi ficat ion labe l: ins ide the lu g ­
gage compart men t
Vehicle Identification Number (VlN )
The Ve hicle Identific ation Number is located
in different p laces :
- under the w indshield on the dr iver's s ide
~fig . 220.
- in the rad io or in the MM !": Select: I CAR !
func tion button >
Vehicle ID number (VIN)
or se lect: ICAR !f unct ion button> Car sys­
tems* control button > Servicing & check s >
VIN number .
-on the veh icle identific ation label.
Vehicle identification label
T he veh icle identification label is lo cate d in
the luggage compartment near the ba ttery .
T he labe l~
fig. 221 shows the fo llowing vehi­
cl e dat a:
(D Vehicle Identificat ion Number (VIN)
@ Vehicle type, engine o utp ut, transmission
@ Engine and transm iss ion code
@ Pa int number and inte rior
® Optional equipment numbers
T he information of the veh icle identification
l a bel ca n also be fou nd i n your War ran ty
&
Maintenance booklet .
Safety compliance sticker
The safety compliance sticker is you r assur­
ance that yo ur new ve hicle complies with all
applicable Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety
S tan dards which we re in effect at the t ime the
vehicle was manufactured . You can find this
sticker on the door jamb on the driver's side .
It shows the month and year of production
and the vehicle ident ificat ion number of your
vehicle (perforation) as well as th e Gross Veh i­
cle Weight Rating (GVWR) and the Gross A xle
Weight Rating (GAWR) .
High vo ltage warning label
The high voltage warning label is located in
the engine compartment next to the engine
hood release. The spark ignition system com­
plies with the Ca nadian standard ICES-002 .
Weights
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), and
the Gross Axle Weight Rat ing (GAWR) for
front and rear are listed on a sticker on the
doo r jamb on the driver 's side .
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating includes the
weight of the basic vehicle plus fu ll fuel ta nk,
o il and coolant, plus max imum load, which in­
cludes passenger weight (150 lbs/68 kg per
designated seating posi tion) and luggage
we ight~ _&.

28 4 Con sum er Inf ormation
comp lexity of today's automobi les, have
steadi ly reduced the scope of maintenance
and repairs which can be carried out by vehicle
owners.
Also, s afety an d e nvir onm ent al con­
cerns place very strict limits on the nature of repairs and adjustments to engine and trans ­
miss ion pa rts which an owner can perform .
Maintenance, adjustments and repa irs usua lly
require special tools, testing devices and oth­
er equipment avai lab le to specially trained
workshop personnel in order to assure proper
performance, reliab ility and safety of the vehi­
cle and its many systems .
Improper ma intenance, adjustments and re ­
pa irs can impair the operation and reliab ility
of your vehicle and even void your vehicle war­ ranty. Therefo re , proof of servici ng in accord­
ance w it h the ma intenance sched ule may be a
condition for upholding a possible warranty
claim made within the warran ty period.
Above all, operational safety can be adve rsely
affected, c reating unnecessary risks for you
and your passengers.
If in doubt about any serv icing, have it done
by your author ized Audi dealer or any properly
equ ipped and qu alified workshop. We strong­
l y urge you to give your authorized Audi dea ler
the opportunity to perform all scheduled maintenance and necessary repairs . Your deal­
er has the facilities, or iginal parts and trained
specialists to keep your veh icle running prop­
erly.
Performing lim it e d m aint en anc e y ourself
The following pages describe a limited num­
ber of procedures which can be performed on
you r vehicle with ordinary tools, should the
need arise and trained personnel be unavaila­
ble. Before performing any of these proce­
dures, always thoroughly read all of the app li­
cable text and ca refully follow the instruc­
tions given. Always rigorously obse rve the
WARNINGS p rovided .
Before you ch eck anything in th e engine
compartm ent, alw ays read an d hee d all WARNINGS
¢ & a
nd ¢ & in Working in the
engine comportment on page 212 .
A WARNING
--Serious personal in jury may occur as a re-
sult of improperly performed mainte­ nance, adjustments or repa irs.
- Always be extremely careful when work­
ing on the vehicle. Always follow com­
monly accepted safety pract ices and gen­
eral common sense. Never r isk personal
in jur y.
- Do not attempt any of the maintenance,
checks or repairs descr ibed o n the fol­
lowing pages if you are not fu lly fam iliar
with these or other procedures with re­ spect to the ve hicl e, or are uncerta in how
to proceed .
- Do not do any work withou t the proper
too ls and equipment . Have the necessary
work done by your authorized A udi deal ­
er or any properly equipped and q ualified
workshop.
- The engine compar tment o f any motor
vehicle is a potentially hazardous area. Never reach into the area around or
touch the rad iator fan. It is temperature
control led and can sw itch on suddenly -
even when the engine is off and the igni­
tion key has been removed. The rad iator
fan switches on automatically when the coo lant reaches a certain tempera ture
and will cont inue to run until the coo lant
temperature drops .
- Always remove the ign ition key befo re
a nyone gets under the veh icle.
- Always suppor t your veh icle with safety
s tands if it is necessary to work under­
neath the vehicle. The jack s upplied with
the vehicle is not adequate for this pur ­
pose and co uld co llapse causing serio us
personal injury.
- If you must work unde rneath the vehicle
with the wheels on the ground, a lways
make sure the vehicle is on leve l ground,
that the wheels are always securely blocked and that the engine cannot be
started.

"' N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
-Always make sure the transm ission se­
lector lever (automatic transmiss ion) is
in "P" (Park position) or Neutral (manual
transmission) and the park brake is firm­
ly appl ied .
® For the sake of the environment
-Changing the eng ine settings w ill ad­
versely affect em ission levels. This is det­
rimental to the environment and increas­
es fuel consumption .
- Always observe env ironmental regula­
tions when d ispos ing of old engine oil,
used brake fluid, dirty engine coolant,
spent batter ies or worn out t ires.
- Undeployed airbag modules and p reten­
s ioners might be classified as Perchlo­
rate Material -special handling may ap ­
ply, see www.dtsc.ca .gov/hazardous­
waste/perch lorate . When the veh icle or
parts of the restraint system including
airbag modules safety belts with preten­
s ioners are scrapped, all applicable laws
and regulations must be observed. Your
authorized Audi dealer is familiar w ith
these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this
serv ice for you .
Additional accessories,
modifications and
parts replacement
Additional accessories and parts
replacement
Always consult an authorized Audi dealer be­
fore purchasing accessories.
Your veh icle incorporates the latest safety de­
sign featu res ensu ring a high standard of ac­
tive and passive safety.
This safety could be compromised by non-ap­
proved changes to the veh icle. For this reason ,
if parts have to be replaced, p lease observe
the following points when installing addition­
al accessories:
Con sumer In formation 285
Approved Audi accessories and genuine Audi
parts are available from authorized Audi deal­
er.
T hese dea lers a lso have the necessary facili­
ties, tools and trained specialists to install the
parts and accessories proper ly.
A WARNING
Using the wrong spare parts or using non­
approved accessories can cause damage to
the vehicle and serious persona l injury.
- Use on ly accessories express ly approved
by Audi and genuine Audi spare parts
- These parts and accessories have been
specially designed to be used on your ve­
hicle.
- Never install accessories such as tele­
phone cradles or beverage holders on air­
bag covers or within the airbag deploy­
ment zones . Do ing so will increase the
risk of injury if a irbags are triggered in an
accident!
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS r:::;. page 212.
(D Note
-If items other than genuine Audi spare
parts, add-on equipment and accessory
items are used or if repair work is not
performed accord ing to specified meth­
ods, this can result in severe damage to
your vehicle's engine and body (such as
corrosion) and adversely affect your vehi ­
cle's warranty .
- If emergency repairs must be performed
elsewhere, have the vehicle examined by
an authorized Audi dealer as soon as
possible.
- The manufacturer cannot be held liable
for damage wh ich occurs due to failure
to comply with these stipulations.
•
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