The car battery is one of the most important elements of your vehicle, the car needs the battery to start and it is used to be able to use electrical components such as lights, radio or vehicle electronics.
The car battery charging system is carried out using the car’s alternator, which is a device that has a turbine moved thanks to the force exerted by the vehicle’s gasoline engine and whose movement charges the battery.
Being a continuous charge of the same, car batteries end up getting annoyed over time and that makes it necessary to buy a new battery. The main symptoms of battery damage are difficulties starting your vehicle, frequent stops (car stalls), radio and headlight malfunctions, or simply not starting the car.
What do you need to change the car battery?
- Protective glasses (welding or laboratory)
- A work overalls (it is optional, but otherwise you will stain your clothes with grease).
- A battery compatible with your car.
- Basic mechanical knowledge of your car.
- Know your car.
- A fixed wrench
Instructions to change the car battery
- Preparation: Sometimes the battery is not as bad as it seems and can last longer, it just has some kind of problem. First of all do a check by taking a long trip with your car of about 1 hour without using the radio or lights to fully charge the battery, then also open the hood and see if there is any problem of dirt on the battery terminals, which may have loosened a cable or have corrosion, if doing this the problem persists, the battery must be changed. First get ready, first pay your car in full and second put on overalls, glasses and gloves to work. If you have doubts about how to find your battery, look for your car’s owner’s manual, but it is usually located on the hood near the engine.
- Remove the battery in bad condition: Open the hood and hold it with the bar that comes so that it does not fall, then look for the battery of your car and observe it, many times you can see how the battery is seriously damaged by blows, now take an 8-mm spanner to proceed to remove the negative and positive cables from the battery, first we will remove the positive cable and then the negative cable, never change the order as it could short-circuit the battery and damage the entire electrical system of the car. Finally we are going to see if the battery has any other hook, if so we must remove it and pull the battery out until it comes out. Now that we have the battery terminals loose, we can take the opportunity to remove the dirt from them with a rag or with degreaser.
- Buy the battery and put it in: Now we need the new battery, we recommend not taking them second hand just in case, it must be a battery that is compatible with your car in size and voltage. Now we are going to put it where the old battery was in the car and put the fasteners that they had, now we are going to put the cables, putting the positive cable first and then the negative. At the end you can add battery grease to the terminals to prevent them from rotting and rusting. Now it is time to clean the battery well, close the hood, get in the car and try to start it.
Tips for changing the car battery
- Positive to negative: removing the positive beforehand will be done correctly since we are cutting off the source of the current, but if we remove the negative beforehand, the positive will send electricity to the negative, which, being disconnected, will have no destination and will short-circuit. The consequences of the short circuit can be serious, from charging a new battery in good condition, explosions that can even kill you, to breaking the entire electrical system of the vehicle.
- Dispose of batteries: Throwing the battery into the container should never be done since it is very bad for the environment, the solution is to take it to clean points, to workshops that repurchase them or even to collectors and individuals.
