Disconnect The Negative Terminal Of The Battery
You should always remove the negative battery terminal first, to reduce the risk of sparks which can make the car battery explode.Once the negative terminal has been located, use the wrench to loosen the nut that holds the terminal. Once it is loosened, you can use your hand to remove the nut but make sure you have the safety gloves on.You might face some difficulty in finding the right size socket wrench but once you do, gently turn the screw in a counterclockwise direction until it becomes loose. Make sure to keep the nut in a safe place.
Remove The Negative Terminal First
Use a socket wrench or other appropriate tool to remove the negative terminal first. Negative terminal will be marked with a negative sign and is marked with black color. The reason for this is if we try to remove the positive terminal while the negative terminal is intact, the tool used can touch other metal parts of the car and can draw a current from the positive terminal and can lead to sparks.
Removing The Old Battery
When removing the old battery, remember to first disconnect the cables from the negative terminal, which is usually black and has a minus sign then disconnect the cables from the positive terminal, which is usually red and has a plus sign. Take caution at all times to never touch a metal object to both terminals of the battery at once.
After disconnecting the terminals, unhatch the clamps securing the battery in place and slowly lift it out of the battery tray.
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How To Winterise Your Caravan: Protecting Your Motorhome For Winter
- Get your caravan ready for winter
- Choose to store or prepare it for all-year use
- Avoid frozen pipes and damp with Parkers top tips
Caravan owners are smart SUV or estate car owners . Creating a home-away-from-home with a standard of accommodation tailored perfectly to their lifestyles is a dream some made happen post-lockdown. But now winter has arrived, theres some steps to take to protect your new investment.
Whether youre winterising a caravan for all-year use, or preparing to store it for the colder months, there are some key tasks to get done to avoid expensive service, maintenance and repair costs come the springtime.
Throughout the year, these are the essential jobs required to keep your caravan in tip-top condition. For caravan winter protection, learn more below. While many of these tips apply to those taking up residence in a static caravan, the advice is a bit different since the static, daily-use nature of a static caravan means your needs are a bit different.
Turn Off The Ignition & Apply Safety Procedures
Before you disconnect the battery from the engine, turn off the ignition key first and retrieve the key. Keep the door open, and it could lock up when the battery terminal is replaced, depending on the type of your car. Ensure that your car is in the park position if you are using automatic transmission or if its a manual transmission, put it in the first gear selector.
It is recommended that you should apply some safety procedures when disconnecting battery terminals since the car battery stores electric charges. Also, the car battery is capable of releasing flammable gases. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you should keep a fire extinguisher in place and wear some safety gloves and eye protection equipment.
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When And Why To Disconnect Your Car Battery
Planning on keeping your car parked and unused for a long period of time? Maybe youre going on a vacation and leaving your car behind. In cases like this, its a good idea to disconnect the battery.
Heres why: The battery is connected to your cars electrical systems, including components like the clock and the onboard computer, which can slowly but surely drain the battery over time.
Another scenario to consider is when the battery reaches the end of its life cycle. In cases like this, youll need to remove the old battery and replace it with a new one.
Installing The New Battery
Before placing the new battery in position, ensure that both terminals and the cables are rust-free. If they are rusty, you can clean them with water, baking soda, and a wire brush.
Next, lower the battery onto the battery tray with the terminals in the right position, and clamp it into place. Now connect the new battery in the reverse order, connecting the positive terminal first then the negative. Make sure that the battery is secured in place!
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Disconnect The Battery Cables
- Use your socket wrench or adjustable wrench to loosen the nut holding the cable onto the negative battery terminal. The terminals will be marked positive and negative. Make sure you disconnect the negative terminal first.
- Lay the disconnected negative cable carefully to one side, making sure its well away from the battery terminal.
- Disconnect the cable from the positive battery terminal in the same way, then lay it to one side.
- While loosening the cables, be sure not to touch your wrench to both terminals at the same time, because this will allow electricity from the battery to flow through your wrench.
Robert Maxwell for Family Handyman
Find Your Car Battery
Finding the location of your battery is the first step. Whilst most batteries can be found by opening the bonnet and looking in the engine bay, many modern vehicles have the battery located in the boot under the boot liner. Some vehicles may even have the battery located under the rear seat. If youre unsure of your batterys location check your owners manual.
When disconnecting the battery, you will often need to reset your dash, radio and seat position, amongst other settings. Therefore, keep handy any codes you may have just in case you need them.
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Determine The Size Of Wrench You Need To Loosen The Terminal Nut
Take a visual inspection of your vehicle battery and the terminals. Ascertain visually the wrench size youll need to unbolt the nuts. You will be required to have a couple of wrenches to perform the job, based on the space available to maneuver the wrench.
A single wrench is enough to get the job done if the terminal uses a single bolt, but if its a bolt and nut, then you will need two wrenches. Most battery cable clamps have 10mm bolts. Therefore, you should use a 10mm flat wrench to disconnect the terminals. A set of socket-wrench with the same-size socket will serve the same purpose as well.
How To Disconnect Car Battery For Storage
Now lets see how to disconnect car battery for storage. Doing this is relatively easy. You just need to follow all the steps that we listed in our guide.
The only thing different you will need to do will be to remove the negative terminal which is the blue one as well. Then remove the bolt that is holding the metal bracket that keeps the battery in place and remove the battery from the vehicle. Then you can store the battery in a temperature-controlled environment for the winter or until the next time you use it.
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How To Read A Check Engine Light On A Car
Put the keys in your ignition and turn your ignition on and off consecutively after a second in each step. Once it is done, see if the engine check light is still coming on or not. If the check light is off, you are ready to go, but if it is still coming on, get ready by reading the codes with a scanner instead.
How do you clear error codes on a check engine light?
Pressing the ERASE button on the scan tool to remove the error code. The Check Engine Light will turn off if all error codes are cleared. Some scan tools have many capabilities such as freeze frame that notes some sensor readings when a code was set and removing the codes will also remove this file.
How To Connect Jumper Cables To A Car Battery
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You never know when you may need a jump-start or when someone needs you to power back up their car. Neither scenario tends to happen at a convenient time. But at least if you know how to connect jumper cables to a car battery, the process can be over sooner rather than later:
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What Happens If You Disconnect The Positive Terminal First
While unscrewing the nut holding the positive terminal, you can accidentally create an electric arc if the wrench touches any other metal component of the car and this can lead to sparks and the electric current can damage the components of your vehicle. Additionally this can cause you to get electrocuted as well. Therefore you should always remove the negative terminal first when removing a car battery.
Safety Tips Before Disconnecting The Battery
Here are some important safety tips you need to keep in mind before disconnecting the car battery.
- Batteries store electric charge and might give you a small shock if not handled properly. Before disconnecting the battery, make sure you are not wearing any jewelry such as a ring, watch, or a bracelet. If the battery comes in contact with any metal part it can cause an electric shock.
- Always carry out the battery removal procedure in an outdoor space as the batteries contain acids which release harmful gasses. Working in an open environment will minimize your exposure to any hazardous gas.
- Make sure the area where you are working is completely dry and covered. Never work in an environment which is damp or has water nearby.
- By removing the battery terminals, your settings in the clock or radio may get reset and you also may have to enter the radio code. If you do not have the radio code you may have to go to a dealership for them to unlock the code. You can add a small amount of power to the system while replacing the battery but is only recommended if you are a skilled mechanic because working with the electrics connected can be dangerous and you can damage electronics.
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Turn Off Ignition And Locate The Battery
Turn off the cars ignition switch and remove the key. Youll then need to locate your car battery.
Most of the time, itll be in the engine bay. However, some batteries are located in the trunk or under a rear seat making them a little harder to access. Refer to the car manual if you cant find it.
Once youve located the battery, check it for corrosion, damage, or leakage.
If a car battery terminal is heavily corroded, disconnecting the cable clamp or connector from the battery post may be more challenging. Dont try to force the connector off, as you could break the battery post.
In this case, youll need to loosen some of the corrosion first. A solution of water and baking soda, and the aid of a wire brush, can help to clear corrosion.
If the car battery is damaged, bloated, or leaking, dont work on it. to deal with it instead, as youll likely have to replace it.
Car Battery Online Deals
If you are looking for a replacement battery for your vehicle, fully fitted then these can be purchased via our website. We stock a wide range of car batteries which can be fitted at your local National Tyres and Autocare branch. We also stock leisure batteries which can be purchased and collected from your local branch. Our branch staff will be unable to fit the leisure battery.
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Where The Battery Is Located
Now before we cover how to disconnect car battery. Lets see where the car battery is located? What are the main locations that are used by different carmakers to store the batteries? Lets elaborate.
The main battery location in most of the cars out there is in the engine bay. Usually, the battery is mounted on the drivers or passengers side. Depending much on where the carmaker has decided to install it.
On some luxury car brands like BMW or Mercedes Benz, you will find the battery in the rear trunk. The battery is hidden under the trunk liner and you have to remove it to access it to remove the positive terminal.
Some carmakers like Dodge have decided to install the car battery in some weird places that you will never guess where the battery is. Namely in the Dodge Avenger and the Chrysler 200, the battery is hidden left front wheel well.
You will basically have to remove the wheel and the fender liner to access the battery. Thats why sometimes finding this device can be extremely tricky.
But lets say that you have found the battery. Now how to disconnect car battery? We will get to that in a moment, now before that lets see what are the reasons why would you want to remove the car battery.
Clean Your Car Battery Terminals
You might notice that the battery terminals have corrosion. This can happen if you havent disconnected the car battery in a long time. Its nothing to be worried about, though, it just needs cleaning. And you can usually do that with things you already have at home. In fact, you can use a mixture of baking soda and water along with a terminal cleaning brush or even a toothbrush.
Scrub the terminals with a bit of force to remove all dust and grime visible. Then spray water and use a cleaning cloth to wipe everything down. Once you finish cleaning and the battery terminals are clean and dry, use petroleum jelly. This will keep the terminals lubricated and keep them away from corrosion.
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Remove The Battery If Necessary
At this point, your battery should be entirely disconnected. However, you may need to remove the battery from the tray to perform maintenance or replace it with a new battery.
Your battery likely has a securing clamp over the top of the unit that holds it in place. The clamp will be secured with nuts of its own. Use a socket wrench to remove the nuts, then remove the securing clamp or lift it away from the battery.
You should be able to lift the battery out of the tray using your hands or with the handle attached to it . Most people who have never replaced a car battery are surprised to find out how much they weigh. Car batteries are pretty heavy, with most weighing anywhere between 30-50 pounds.
At this point in the process, the battery is disconnected from the engine and cannot power your vehicle. Youre free to perform maintenance or swap it out with a new battery, depending on your needs.
If you needed to remove your battery to perform a charge, you may now do so.
Switch Off The Ignition & Use Safety Equipment
Before you begin to disconnect the battery, ensure that the ignition is turned off and remove the key. Also leave the drivers door open, because it can happen that the car will lock while replacing the battery. If you have an automatic, check if the car is in Park position or it should be in the first gear in the case that the car has a manual transmission. Since the car battery holds an electric charge and is capable of releasing flammable gas as well, it is strongly recommended to put on some safety gloves and goggles.
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How To Disconnect Your Car Battery Safely
When youre disconnecting your car battery, ensure that you keep safety in mind. The battery contains flammable gas that could cause you harm, so you should wear safety gloves and goggles during the process. Youll also need a wrench to assist with battery removal.
If youre replacing the battery with a new one, consider using a memory saver. This device ensures that your cars computer memory is preserved while the battery is disconnected, and it can help you avoid having to reset the clock and radio presets once the battery is reconnected or replaced.
Disconnecting a car battery is fairly easy, and it can usually be completed in under 30 minutes. Heres what the process looks like for most vehicles:
Another option for when youre storing your car long-term is to install a battery disconnect switch. This switch allows you to disconnect the battery from the cars electrical systems with ease. Both methods can help you remove your car battery safely and confidently.
Check out all the battery products available on NAPA Online, or trust one of our 17,000 NAPA AutoCare locations for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on how to disconnect a car battery, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA AUTO PARTS store.
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