Skoda CITIGO Owner's Manual page 104

WARNING (Continued)
If your eyes or skin come into contact with the electrolytic fluid, immedi-
■
ately wash the affected area for a few minutes with a lot of water. Get
medical assistance without delay.
Keep the vehicle battery away from people who are not completely inde-
■
pendent (e.g. children).
Do not tilt the battery otherwise battery electrolyte may flow out of the
■
battery vent openings.
WARNING
Working on the car battery may cause explosion, fire, injury or chemical
burn! The following guidelines must be observed.
Do not smoke, use open flames or light or transmitting devices.
■
A discharged vehicle battery may freeze slightly. Never charge up a fro-
■
zen or thawed vehicle battery. Replace a frozen vehicle battery.
Never use a damaged vehicle battery.
■
Do not connect the battery terminals, bridging the two poles will cause a
■
short circuit.
CAUTION
Ensure that battery acid does not come into contact with the bodywork – risk
of damage to the paintwork.
Note
We recommend having all work on the vehicle battery carried out by a spe-
■
cialist garage.
You should replace batteries older than 5 years.
■
Checking the battery condition
102
General Maintenance
Fig. 112
Vehicle battery: Electrolyte level
indicator

Read and observe and
The battery condition is checked regularly by a specialist garage as part of the
inspection service.
Check the acid level
For car batteries with acid level indicator, acidity can be checked on the basis
of a colour display. In vehicle batteries with the label "AGM" there is no acid
level examination.
Air bubbles can influence the colour of the indicator. For this reason carefully
tap on the indicator before carrying out the check
Black colour – electrolyte level is correct.
Colourless or light yellow colour – electrolyte level too low, the battery must
be replaced.
Battery discharge
If frequent short journeys are made, the vehicle battery does not recharge suf-
ficiently.
The battery capacity decreases at low temperatures.
If the vehicle is not used for longer than 3 to 4 weeks, then disconnect the
negative terminal  of the battery or charge the battery constantly with a very
low charging current.
Charging

Read and observe and
Only charge the battery when the ignition and all consumers are switched off.
Refer to the instructions of the charger manufacturer.
Charging
›
For vehicles withthe START-STOPsystem or auxiliary heater , connect the -
terminal of the charger on the battery's -pole, the -terminal of the charg-
er to the ground point of the engine
›
For vehicles without the START-STOPsystem or auxiliary heating, connect
the charger terminals to the corresponding battery poles
›
Plug the mains cable of the charger into the power socket and switch on the
device.
›
After charging has been successful: Switch off the charger and remove the
mains cable from the power socket.
›
Disconnect the terminals of the charger from the vehicle battery.
on page 101 first.
» Fig. 112.
on page 101 first.
» page 114.
( to,  to ).
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