If you are living in the East Coast like me, you know how cold the temps have been. If your battery isn’t up to the task you might want to consider replacing your car battery before you are stuck without a jump. Here are the simple steps, and tips, to replacing that tired battery!
Tools needed:
13mm Socket SK Hand Tool 41709 6 Point Drive Deep Socket, 1/4-Inch, 13mm, Chrome
10mm Socket TEKTON 14115 1/4-Inch Drive by 10mm Shallow Socket, Cr-V, 6-Point
Socket wrench Stanley 91-928 1/4-Inch Drive Pear Head Quck Release Ratchet
Socket wrench extension Powerbuilt 640842 1/4-Inch Drive Extension Bar Set, 3-Piece
*If you would rather purchase an inexpensive socket wrench kit :Stanley STMT71648 40-Piece Socket Set
1. Remove battery cover, the battery cover has a small tab in the front pull up. It is flimsy and will come off with ease.
battery cover
2. Remove front battery tray. Push down on the front it should tilt towards you, pull up. Be mindful of the two clips in the front.
front of battery cover pull down and and up towards you.
front of battery cover
3. Using the 10mm Socket and wrench, Loosen the bolt holding the negative (black) Wire to the battery terminal. Remove black wire from battery terminal.
REMOVE NEGATIVE (BLACK) WIRE FIRST!!!
4. Using the 10mm Socket and wrench, loosen the bolt holding the positive wire (RED) to the terminal. Remove red wire from battery terminal
positive wire
* Please be mindful of battery wires, place them away from each other and out of the way. please be mindful when working with electricity.
5. Using the 13 mm Socket and wrench, Remove the battery hold down and bolt. Place off the the side ( Please take note of the position of the battery hold down so that you familiarize yourself with how it holds down the battery) the battery hold down is located on the left side of the battery facing the engine. It is write by the MAF
remove battery hold down
6. Remove battery. Take care not to damage or scratch paint or engine components.
remove battery and take off black sleeve
7. Remove black battery insulating sleeve and replace it onto new battery. (take note of how it came off, there should be a cut out on the battery hold down side to accommodate the profusion on the battery for the hold down.
black sleeve
8. Replace battery, and follow the steps listed above in reverse. Please remember to Install the Positive wire first, THEN the negative. Ensure all bolts are tight. DRIVE!
If you are still unsure Please use this informative video as a reference! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_en9vlZeU
Notes:
When the car is started you will see new or unfamiliar lights displayed on your dash! NO WORRIES!!! simply drive the car of a speed of at least 10-12mph and those lights will turn off. The computer just needs to reset its parameters.
TIPS:
You do NOT need to reprogram the radio after. the code is built into the ecu and it will recognize the radio. However, what you might have to reprogram is listed below:
1.The convenience features (door locks, auto window, footwell lighting percentages) or any other item you have changed from factory.
2. The time (mine read AM instead of PM)
3. The drivers side auto window function
4. Your APR mode (stock, 91, 93, 100, etc) *this is variable but some people have reported that the ecu will default to the stock map.. NO WORRIES your tune is still there!!!! just play with he stalk and put it back into 93 or whatever you like
TO RESET THE AUTO ROLL DOWN ON THE WINDOWS,
1. Roll the windows up all the way.
2. Starting with the driver(or passenger) hold the roll down button until the window is fully rolled down
3. give the window switch button a quick double tap downwards quickly ( just like if you were pressing it to roll down the windows)
4. push the window button to roll the window up, proceed to roll the window up
5. once the window is fully rolled up, double tap the window button up quickly (just as if you were rolling the window up)
If done correctly, this will make the car relearn the upper and lower limits of the window. You should now be able to resume using your automatic roll down feature. I have done this when replacing my battery and it worked like a charm. with he MDI I could only get the passenger window to auto roll but doing this I was ale to get the driver and the passenger to work with ease.
Hope this has helped! BTW these instructions can also be found on the comment section of the youtube video linked to this post.
Up Next: Time to get rid of that dirty intake! Replacing a Dirty Intake Element on MK6 GTI APR Carbonio Intake.
The Moover 