SMART forfour Owner's Manual page 171

G
WARNING
During the charging process, a battery
produces hydrogen gas. If a short circuit
occurs or sparks are created, the hydrogen
gas can ignite. There is a risk of an explo-
sion.
Make sure that the positive terminal of a
R
connected battery does not come into
contact with vehicle parts.
Never place metal objects or tools on a
R
battery.
It is important that you observe the
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described order of the battery terminals
when connecting and disconnecting a
battery.
When jump-starting, make sure that the
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battery poles with identical polarity are
connected.
It is particularly important to observe
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the described order when connecting
and disconnecting the jump leads.
Never connect or disconnect the battery
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terminals while the engine is running.
G
WARNING
Electrostatic build-up can lead to the cre-
ation of sparks, which could ignite the
highly explosive gases of a battery. There
is a risk of an explosion.
Before handling the battery, touch the
vehicle body to remove any existing elec-
trostatic build-up.
The build up of an electrostatic charge may
be caused by the following:
wearing synthetic-fibre clothing
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clothing rubbing against the seat
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moving the battery over carpet or other
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synthetic materials
rubbing the battery with a cloth
R
G
WARNING
Battery acid is caustic. There is a risk of
injury.
Avoid contact with the skin, eyes or cloth-
ing. Do not breathe in any battery gases. Do
Jump-starting and charging the battery
not lean over the battery. Keep the batter-
ies out of the reach of children. Immedi-
ately rinse off battery acid thoroughly
with plenty of clean water and seek medi-
cal attention at once.
G
WARNING
A discharged battery can freeze at tem-
peratures below freezing point. When
jump-starting the vehicle or charging the
battery, gases can escape from the battery.
There is a risk of an explosion.
Allow the frozen battery to thaw out before
charging it or jump-starting.
If the indicator/warning lamps in the
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instrument cluster do not light up at tem-
peratures around or below freezing point,
it is very likely that the discharged bat-
tery has frozen. In this case do not jump-
start the vehicle or charge the battery.
The service life of a battery that has been
R
thawed may be reduced drastically.
The starting characteristics may be
R
impaired, especially at low temperatures.
Have the thawed battery checked at a
R
qualified specialist workshop.
!
Have the battery checked regularly at a
qualified specialist workshop.
Observe the service intervals in the Ser-
vice Booklet or contact a qualified special-
ist workshop for more information.
Have the battery charge checked more fre-
quently if you use the vehicle mainly for
short trips or if the vehicle has been parked
for an extended period of time.
! Always have work on the battery carried
out at a qualified specialist workshop.
Should it, in exceptional circumstances, be
absolutely necessary to disconnect the
battery yourself, please observe the fol-
lowing:
switch off the engine and remove the
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key. Check that all the indicator lamps in
the instrument cluster are off. Other-
wise, you may damage electronic com-
ponents such as the alternator, for
example.
first, disconnect the negative terminal
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clamp, followed by the positive terminal
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