A Guide to Changing Your Car Battery

Your car’s battery is the most important object in it. Surprised? Well your car can’t start if it doesn’t have a functional battery in it. Apparently the car battery provides the charge current to start the motor vehicle and without it you can’t even start the car. However, no matter how much you take care of your battery, it will still wear off; once its life ends, and you will have to replace it. Thankfully, replacing a car battery is not as difficult as it seems to be. In fact, you can do it yourself. Read on to see how to replace your car battery.

STEP 1: Find Out Whether the Battery Needs Replacement

There are a number of times when the car doesn’t start, but that doesn’t mean it’s the battery’s fault. And even if that is the case, it might not mean that you need a car battery replacement. In most cases the battery only needs to be recharged. In order to find out whether the battery really needs to be changed, look for whitish residue build-up around the terminal. This residue is sulphate and it indicates a bad seal around battery terminals causing an acid leak around the terminals. Sometimes a faulty battery issue can be resolved by removing the residue.

Make sure that the car battery has had time to recharge properly. You can do so by driving it non-stop for half an hour. Certain cars have a battery meter, if the meter reads a charge of 14 volts while running it means that the battery is fine.

STEP 2: Read The Instruction Manual Carefully

There is a reason why companies print instruction manuals. Apparently, they do it for owners who want to try their luck themselves, before consulting a car battery service. Hence, if you are that type of wannabe expert, or if you are stuck and don’t have an option of taking your car over to a mechanic, then the instruction manual is for you. Read it carefully and go through each instruction before starting.

STEP 3: Choose The Right Replacement Battery

Every car has its own characteristics and car batteries are built in accordance with the type of cars they are built for. Hybrid cars have one type of batteries and the ones running on petrol have another. You must replace the car battery with the right kind for your car to accept the new battery.

STEP 4: The New Battery Should Be Charged

Before replacing the battery, make sure that the new battery is fully charged. There have been incidents where the replacement battery was semi charged, or not charged at all and ended up damaging the charging system altogether. The charging system is not meant to recharge dead batteries!

STEP 5: Identify The Terminals

Before taking out the old battery, make sure you know which one is the positive terminal and which one is the negative. The positive one will have a red plastic cover on top of it, with + sign to indicate positive. The other black one is the negative terminal.

STEP 6: Take Out the Battery

First loosen the nut which secures the negative terminal with the negative battery post. Then use the terminal puller to take out the positive battery post and do the same with the negative one. Make sure not to allow any metal object to connect with any of the battery’s posts.

Also, make sure that the wrench does not touch the positive terminal and the body, otherwise you might be electrocuted Once the terminals have been disconnected from the battery, remove the retaining system which holds the battery and the other clamps which hold the battery in place.

STEP 7: Clean the Terminals

Very carefully lift the battery and take it out. You might find the battery a bit heavy. Check if the terminals attached are clean and corrosion free. If they are not clean, you will have to clean them yourself using the terminal cleaning tool. There are special tools which can fit over the posts and a brush which fits on the clamp. In case you don’t have these then you can use a stout wire brush. Clean posts and clamps will ensure a more positive connection for the battery.

STEP 9:  Place the Battery Back

Carefully position the battery in a way that the positive post matches the positive terminal and the negative post matches the negative terminal. This is to keep electricity from flowing into the battery and damaged it. After placing the new battery in place, make sure to secure the retaining system which was removed by you, so that the battery does not dislocate.

Once this is done, your job is done. You can now drive the car confidently without worrying about the car battery. If you need help, you can always use a reliable 24hrs car battery replacement service like Swift Battery Specialist.