Polo TDI - Engine Light & Battery

[mr_walker]

Has anybody had the amber engine light come on and found the cause to be a dying battery? The manual says the light indicates a problem with the exhaust system, but I'm not so sure because it threw the fault yesterday and as of tonight she won't turn over - so I'm guessing its only a dead battery (Canberra winters kill them good).

If its not just a dead battery, then I'm guessing its either oxygen sensors or the catalytic converter (hoping not!).

Cheers,

Walker

[kaanage]

Let us know how it goes after replacing the battery - hopefully it's just that (Canberra's recent overnight temps won't be helping the battery at all)

[mr_walker]

Holy crap - anybody tried taking a battery out of a 9N3? I need a workshop manual just to get the cover off.

If my house had a swear jar it would be full.

[Blitzen]

Haha, a 12 inch screw driver is your friend here... Takes about 2 minutes!!

[kaanage]

The battery clips are a bugger to get off but the real fun starts when you want to remove the battery tray

[mr_walker]

Right - all sorted. New battery in, engine light gone. She's running like a champ.

I took some photos (in reverse) once I figured out how to get it all apart, and when I get a chance I'll upload them. Until then, here's a quick text guide to battery removal (Polo TDI MY07):

(Standard disclaimer: use at your own risk, I am not a mechanic and know nothing about servicing VW's. Risk of electric shock!)

(right and left are referenced as you face the engine bay)

1. Make sure keys are out of the ignition and doors are closed (don't want to risk re-programming your keys).
2. Remove negative lead (-) by loosening nut with a 10mm socket. Wrap something around it so it doesn't bounce around and arc on the battery terminal.
3. Pop the top left hand triangular plastic cover to reveal the end of the power rail and fuse enclosure that goes across the top of the battery. Your aim now is to detach the whole rail assembly from the battery cover frame and move it out of the way.
4. With your 10mm socket again, remove the lead that connects this top rail to the main terminal lead. The nut is attached to the lead so it won't disappear into your engine bay. Remember - don't touch the positive lead *and* the chassis or you have a shocking experience.
5. Pop the front plastic cover that goes over the leads that connect to this rail (where they run down the front of the battery).
6. Get your thumbs behind the left hand end of the rail and slide the whole assembly to the right. There will be some resistance and then it will click and you will be able to lift it out freely. The clips underneath it are in a keyhole type slot.
7. Work the leads to the rail out of the large cable management clip at the front of the battery cover frame. Move it out of the way.
8. Now you need to remove the cover frame. With a long, narrow screwdriver that has a finely tapered head, you will need to release clips at the right, left and rear of the battery. If you insert the driver into the hole behind each clip, a gentle twist should release each one as you lift that area, and enable the frame to be lifted out.
9. Remove the main lead from the positive terminal (+). Move it away from the terminal.
10. With a 13mm socket and extension, undo the bolt at the front of the battery base. Make sure you don't lose the metal bracket that the bolt fixes the battery base with. Take note of which way it came out - it has to go back in that way.
11. Lift the battery out of the tray. Remove the insulating jacket and put it on your new battery.
12. Wash, rinse and repeat in reverse.

Just pay attention to where the cables were routed, especially the main positive lead. It runs *inside* the battery cover frame through a cutout in the front of the tray. When re-inserting the cover frame, make sure each clip is correctly attached to the tray.

I hope this is of some help to someone. I'm pretty sure I just wrote the first 9N3 battery removal procedure on the Interweb.

Keywords to help Google find this page: Polo, 9N3, Battery, Removal, Howto, Cover

I'm off to the couch to enjoy a beer!

Cheers,

Walker

[FarQ]

Sorry to revive an old thread! But this saved me as I thought "WTF" when the engine light wouldn't go out after starting the car. Did notice the battery was struggling to crank over the car. Changed the battery to an Exide 66HMF and all is good!

[kaanage]

I wonder if the light comes on because it can't open up the EGR flap with the low voltage (hard to imagine if it stil cranks the engine, though )