When to Replace It?
Replace your car battery when;
- Your complete car or the electrical equipment is not working,
- Battery terminals are corroded,
- Some parts of the battery begin to turn a blue or white color,
- The headlight and other indicator lights in the vehicle start to glow low
Safety First
As car batteries provide energy from the electrical current, they carry many risks. In this sense, when you apply for battery replacement without the supervision of an expert, you should not only be sure to take precautions for your safety and act consciously.
Firstly, you’ll need:
- Wrench or Spanner Set; to remove the battery fasteners
- Disposable Rubber Gloves & Glasses; batteries contain acids that can seriously damage the skin
- A Cotton-free Apron or an Old Outfit
- A Small amount of Sodium-bicarbonate
- Water
- Battery Brush
- New Fully Charged Battery
Make sure that;
- You provide safety equipment to take the necessary precautions,
- You turn off the engine of your vehicle and park it in a safe place,
- You pull the handbrake,
- You put a cover on the bumper so that the acid does not touch it in order not to damage your car.
The Steps
1. Stop Your Car’s Engine & Park It Safely
As mentioned above, before starting the battery replacement, ensure that your vehicle is not in running mode, check whether the handbrake is pulled, and park it in a safe area to avoid serious accidents. In this context, the garage or a driveway will be a good spot for your battery replacement.
2. Disconnect the Terminal Wires
Depending on the pole that the main connection to the body of your car passes through, you can tell that the car is connected to the pole. If your car is negatively connected, remember that when removing the battery terminals, the cables connected to the negative terminal, i.e. “-“, must be disconnected first. However, if the vehicle is positively connected, when removing the battery terminal, first, the cables must be disconnected depending on the positive terminal, i.e. “+”.
During this process, the nut and bolt of the clamp that connects to the pole cap of the cable are loosened.
3. Remove the Old Battery by Unscrewing the Connecting Screws Holding It
After loosening the pole connections in the step mentioned above, unscrew the fastener and screws holding the battery and carefully remove your battery from its socket with gloves.
4. Check the Spot Where Your Old Battery Was
For your new battery not to cause problems in the future, check the location of the old battery you removed carefully, taking into account the rust conditions that may occur and the dirt or corrosion that may have accumulated on the spot. In such cases, you can use sodium bicarbonate added water to clean the battery spot.
Wear gloves, an apron, and glasses when using such acidic substances!
5. Insert the New Fully Charged Battery
After ensuring the cleanliness and control of the place where it will be placed, carefully place your new fully charged battery in the same direction and position as your old battery.
6. Reinstall the Connecting Bolts to Ensure the Stability of the New Battery
For your new battery not to stay fixed in the vehicle and cause serious problems, reattach all the fasteners and bolts to ensure your battery does not move. Also, you should ensure that all the holders are in place so that your battery is subject to a certain amount of vibration while your vehicle is in motion so that it cannot damage the car and keep it firmly in place.
7. Reassemble the Terminal Connections
Never forget that in this step, the connection order should be the reverse of what you did when removing. During the new battery’s connection, the order of the cable connections is essential, and you should do the opposite of the order in the second step.
In other words, if your vehicle has a negative terminal connection, you should have started from the negative pole to disconnect the battery; in this case, you should start from the positive pole when attaching the pole connection.
The same is true for the opposite; if your car has a positive pole terminal connection, you should start with the negative pole to attach the terminal connection as you should have started removing from the positive pole.
8. Farewell to the Old Battery
Since batteries contain extremely serious and harmful metals such as lead, you should ensure that you recycle them under legal regulations and environmental awareness rather than just throwing them away. For this, you can consult the points where scrap batteries are collected.
Conclusion
Ultimately, in addition to having a sufficient examination of the identity of the batteries, which are the heart of the vehicles, there are specific steps you need to follow when you want to change on your own. First of all, you should be aware of when your battery needs to be changed and create a safe area with necessary precautions for your safety.
Accordingly, the 8-step steps we have compiled for you under the heading of how to replace a car battery will be straightforward, and you will be able to change your battery in a practical way when safety precautions are provided and with a careful approach.
