How to Repair Your Car or Truck Battery

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If you are driving down the road late and night and find your headlights are quite dim or you are getting stuck in a supermarket parking lot requiring a jump from a fellow vehicle, you will probably want to replace your battery. This do it yourself job can be done in just a matter of steps and save you the hassle of chasing someone down with jumper cables every time your car refuses to start. So go and grab a battery tester from a well known company like Schumacher or OTC and check your charge.

After you have tested your battery and decide to move on with the replacement, head to your local auto parts store with the year, make and model of your vehicle and they will help you find the correct battery for the job. Once home, connect your vehicle to the memory saver and pop the hood to locate your battery and the positive/negative terminals. After finding the terminals and ensuring the car is off, loosen the negative terminal first with a standard wrench. You can disconnect the negative terminal and then repeat the process on the positive terminal.

When the battery terminals have been completely disconnected, you can move forward with removing the battery from the car. Vehicles will generally have some sort of harness or bolts keeping the battery in place so it is important to remove all obstacles before trying to lift the battery. Feel free to clean the terminals and clamps with a wire brush to eliminate any residue build up. Now you are ready to connect the new battery.

Place the replacement battery in the harness and make sure it is securely in place with the negative and positive terminals matching up. Connect the positive terminal first and tighten the clamps with your wrench. Finally, connect the negative terminal and tighten the clamps and the job is complete. Turn your vehicle on and check to make sure all electrical functions are operating properly and you are ready to drive! As always, you can reference your factory service manuals, Chilton, Haynes, or eAutoRepair subscripition for help finding the correct parts and procedures.

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