Battery disconnect to change strut mounts?

[ASt85]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

Key off/removed for battery negative lead removal.
Key Pos II for battery negative lead installation.

That said, battery unhooking not required for strut removal/4C sensor removal.

Originally Posted by Sojournermike

That’s interesting - any reason for this? Also, disconnect/reconnect neg (earth) or positive first?

Cheers

Mike

Key off/removed for battery negative lead removal.
Key Pos II for battery negative lead installation.

Reduces likelihood of triggering the airbags.

Disconnect/reconnect neg (earth) or positive first

So you remove the risk of shorting the +ve terminal to earth when removing or disconnecting the battery....................if short circuit does occur, possibilities include big flash, melted ends of spanners, cracked or exploded battery due to ignition of hydrogen with all the add ons caused by flying metal, plastic and acid.

[ASt85]

Originally Posted by ASt85

Key off/removed for battery negative lead removal.
Key Pos II for battery negative lead installation.

Reduces likelihood of triggering the airbags.

Disconnect/reconnect neg (earth) or positive first

So you remove the risk of shorting the +ve terminal to earth when removing or disconnecting the battery....................if short circuit does occur, possibilities include big flash, melted ends of spanners, cracked or exploded battery due to ignition of hydrogen with all the add ons caused by flying metal, plastic and acid.

i.e. ALWAYS THE REMOVE NEGATIVE CONNECTOR FIRST, REPLACE LAST.

[Sojournermike]

I still don’t understand why turning the ignition to Pos 11 reduces the risk of triggering the airbags, but presume there is some reason for this.

Would be great if someone could explain the that?

Mike

[ASt85]

Originally Posted by Sojournermike

I still don’t understand why turning the ignition to Pos 11 reduces the risk of triggering the airbags, but presume there is some reason for this.

Would be great if someone could explain the that?

Mike

At Position II the lights automatically come on either in side or DRL state depending upon how yours are set, other current consuming circuits and sensors are also in the on state. The load they provide acts to dissipate any voltage spike which might be generated when connecting the battery; by dissipating and reducing the likelihood of a spike, the chance of triggering the airbags is reduced to almost zero.

[John97Tdi]

The good news - it stopped raining long enough to attempt changing the strut top mounts and spring seats on the car. I had hoped to do both sides but since it took me 3hrs to do one side ( winding in and out spring compressors 3 times before I could get everything aligned and compressed enough didn't help) - I only got round to the 'noisy' side and I now realise why most videos of strut changing show people using a torque gun!
Although the parts I took out did not look as bad as I thought they would the steering is now smoother and the odd noises have gone so I'm taking that as a win. Unplugging and plugging in the strut electrics, battery connected with key out, was also uneventful.
The bad news - the struts on both sides are 'misting' so I'm going to leave the other side until I've got replacements to go in and I can do the lot in one go.

Thanks for the replies

John