battery flat

[darkman]

Hi guys. The battery on my 1.9 TDI is flat through infrequent use lately. I have a charger but I feel a fool that I don't know which are the charging terminals. Anyone advise please?

[benmkiv]

Should just plug on the standard terminals where it connects to the car. Best to pull it out before you charge it too.

[Ladiesman_317]

LOOL when disconnecting the battery, remove negative terminal first, then positive terminal. When connecting the battery, positive first then negative.

[darkman]

Thanks for the info, however I am totally clueless. What I have done so far is remove a plastic cover and I am looking at another plastic cover with several cables going into terminals. Can I assume this has to come off for access to the positive and negative terminals?

[blazeguarder]

All those cables and terminals are just fuses. You don't need to remove them. Look for the two thick cables coming from the depths of the engine bay which are bolted onto the terminals at the corners of the battery. You might need to lift those covers you mention to be able to see them. The battery itself will be labelled positive and negative so you'll be able to tell which is which.

If you've got a decent trickle charger, like a CTEK, then you don't need to disconnect the battery to charge it. Just hook it up, plug it in and wait a while.

[Ladiesman_317]

I'm confused dude, do you just generally not know how to charge a battery or is it the 9n battery cover thats confusing you? cause when i first got my 9n.. i had no idea how to open the f****r, it still catches me out sometimes LOL

[darkman]

Not so much confused as wary and keen to tap into the wealth of knowledge on here before I started. Like you say, it is the cover. I know how to charge a battery OK, used to charge a small 6v for a Yamaha. Any how job is done on a trickle charge . The battery is as old as the car at April 2002 so I don't know how much longer it will last. First time it's gone flat. Cheers and thanks for all advice.

[Ladiesman_317]

Not so much confused as wary and keen to tap into the wealth of knowledge on here before I started. Like you say, it is the cover. I know how to charge a battery OK, used to charge a small 6v for a Yamaha. Any how job is done on a trickle charge . The battery is as old as the car at April 2002 so I don't know how much longer it will last. First time it's gone flat. Cheers and thanks for all advice.

Ooooh I see, Yeah my 9n always starts first time apart from the winter season lol. I dont drive it too often, so if it sits for a week during winter, i know its guaranteed to be flat lol. Try to start it every other day and go for a quick spin and race everyone on the road... yeah im one of those dicks. jk, i dont do that. Anyway, I hope you've sorted out that problem of yours buddy.

[wildman_33]

Depending on the age of the battery in your car it might be worth looking in to a new one, got my one changed the other week as it would crank over slowly sometimes when it was really cold and my immobiliser kept kicking in just after starting. Cars been great since starts so easily even in really cold weather and the immobiliser problem went away too.