A couple of problems
Could you help me regarding a couple of problems with my 2012 VW Polo 1.4 petrol? The first concerns the battery terminal clamps. The nut and bolt used to tighten the clamps has some thread spare. Rather than undo the clamps to attach a ring terminal, I thought of using a wingnut or nut on the spare thread. I understood the size was 6mm, but one of these will not fit and screw down. I tried a 7mm, but that is too big. Would you know the correct size? I assume it is metric.
The second problem concerns the coolant. A faulty water pump was recently replaced, but the wrong coolant mix (G13 and deionized water) was put in. I asked for -25C protection, but they did it to -30°C. I would like to get it to -25°C, but can’t work out much coolant mix to withdraw and top-up with deionized water. Could you let me know how much to remove?
Finally, is it possible to check the battery voltage on the dashboard display using the on-board computer?
John Mitchell
The nut on the battery terminal is indeed metric and is listed as M6 (M6 x 20mm). If you are having difficulty starting the nut on the post, it may be the case that the top of the thread has been bruised. It might be worth winding the original nut all the way up the thread, which should then clean the thread and allow the 6mm nut to fit.
The cooling system capacity is 5.6 litres. To achieve protection down to -25°C, it requires a mix of 40% G13 and 60% deionised water. A 50/50 mix will take the protection to -35°C. As the fluid has already been added, it would be quite difficult to rebalance the mix precisely, but draining around 0.2 litres and refilling with deionised water should get you very close to the -25°C protection. Having said that, leaving the system protected to -30°C would not be at all detrimental.
As far as I am aware, there is no way to use the on-board computer to display the battery voltage.