Changing Battery on GTI 2.0

[iainrobertson]

Hi everyone,

I need to replace the battery on my 2000 GTI 2.0. I'm fairly practical but have little or no experience of car maintenance. It's proving a bit trickier than I thought it would be.

Does anyone know where I can find a step by step guide, or offer any advice?

My main problem is the 70mm ish wide metal strap that covers the battery front-to-back and seems to be locked under the top lip of the battery. I can't find a screw or bolt for this.

As a short term fix I've tried jumping the car from another battery and also another car, but it won't turn over. Is this likely to be a major issue?

The car is currently sitting at the bottom of the hill I tried to bump it off down and so I really need to get it moved, please help!

Thanks, Iain

[iainrobertson]

Ok, so figured out how to do it myself. I thought I'd post the results here in case it helps anyone else.

Assuming that you’ve got as far as removing the connector cables and battery jacket:

There is a 13mm bolt just in front of and to the left of the battery. You’ll need to loosen this to allow the battery to move freely. You get a bit more room to play with if you take off the headlight back cover - just take out the two scres and slide it up.

Unclip the cable distribution box from it’s mount and lift up and out of the way.

The strap across the top of the battery is clipped under the battery’s top rim, but not fastened anywhere else. To remove this I had to remove a section of the rim with a sharp chisel and then slide the strap across to the gap to pull it away.

Remove the battery. Note that the cable duct that was sitting behind it is likely to fall out.

Sit new battery on the tray, then slide it into position whilst holding the cable duct in place.

Tighten the 13mm nut.

Refit the jacket before you put the cables back on – the positive cable runs through a hole in the jacket.

Job done.

[slim1986]

nice one fella i tryed changing my battery today an didnt av a clue,reckon i can do it with that info,nice one:beerchug::D