battery VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS 2012 User Guide

Never open or close the engine hood if steam or coolant is escaping. Hot steam or coolant can cause serious burns. Always wait until you no longer sec or hear steam or coolant escaping
from the engine.
Hot parts of the engine and the exhaust
system will burn skin on contact.
When the engine has cooled down and you are ready to open the hood:
- Firmly
apply the parking brake and shift the transmission into Park
The engine coolant system is under pressure when the engine is hot. Never unscrew the coolant expansion tank cap when the engine is
hot. Hot coolant can spray out and cause severe burns and other serious injuries.
- Turn
the cap slow ly and very carefully in a
counter-clockwise direction while applying
light downward pressure on the top of the cap.
- A
lways protect your face, hands, and arms from hot escaping coolant or steam by
Never spill fluids on the engine or exhaust
system when Spilling fluids onto hot parts of the engine or exhaust system can cause a fire.
High voltage systems in the
engine com ment can cause electrical shocks or even
Never short-circuit the electrical system. Be especially careful when using jumper cables. The vehicle's battery could explode!
To reduce the risk of electrical shock and sonal injury while the engine is running or being started:
the engine compartment
- Never touch ignition cables. Never touch other components of the high voltage tronic ignition system.
- Never touch
the wiring of the gas
Never reach into t11e area around or touch the
radia tor fan. Contact with the blades can cause serious personal injury. Always remember that the radiator fan is temperature-controlled and can come on suddenly even when the engine has been switched for a while and the key has been removed from the ignition.
lfyou have to perform a check or repair when the engi ne is running, there are more risks from tl1e rotating parts, such as the drive belts, nator, radiator fan, etc ., and from voltage ignition system. Always use extreme care.
- Always make
sure that jewelry, loose clothing and long hair do not get caught in rotating engine parts. Before starting any work remove your je welry, take
parking brake is on.
Never leave any objects in the engine
left behind can cause malfunctions,
Do not smoke.
Never work next to open flames or sparks.
Never pour or spill operating fluids or other flammable liquids on the engine. These fluids can ignite on hot en g in e parts and cause ries .
242 243

Always disconnect the batt ery (or teries, where appli cable). Make sure the hicle is unlocked when you disconnect the battery, or th e alarm w ill go off. Never touch the electrica l w irin g of the ign ition sys te m .
Neve r smoke.
Never work near heaters, water heaters, or other open flames.
Always have a functional, approved fire tinguisher nearby.
Warning
Note
W hen c
hangin g or topping off fluid s, make sure that you pour the fluids into the correct voirs. Addin g incorrect fluids will cause serious
malfunc tions and engine damage!
Fluid leaks are harmfu l to the environm ent.
thori zed Volkswagen dealer or authori zed swagen Serv ice Faci lity. Dispose of le aked at ing fluid s
first read and note the in tr o du ctory informat io n and heed th e on p age 242.
Lights ca use up
Engine hood not proper ly closed.
When the ignition is sw
itched on, several warning
a nd in dicator light s co me on bri efly fo r a functio n
c h eck. They go out after a few seconds.
If th e engi ne hood is open or not clos
ed properly,
the following warning light comes on in the ment cluster:
tions , a sy mbol showing th at the hood is not erly clo sed may appea r in th e in stru ment clu ste r
di splay instead of the warnin g light . Th e light or sy mbo l will als o com e o n whe n th e ig nition is swit ched off. T he di splay goe s out about
Core,
response
Close the eng ine hood.
I S seconds
after the vehicle has been locked with
the doors closed.
Failure to heed warning lights and instrument cluster text messages can cause the vehicle to
break down in traffic and res ult in a co llision and se riou s personal injury.
Never ignore warning lights or text
Always stop the vehicle as soo n as it is safe to do

th is sect io n yo u'll find inform ation on th e low ing:
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Check ing . . . . . . . . . . 2 59
Charg ing, replacing, disconnect ing
and c o nn ecti ng the ve hicle boHery . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
you are uncerta in in anyway , have the work do ne an aut ho rized Volk swage n dealer or au th orized
Volkswage n Service Serious personal
tery
Symbol Meaning
Always wear eye protectio n!
B a tt ery
acid is hi ghl y co rro sive. ways wear protective gloves and eye protec tion !
Fire, sparks, op en light and sm okin g
a re pro hibit ed !
W hen a batt ery is c ha rge d, it
Bookle t Warranty and Main tena nce book let
fo r worki ng in th e eng ine page 242
Par ts, acce ssories , repai rs and m odifica tio ns
or the electrical sys te m
in your vehicl e can cause seriou s acid burns,
fir es, explo sion s, o r electri ca l s hock s. Alway s
re ad and heed the followin g and safety preca ution s befor e working on
Before working on the ele ctri cal s ystem, way s switch off the ignition and all ele ctrical
consumers and di sconnect the negative
Alwa ys ke ep children awa y from
Always wear eye prot ection . Never let ballery
ac id or lead particles come int o contact with
your eyes, skin , and clothing .
Sulfuric battery ac id is ve ry corros ive . In
contac t with your skin , it can cause acid burns.
If it to uches your e y es, it can cau se blindn ess.
your hands, your arms, and your face and eye s from spillin g or squirtin g acid. To reduce your risk of injury , n eve r tilt the batteri es ,
as thi s could acid throu gh th e vents and burn you.
batterie s from the
v e hicle electri cal sys tem, always disconnect the negative cable H fir st and then the positive cable(+ ).
Always swit ch ofT electri cal con sumers for e reconnec tin g th e batt eri es. Reconnect the plu s cabl e(+) first and then th e nega tive cable(­).Neve r rev erse the pol arity of the connection s.
Thi s could cause a fire.
A highly explos iv e mixture of ga ses is give n
ofT wh en th e battery is be in g c harged.
D o no t s moke and avoid fires, sparks , and open names when wo rkin g. Never create sparks or ele ctros tati c charges when handlin g ca ble s and elec trica l equipm ent. Nev er short cir cuit the b att ery te rminal s. Hig h -energy s parks can
ca use seriou s pers on al injury.
256 257

Never use or attempt to ch arge a damaged or frozen battery, or a battery was frozen but has thawed. a frozen or thawed battery could cause explosion s and ch emi cal burns! place damaged or froze n ba tt eri es m ediat ely. A disc harge d battery can freeze at
temperatures around +32 Alway s
the battery has a ve nt lin e or tube, make sure thi s is connec te d.
Always make sure that the vent line is curely attached to a cated in the
If you battery acid in your eyes or on your
eral minutes. The n medical attention
ical attention immedia te ly.
Warning
Battery posts, termin als and related rie s contain lead and lea d compon ent s, cals known to the of to cau se
cancer or other h arm . Wash your hand s after
handlin g.
Note
Never di scon nect a ba tt ery or connec t
two b atte ries to each other when th e
Do not expose the battery to dire ct light for an extend ed p eriod of tim e as ultraviolet rays may damage th e battery housing.
is lef t s tanding in the cold for a
lon g tim e, prote ct th e battery from
fr ee zin g. A battery will be permanentl y damaged by fr eez ing.
infunnatiun on pa ge 257 .
Light s cause up
Alternator malfunctio ning.
W he n th e ig niti on i s s witched on. several warning
a nd in dica tor lights come on briefly for a funct ion ch eck. T hey go out aft er a few seco nds.
Failure to hee d warning lights and instrument
Never ignore warning light s or tex t
cleaning, maintenance
to an authorized dea le r or authorized Volksw agen Fa-cilit y. Have e lectrical syste m ch ec ke d . off unnecessary elec trica l load s. Th e ve-battery will not be c ha rged by the alt er-nato r whil e th e is in moti on.
Always stop tl1e
Note
Failure to heed warning lights or te xt

Checking the
the engine compartment: Remove the
cove r from the vehicle
first read and n o te th e introducto ry
o n p age 257.
the ve hicle battery does quire mainten an ce.
th e ve hicl e for work in th e engin e page 242
page 242.
the battery cover
De pending o n the e ng in e ty pe, there are different kinds of battery covers:
cove r: fig . 156 in directi o n of th e arrow and re m ove the cove r upward.
With a soft cove r: th e s ide
If the lighti ng conditi ons a re poor, use see the ba tt ery charge indicato r and w ha t co lor it is. Neve r use
The round ba tt ery ch a rge wind ow level
the engine compartm ent Fig
. 157
the engine compart ment:
p la ce d. Have it ch ec ke d by an thorize d Volkswagen deale r o r an authorize d Volk swage n cility.
Ba ttery electro ly te leve l is to ry.
Working on the batterie s can cause se riou s acid burns, exp lo sion, or electri cal shock.
Alway s wear eye protection and protective
glove s.
tect above a ll your hands, your arms, and your fa ce and eyes from spilling or squirting acid .
Never tilt the vehicl e battery. Acid could out of the battery vents and burn you.
Never open
258 259

Charging, replacing, disconnecting and connecting the
first rea d and no te the introductory
o n p age 257.
the vehicle batte ry
Vehicl e batteries should be c harged by your rized Volk swagen deale r or an authorize d
Replacing the ve hicle battery
Th e batt ery in
your vehicl e is s pecially deve loped
f o r it s locati o n, w ith sp eci al dim ensio ns and safe ty
featu res. Befo re buy in g a new battery, ask an th ori ze d Volkswage n deale r o r authorize d swagen Facility w ha t batt eries are suit abl e
w ith r egard to e lectro-m agnetic compatibility, mension s, requir ed m aintenan ce, perfor man ce,
and safety sp ec ifications. H ave th e battery place d by an auth ori ze d Volkswage n deale r o r an authori zed Volk swage n Facility.
use m aint ena nce-free vehicl e ba tt eries m ee tin g standards T L 825
hicle's elec tri cal sys te m , note the following:
off all electrical syste ms and dev ices
and th e ign ition.
Fir st di sconnec t the negative cabl e and th en the positive
the vehicl e battery
to reconnecting the ba tt ery , switch off all elec trical sys te m s and dev ices and the ig niti on .
Con nec t th e positive cable fir st a n d then th e
n ega tive
ta n ce at mph (15-20 km /h).lf the in dica to r ligh ts do not go out, contact an auth orized swage n dealer or a n au th orize d Volkswagen v ice Facility and have the vehicle c hec ked.
If th e battery was discon necte d f or a long tim e, the
n ext scheduled se rvice may no t be correct ly la te d and page 16 The maximum per-
an d nance booklet.
Vehicles with
h icle battery, lock an d unloc k th e ve hicl e from th e outs id e. Th en try to sta rt the ig niti on again. If th e
ig niti on canno t b e switch ed on , ge t expe rt ta n ce.
Automatic electrical
load deactivation
I f t
he ve hicle battery drain is hig h, t he intelligent
o n board electrical sys te m m anage ment cally takes steps to help p reve nt b attery d rain.
The id le speed i s in creased so that the n ato r provides more powe r.
The power to dev ices that co nsume lot of e lec tricity is cut bac k or switched off com ple te ly.
W hen the en gine is s ta rt ed , p owe r supply oft h e
1 2-vo lt socke ts and t he c igare tte lighter is ra ril y int errupted.
T he on
board elec trica l sys tem man age men t
canno t always keep th e battery fro m being drained. For example, th e battery will drain if th e
e n g in e is not running, but th e ig ni tio n i s switc he d
o n for a lo ng tim e or th e parkin g lights a re left o n for a lo ng time.
What drain s th e battery?
Long period s w hen th e engine is no t running, especially w hen th e ig niti on is on.
Fa ilur e to use the proper batte ry with prop er mounting and connecti ons may ca use short seriou s personal injurie s.
Always use only mainten ance- free or leak-pro of batteries with the same
ment battery. Specification s are liste d on the
b attery ho using.
Wh en th e battery is charged, it produces hi ghly explosive hydroge n gas.
Charge ve hicl e batte ries only in w ell-ve nti-
l a te d areas.

Never charge a frozen or thawed battery. A
disch arged battery can freeze at temperatures around +32
Note
Never disconnect t11evehicle battery when the ignition is s witched on or the engine is running, as the electrica l system or electronic components can be damaged.
Note
Never connect power-generating equipment,
such as a solar panel or battery charger, to the 12-volt s ocket or the c igar ette light er in order to
charge the vehicle battery. This can damage the vehicle's electrical system.
Battery acid can pollute th e e nvironment. Operating mu st be collecte d and posed of properly, following all applicable
261

Do it yourself
con sid era tions" or may help.
De
scription causes amon g oth ers remed y
Vehicl e ba tt ery dead. jump page 353.
page 257. Engine does no t start. The wrong ve hicle key is used. a valid ve hicl e page 34.
Fuel leve l too low. Hefue l 234.
Batt ery in ve hicl e key dead. page 34.
Vehicle cannot be locke d Too far away from vehicle . Sy nchroni ze veh icle page 34. key. Lock or unlo ck vehicl e manually
crat ing range. page322.
en gine, braking assis t sys-th e entry in the ke yword noises. te rns, e lectro nic steering index.
co lumn lock.
the "Assis tance e ntry in the keywo rd in dex .
Exterior mirro rs move convenience settings
w he n unl ocke d . stored. 65.
F ront seats can not be ad -Vehicle battery dead. veh icle page 257.
jus ted with power con-Fuse b lown.
a n authoriz e d Volkswage n
m obilit y se t in vehicle. on ve h icl e. dealer or an authori zed Volk swagen Ser-
v ice Facility for page 326.
Func tions diff
er from th e Settin gs were adju ste d in th e and reset to fac tory settings if
descript ion in the oper-Volkswagen Information page 2 ating manual. Syste m.
T he road
is not illumi-H ea dlights a djusted too hig h . !>A dju st headlig ht page
n a ted correctly. Light b ulb s burned out. ligh t page 344.
Low beams no t swi tched on . Switch on low page
Vehicle battery ch a rge too low. page 257.
E lect rica l a p plian ces do Remaining fuel le vel too low. Refu el page 234. not functi on.
page341.
Do it yourself

Checklist (continued )
6. passengers exit and go to a safe locatio n
vehicl e keys with you when lea vin g yo ur ve hicl e.
8. up ale rt other m otoris ts and cycl is ts .
9. Let th e eng in e cool down and ge t ex pert ass is tance if necessary .
the emerge ncy flashers are on. use the turn sig nal lever to indicat e when the ve hicl e is bein g towe d. T his
t empo rarily interr upts th e wa rnin g fla sh ers.
Traffi c suddenl y slows down or s top s in front of you to wa rn those approaching fro m b ehind .
the of an em erge ncy.
the ve hicle brea ks dow n.
b ein g tow-s tarted or bei ng towed.
A lways obey traffic
that govern the use o f
e m erge ncy flash ers where you are driving.
th e em ergency flash e rs are not working . a fe rent method -as pe rmitt ed by law-must b e
used to alert othe r m otoris ts an d cycl is ts to the breakdown.
Di sregarding the sa fety-related ch ecklist may lead to accidents and serio us injuries.
A lway s review and th e c hecklist. safe ty prac tice s and use common sense.
Pract ical tips
Th e vehicl e ex hau st syst em and the ca tal ytic
co nverter or diesel pa rti cu late
Never park where parts of the hot ex haust sys te m or catalyti c converter could ignite mable materials, such as dry grass, brush ,
l eaves,
T he ve hicl e battery be drained if th e em ergency flas he rs are o n for a long tim e­
To alert the traffi c behind you, th e brake light s o n some ve hicle s sta rt to fla sh if you
brake hard when traveling at a speed greate r about mph km /h ).
a t speeds around 6 mph
ating d eact iva tes th e e merge ncy flash ers.
To alert the tr affic behin d you, the ge ncy flashers on so me ve hicl es come on if you br ake hard w hen traveling at a speed greater than mph krn/h ). accele ratin g
o r continuing to drive at a speed above about25 mph km /h ), th e e merge ncy flashers

Emergency starting (Jump starting)
In this section information on the lowing :
Using jum per cables . . . . . . . .
your engin e do es not start because the ve hicl e battery is your ve hicle's ba tt ery nected to th e battery of an oth er ve hicl e to s tart
your eng ine (jump- starting). page 257.
You m ust use jumpe r cables th at m eet rec og ni ze d
indu strial standard s (ch eck inform ation provid ed
b y th e
jumper cabl e manufa cturer). For vehicl es
with gasoline engines , the cross-sec tion of th e jumper cable wire must be at le a st in2 (2 5 or about 3 ga. Fo r v ehicl es with
diesel engines, th e cro ss-section must b e at lea st or abo ut 2 ga.
More information:
Starting assis tance sy s tem s page
Preparations for working in th e e ngin e page 242
Vehicl e page 257
Practical tips
on the batteries or the electrica l system
in your vehicle can cause serious acid burns, fires, or elec trical shock.
Always keep children away from battery acid and vehicle batteries in general.
Sulfuri c battery acid is very corrosive and can
cause blindn ess and damage to unprotected
ski n. Never let battery acid or lead particles
contact your eyes, skin, and clothing.
Never lean over a veh icle battery. Always
wear protective glo ves and eye protection. To reduce your risk of injury, never tilt the batteries;
acid could out through the vents and burn you.
A highly explosive mixture of gases is given
off when the battery is being charged.
Always avoid fires, sparks, open and smoking. Never create sparks or electrostatic
charges when handlin g cable s and electrica l equipment. Never short-circui t the battery nals. High-energy sparks can cause serious
personal injury.
If yo u ge t batt ery acid in your eyes or on your ski n, immediately rinse with cold wate r for
severa l minutes and get attenti on
immediately. If yo u swallow any battery acid,
get medical attention immediately.
Improper use of jumper cables whe n jump-star­tin g a ve hicle with a dea d battery can cau se th e
battery to exp lode, leading to serio us personal in
jury.
To h elp reduce the risk of battery explo sion :
All work on the batterie s or the ele ctrical
system in your vehicle can cause serious acid
burns, fires, or electrica l shocks. Always read
and heed the following
page 257,
Always make sure that the battery providing
starting assistance (the booster battery) has the same vo lta ge as the dead battery (12 V) and
a b o ut th e same amperage capaci ty (see battery label).
Never jump-start a ve hicl e wit h a frozen battery . The battery can exp lode. A discharged
battery can freeze at temperatures around +32
352 353