Disconnect the car battery: the most important tips
Defective car batteries are often only noticed when it is too late and the car no longer starts. Check your car battery regularly with a multimeter. To replace your old battery, you first have to disconnect it.
Disconnecting the car battery: tips and tricks
How to proceed if you want to disconnect and remove your old car battery.
- Make sure that the engine and all consumers such as lights and radio are switched off.
- Open the hood and locate the car battery. In newer vehicles, this is often in a battery box.
- After you have exposed the battery, first unscrew the black cable from the minus pole.
- The cable lugs are often greased. Therefore, wrap the removed cable connections in a cloth.
- Now also remove the red cable from the plus pole.
- Now you can remove the battery from the engine compartment. To do this, unscrew the small sheet metal bracket that holds the battery.
- Now lift the battery out of the engine compartment. Try to pull the battery out as straight as possible so that no liquid escapes.
Connect the car battery: how it works
If you want to install a new car battery, follow the tips below. Important: Before buying, check if the battery is compatible with your car.
- Insert the battery straight into the place of the old battery. Then screw the battery tight with the sheet metal bracket.
- If present, remove the protective caps from the battery poles.
- First screw the positive pole (red cable) to the positive pole of the battery.
- Then connect the minus pole (black cable). Attention: This can cause sparks, because at least in newer cars not all consumers can be switched off. Therefore, wear safety glasses when installing.
- Tip: We have put together more on the topic of changing the car battery in another home tip.
Important note - minus before plus
When disconnecting the battery, you must follow the correct order. Always disconnect the negative cable first. This cable is also called ground and is usually black or, in rare cases, blue.
- If you would first loosen the red cable and slide it off with the metal tool, this would result in a short circuit.
- Only when the ground cable is no longer in contact with the negative pole of the battery can you safely disconnect the red cable, which is usually red, from the positive pole of the battery.
- If you want to reconnect the battery later, proceed in reverse order: First connect the plus pole, then the minus pole.