6 steps to safely replace your car battery

Updated Jun 21, 2018 | Same topic: Handy Maintenance Tips

This article will guide you through steps of how to properly change a car battery.

Somewhere in your life, you have probably had a bad time initiating the car and it just didn’t do the work. Perhaps the engine's sound wasn't right, or it took longer than usual to get going. You can tell yourself that it’s all fine, but that apathy can one day lead to the death of your car’s battery.

Don’t be lazy to check your battery regularly, or else you will end up having no other choice than replacing it. If it happens, you can always go to maintenance store to do the job, but it comes with an expensive cost. If you take this opportunity to "apologize" to your car by replacing the car battery at home, this article on Philkotse.com will provide you with simple instructions as well as other useful car tips and advice.

1. Prepare tools

The replacement generally involves a wrench and a screwdriver that fits the bolts and screws on the battery. An adjustable wrench is also usable in this case. If you don’t want to take unnecessary risk, put on a pair of gloves and safety goggles.

a wrench and a screwdriver

The replacement generally involves a wrench and a screwdriver

2. Turn off your car and park it on a suitable ground

Put your car on a vertical ground, far from the road. Guarantee that the engine and electricity are turned off.

How to Replace a Car Battery

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3. Detach the hold-down of the battery

If your car has a hold-down, you have to detach it by your tools before you actually replace your car battery.

a car hold-down

If your car has a hold-down, you have to detach it by your tools

4. Detach the poles

Be very cautious: Disconnect the negative pole first. The negative pole is linked to the car. Removing positive pole first can possibly cause short-circuit and ruin the battery. After that, you can remove the positive pole. If you are confused with the poles, look for the symbols + and - on the battery.

5. Replace the old battery with the new one

Don’t be too confident with your strength when replacing the car battery, because you will find out that it is heavier than you thought. Don’t try to impress the audiences with an I-got-this smile on the outside and a broken back on the inside, be prepared for the weight, ask for help if it is too much for you to carry alone.

Replacing car battery

Replace the old battery with the new one

6. Do steps 1 - 4 again in reverse order

When the car battery placement is set, work backward until the initial state. Join the positive pole first, the negative one second, attach the hold-down to the battery. Double check to make sure everything is intact.

A perfect replacement needs 10 minutes or under to complete, so you don’t have to stare helplessly at the car waiting for someone else to come and fix it.