If you’re wondering how to change a car battery, look no further! It’s an easy job you can do yourself with just a few tools! If you’ve got an import car, either European or Japanese, you will most likely need a 10mm wrench to remove the terminal clamps and either a 10mm or 12mm wrench to remove the battery hold-down clamp. If you’ve got an American made vehicle you will need either a 10mm or 13mm wrench for the same tasks.
Besides gathering the tools you’ll need for the job, it might be worth a quick look to make sure your battery is where you think it is. For most of us, the battery is under the hood at one of the front corners. Due to size constraints and weight distribution, many car manufacturers have started to put batteries bellow seats inside the vehicle, in the truck or down low behind the bumper or fender.
If you watch the video above, you’ll learn the best trick when it comes to changing your car battery! Today’s cars have so many systems and computers that are running even when your car is off that it’s important to keep them powered even as you’re changing your battery. Keeping them powered up can help maintain your settings like radio stations and Bluetooth connections but it can also keep you from having to reset or relearn them. For example, in some late-model Lexus vehicles, the power windows all need to be reset anytime battery power is lost.
You can use the trick we used in this video with a jump box, or if you don’t have room on your battery terminals for the clamps you can keep the system powered through the OBDII port or the cigarette lighter.
Besides keeping your settings through the battery change, it’s important to make sure you get any acid that has leaked out removed from your battery clamps and the battery tray. The sulfuric acid in your battery makes electricity when it’s inside your battery but it makes rust and anywhere else it ends up. To help counteract the acid you can use a paste made from baking soda and water to neutralize the acid and stop the corrosion. Next, you can wash the area with warm water to clean the area and if things are really bad you may consider grinding the area down to bare metal and repainting the battery tray. To clean the battery terminals, the baking soda paste is a good place to start, but you should also consider using a battery terminal brush.
When you’re ready to replace your battery, make sure to check out this article listing to top batteries for this year.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for more great how-to videos!
Pictures provided by:
how_to_change_a_car_battery.jpg – By Joebelanger – Licensed by Getty Images – Original Link
BlueDevil Products can be found on Amazon.com or at AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, O’Reilly Auto Parts, NAPA, and other major auto parts retailers.
Related Articles
