Car Battery Replacement
While your car failed to start, and sometimes, the lights on the Dashboard are not on after you turn the key, first thing you need to do is to check the battery.
Open the hood, locate the battery (refer to your Driver’s Manual if need), and then check the terminals of the battery. If you see the rust or the corrosion on the positive post, you shall clean those deposits even the battery is still good.
To check the condition of the battery, use a multimeter to measure the voltage of the battery (normally it shall point to about 12.6 volts). In one of my cases, it had the number below 4 volts, that is too low to start a car.
By retrieving the history of the battery, typically the average car battery life is between 3 and 5 years, it can help you to determine if a new battery needs to be stalled. I have two cases that the battery life has been more than 6 years, but those batteries had suddenly lose the power to disable you start a car.
While you decide to get a new battery, you can jump start your car and drive to a local Auto parts store such as AutoZone or O’Reilly (or any store that sell the car batteries) if the terminals of the batter is clean. In this case, you just disconnect the dead battery (Removing Negative connect first and then Positive one) and replace with a new one (this time Positive first and then Negative).
However, in many cases, you would see the dirty terminals that were covered by the colored sediments. You need to clean those terminals before replacing the battery. It’s better to take an easy by doing it at home (buy a new battery and bring it back home and return the old one to the store after the job).
Here are basic steps to make a replacement.
1) Make Adjustable Wrench and Socket Wrench with 10mm socket ready (to loose the nuts and disconnect the terminals to separate sockets and posts);
2) Make Work gloves and Safety glasses ready – Use Battery Cleaning Solution (or Baking soda followed by water that can do the trick, too) to remove the corrosion (may take several times to wash the dirty away);
3) Wait all parts dry and then brush socket and post with Wire brush if need;
4) Apply anti-corrosion solution or gel to the terminals of new battery, and place anti-corrosion washers (may be reused from previous one) back on the terminals;
5) Reconnect and tighten the battery to the car (Positive first and then Negative).
Start the car.
You’re done.
(The end)