While it is true that sometimes you will need to take your car to a garage for certain maintenance tasks, often you will find that you can do it yourself which can be a great way to make big savings – you also get a great deal of satisfaction completing the work yourself too. Changing the car battery might seem like a major job but it is actually one of the more straightforward maintenance tasks to complete – read on to find out how.

Locating the Battery

First, you need to find the battery which you can do by looking in the owner’s manual but is usually under the hood in a corner of the engine bay. Sometimes there will be a case covering the battery which can be easy to remove with a spanner from somewhere like RS Components.

Disconnecting the Terminals

Next, you will want to disconnect the terminals which is a simple task. Similar to the common household batteries that you use, there is a positive and negative terminal connecting to the car. You can normally release the battery with a quick-release clamp and you should disconnect the negative (-) terminal end first while making sure that the wrench (if required) never touches both terminals at the same time. Do the same with the positive (+) terminal.

Removing the Battery

To remove the battery once disconnected from the terminal, you will need to use a socket wrench to undo the strap or metal plate holding the battery in place and then lift the battery out (keep in mind that they can be heavy).

Installing the New Battery

Carefully position the new battery in place and tighten then strap or metal plate to secure it. Connect the positive terminal first this time (while making sure that the wrench does not come into contact with metal) and repeat for the negative terminal. It is then simply a case of making sure that everything is tight (but not too tight), double-checking that you have left no tools in the engine bay, closing the hood and testing your new battery by starting the car. Sometimes, replacing the battery will reset the car stereo so make sure that you know the code before starting.

Follow these steps to safely replace your car’s current battery. This is a task that sounds more intimidating and complex than it actually is and completing the work yourself will save you a tidy sum while giving you immense satisfaction knowing that you have done the work yourself.