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The operation of your car depends on the battery of the car. A good quality battery lasts upto five years if maintained properly. You should buy the correct battery for your car from the battery store. It is a good precaution to wear safety glasses and a pair of gloves when you change your battery.
The battery of a car has to be changed at some point in the car’s life. Following are some tips that will help you know when it is time for replacing your car battery with a new one:
- Weather: The life of a battery depends on the weather the car is driven in. Under normal weather conditions, a battery with low cold crank amps will start the car effectively. However, if the car has been used in cold weather for a long time, you might need to exchange the battery with a battery that is suitable for the cold conditions.
- Wear and tear: The excessive wear and tear of a battery drains the life of a battery. If you have left your headlights on or have failed to deactivate the alarm system through a long time, the battery would have power to start your car but will not go a long way. Batteries, which can no longer hold a charge, indicate they need to be replaced.
- Damage: After an accident, the battery casing might be damaged, these should be changed immediately. The cracks in the body casing might lead to leaks of sulphuric acid or other chemical contained in the battery.
- Warranty: Most of the new car batteries come with a complete warranty covering any defects or damages to the battery. After this warranty has elapsed, any repair work done to the battery might prove expensive and would not be covered by the warranty. At that time, it is better to replace the old battery with a new one rather than repairing a five to six years old battery.
Here are simple steps to replace your car battery:
- Before you decide to change your car batteries, make sure you have all the tools needed. The basic tools required for changing a battery are a wrench, flat screwdriver and a wire brush to clean the engines insides.
- Do not change the battery, until the car engines are switched off. Lift the hood open and make sure it is securely attached in that position. Your car battery will be attached to two cables, red and black. You have to remove the black cable before you start replacing the battery.
- Use the wrench to loosen the bolts that are holding the battery cables to the battery. Remember you have to remove the negative terminal first otherwise you may end up with a shower of sparks around your car and ruining your tool altogether.
- After removing the negative cable, loosen and remove the nuts that are holding the positive cable to the battery and remove the battery clamp.
- With both your hands, lift the battery out of the hood using the handles attached to the battery. Be careful you do not hurt yourself or damage the car while lifting the battery, as it could be quite heavy.
- With the wire brush, clean out the battery tray of any corrosion off the metal clamps attaching the battery terminals. You will have to replace them in case they are very badly corroded.
- Carefully place the new battery in the battery tray and reattach the battery clamps and the battery cables.
- Remember to reattach the battery cables matching the colors on the battery. Attach the red color cable to the positive terminal and the black cable to the negative terminal. After attaching the cables, tighten the nuts with the wrench. You can check if the nuts are tight enough by trying to move the cables, if the nuts are tight they will not move.
- Make sure you displace the old car battery properly after the new car battery is properly attached.
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