Car Battery Replacement at Hometown Ironton
While it’s easy to understand that the car battery powers the entertainment parts of the car, like the radio, it’s a critical part of starting your vehicle. Your car won’t start without it. Having your car battery work is something that most people take for granted – you turn the key or push the button, and the car’s engine turns over. However, if your car’s battery is dead, it’s not simple. There are easy steps you can take to test your battery and rules to follow when shopping for new car batteries to make sure you’ll never have to experience a dead one again.
Testing a Weak Battery
Nobody likes a bad battery. Luckily, testing for a bad battery is quick, easy, and inexpensive. You don’t need to go to that repair shop that does free battery testing and can do it from the comfort of your own driveway. A simple multimeter tool from the auto parts shop is all you need to find warning signs and more.
Voltage Test
The first step in testing your battery is a voltage test. With this, you’ll see how charged your battery is at any given time. If it’s anything less than 12.4 volts, there’s a good chance that you need to change your car’s battery. Turn on your vehicle and lights, connect the red wire to the positive terminal and black to the negative, then see what the multimeter says.
How Often Should I Test My Battery
Nobody likes a dead battery, especially when you have important things to do or errands to run. That’s why it’s so important to test your batteries twice a year. It’s also a good idea to give your car batteries a test after a dead battery situation, even if you left your car on for a while to cause it.
Bad Alternator vs. Bad Battery
If you’ve tested your car battery repeatedly, recharged it repeatedly, and it keeps dying, chances are there are no problems with the car battery, and you’ve got a problem with the alternator, the part of the car that recharges the battery.
Battery Buying Tips
Buying a new car battery isn’t as simple as buying another car part, where there are one or two options that fit your vehicle, and it’s relatively cut and dry. There’s no such thing as any one correct battery for your vehicle. It can be easy to think of buying a new car battery more like buying new tires. There’s a wide range of options depending on the climate you’re in and how you plan on using your vehicle. While there are a wide range of battery options, it’s important to get a new battery that’s the right size for your vehicle. In addition, truck batteries are different from car batteries.
When choosing the correct car battery for your vehicle, there are a variety of factors to consider. You don’t always need to spring for a platinum battery for your replacement battery. Examining your current battery is an excellent place to start when shopping for a new battery.
Below is information on the systems used to rate batteries and how they apply to you and your car.
CCA: Cold Cranking Amps
As you may guess from the name, CCA is a fundamental battery replacement metric if you drive anywhere with a cold climate, like Ohio, in the winter. It measures how easily the battery can start your car in the cold.
If you’ve ever taken a long walk in the cold, gone sledding or skiing, you know that your phone dies significantly more quickly in the cold. Car batteries are no different, except they make specific car batteries for cold climates so your car stays reliable. If you’re in an area with a colder climate, you’ll want a battery with a high CCA rating. Over 600CCA is excellent for cold climates.
Reserved Capacity Ratings
Reserve capacity ratings denote how long your battery can run without running out of power. Keep in mind that while the engine is running, the alternator charges it, so this metric is more relevant if you’re planning on using the vehicle without the engine on. For example, RVs significantly benefit from a high reserve capacity rating. Generally speaking, the CCA is a more important metric to examine when looking for a new battery, as most batteries on the market will have sufficient reserved capacity ratings.
Car Battery Replacement: Step by Step
Safety Precautions
- Keep away from flames or ignition sources
- Change in a well-ventilated area
- Follow instructions carefully concerning negative and positive terminals
Tools:
- - anti-corrosion grease
Optional:
- - Terminal Puller
- - Terminal Cleaning tool
- Locate the car’s battery
- Use the owner’s manual if you need assistance in locating it
- Identify the positive and negative terminals of the battery
- Positive is red, negative is often unmarked
- Loosen the nut attached to the negative terminal
- Use pliers to detach the negative terminal from the battery
- You may need to purchase a terminal puller from an auto parts store if this isn’t working easily to avoid damaging the wires \
- Do the same with the positive terminal
- Remove whatever is holding the battery in place
- Place these clamps or fasteners in a safe place so you don’t misplace them
- Lift the battery out
- Be careful not to jostle or shake the battery on its way out, though it is heavy
- Clean the terminals of corrosion with a wire brush
- You can purchase and use a terminal cleaning tool, but it’s not necessary
- It’s important to have clean connections for optimal battery function
- Before putting the battery in, ensure that the red matches up with the positive terminal
- Carefully place the battery in
- Find those clamps or fasteners you removed earlier and replace them
- Take off the battery caps on the positive and negative ends
- Install the anti-corrosion washers on the positive and negative ends of the battery
- Positive first: grease the terminal with anti-corrosion grease, then tighten the connector onto the terminal
- Repeat for the negative terminal
- Find a location for battery recycling and recycle your old battery
- Auto parts stores are a good bet
- Your garbagemen won’t be happy with you if you put it in the garbage, and you could incur a fine