How to Replace a Car Battery

Cars have revolutionised the way we travel, it’s never easier or cheaper to get from A to B than in your car. Doing the shopping, taking the kids to school or getting to work is an absolute breeze as long as you’ve got a reliable motor and a driving licence. However, there are times when it doesn’t exactly go to plan.

We’ve all been there when we’ve put the keys in the ignition, given it a turn and then…nothing. You’ve already overslept a little and spent half an hour faffing around making breakfast and you’re late to take the kids to school. Little Jimmy has got a science presentation in half an hour and he’s looking forlornly at his papier-mâché volcano.

The hazard lights are flashing and a symbol comes up on your dash indicating that the battery needs changing, don’t worry, you can do this.

You might not know it but a car battery is an essential part of any vehicle, it runs all the electrical equipment when the car is not running and powers the starter engine to help you get off the mark. So without it, you won’t be going anywhere.

Although the alternator will run the electronics whilst the car is running and will also recharge the battery in your car every time you use it, batteries can still go flat. If the battery starts to lose its effectiveness and its ability to recharge itself, as all batteries will do with age, it will eventually become useless and need replacing. Cheap car batteries are relatively easy to come by and can be bought online or at your local car dealership. You’ll need to make sure that you get the right sort of battery for your car so keep the model and make of your car in mind as well as the year you bought it and the year it was manufactured when looking for a new battery.

Pop the hood up and make sure it stays there, there’s usually a prop to keep the bonnet up so it doesn’t come crashing down on your head (not a good start to the day). Next thing you’ll need to do is locate the battery. It might be covered by a piece of plastic housing, if so you will need to remove this in order to continue.  In western manufactured cars you’ll find the battery on the right hand side of the car whilst in cars manufactured in places like Japan you will usually find the battery on the left.

So now you’ve exposed the battery you’ll be able to see the positive terminal (indicated by the red wire or in the above pictures case, the red washer) and the negative (black washer or wire). Most batteries have a clip or strap holding down the battery in place, you’ll need to remove this before you continue. Simply unscrew the bolt or screw (different depending on your make of car) and then put these somewhere safe for later.

Take a look at your battery and see how it fits in to place in your car. Take a picture or memorise this as you’ll need to put your new battery in exactly the same way as your old one in order to make it fit.

Now you’ll need to remove the terminals from the battery, you need to do the red one first. These are usually attached with a bolt which you can unscrew or a nut which you can loosen away from the battery itself.

Important: Do not ever cross the positive and negative terminal or let them touch, this could result in serious injury. Tuck the wire underneath something so it is well out of the way of the other terminal.

What you’ve done now is remove the current going through the car, however it is still earthed so you’ll need to remove the negative terminal now in exactly the same way, tucking it behind so it is well out of the way and not touching any other part of the terminal

Now it’s time to take the battery out, these can be pretty heavy so watch out. Place it on the floor beside the car and take note about the way it was originally fitted into the housing.

Now you’ll need to put the new battery into place, exactly same way you took the old ones out and remove any protective plastic caps on the terminals before replacing the positive and negative wires.

Important: You’ll need to reconnect the terminals in the opposite order that you took them off.

You’ll need to attach the black terminal first, the negative, in order to earth the new battery and make it safe.  Screw the terminal back on tight.

Now you’ll need to reconnect the positive terminal, this might give a little bit of a spark or a buzz so be careful. This spark is reconnecting the current back in the car, so no reason to be alarmed.

Now you’ll be able to replace the plastic cover, close the bonnet and then you’re done. Remember to recycle your old battery at your local recycling centre. Do not leave it hanging around you garage. Old batteries are likely to corrode and could damage your property or leak dangerous chemicals.

Put your car in neutral, start the engine and away you go.