How To Reconnect A Car Battery: 4 Simple Steps to Follow

Batteries are known as a tool to help store electricity so that devices such as radios, air conditioners, and lighting systems when the engine has not started. For some reason, you disconnected or replaced the battery and needed to reconnect your car battery. So how to reconnect a car battery is the correct standard for the battery to work normally? Everything will be explained in the article below:

How To Reconnect A Car Battery – Follow 4 Steps:

Before getting to the detailed process, we will go through some notes: 

• You need to perform operations in a safe environment. First, you need to park the car in a location with flat terrain and avoid the traffic flow. Please keep a safe distance from traffic flow, make sure that there is no fire around, and absolutely do not smoke while the connecting process. Next, gloves and goggles are important items you need to prepare before hooking up a car battery because not only is there a danger of electric shock, but the battery also contains dangerous chemicals that can affect your eyes and the skin like Sulfuric Acid.
• Do not forget to save the PIN of your electronic devices in the connecting process. This makes it more convenient for you to reset the information after reinstalling the car battery.
• When opening the car hood, you need to use the strut to fix the hood. Some models today have support for a fixed capo bar, so you can safely connect the car battery without having to worry about the problem that the lid may suddenly close.

Let’s roll your sleeve and start the process: 

Step 1: Cleaning the battery connections 

First, make sure that all of the electric parts on your car are off when reconnecting the power from the car battery, and don’t forget to remove your key from the ignition. 

Then, use a towel or brush to clean the terminal posts and battery tray. You can use water or baking soda to remove the rust on the battery terminal. If you see signs of corrosion on these terminals, you need to replace this part immediately to ensure that the new car battery can operate stably.

Around the base of the pole and the battery tray, there is often a white or blue powder of sulfate attached. Needing to remove all this dirt can help overcome the instability of the car battery. Failure to check and clean the dirt and rust on the battery is the cause of the battery deterioration. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly clean and sanitize the 2-pole battery connector. After cleaning, let it dry and then proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Insert the battery in its position

After cleaning and drying, proceed to install the battery in the car, paying attention to installing it exactly like the old position and keeping the battery in place during the vehicle movement by mounting the connection. Put the battery in the tray on the car. You use a wrench to connect the terminal to the new car battery. The proper way to connect a car battery is the positive terminal first and the negative terminal last.

Note: This step is the exact opposite of the process when removing or disconnecting the battery. Don’t mistake the process between the process because it can cause serious damage if you are confused between these types of cables and terminals.

Do not forget to fix and install all the parts that connect the battery to the tray on your car to ensure that the battery does not move when driving your car. After connecting the positive terminal, we proceed to connect the negative pole and tighten the screws.

Step 3: Use the corrosion protection on the terminals of the cable.

You spray anti-corrosion solution (terminal protectors) on the terminals on the battery to prevent the parts from corroding. You can easily find the solution at the local part store. Let’s choose the suitable one for your car and apply it to the positive and negative terminals of the battery. 

Step 4: Start your car and test the battery

You close the bonnet and start the car to check if the parts are working stably or not. If you see unusual signs or have difficulty starting the vehicle, you need to contact the mechanic to have a timely solution.

It’s quite simple for you to make the installation process at home with just basic mechanic knowledge and some tools. 

FAQs

How Often Should A Car Battery Be Replaced?

“How long does a car battery last?” This is information that any driver needs to master in case the “dead” battery in the middle of the road can affect drivers in traffic. Normally, depending on the type of battery, usage, weather conditions, temperature, and a few other factors, the performance of the battery will be different.

Most car batteries have a warranty period of 6-12 months and the lifespan reaches 2-3 years. If the battery is maintained periodically, the lifespan can be extended up to 100,000 km, equivalent to 4 years of use. In fact, the exact number is only about 2-3 years because it depends on external objective factors and the use process of the driver. At the end of the battery life, the battery should be replaced immediately.

>> See more: Car Battery Disconnecting or Replacement Problems

How to check to know if your battery needs to be replaced?

Replacing a new car battery is not a small amount, you should make sure that your battery is out of order, many times the problem is not caused by the battery but the driver mistakenly leads to the expensive replacement and time-consuming.

• When you open the bonnet and find cracks or debris on the battery, you can replace it without further inspection. And if in case you do not find any symptoms from the battery, now you need to observe the terminal of the battery to see if there is an old condition, cracks, or not, then make a decision to replace it.
• Sometimes the damage comes in the corrosive solution, the sulfate solution can rust the electrodes of the terminal. 
• You can also look around the foot of the battery terminal to see if there are white and blue sulfates attached to them, if so, you can clean and remove the stains to fix and help the battery work well. Moreover, note that these stains contain sulfuric acid, so you should not use your hands to clean them, which is easy to irritate and corrode the skin of your hands.
• Finally, you can check the generator, some models are equipped with a battery warning, for engines that are operating the generator is usually maintained at 13.8 – 14.2V for When the system is working properly, the battery should normally have a current of 12.4 – 12.8V when the engine is off and do not use any other electrical-related functions.

How To Choose The Right Car Battery?

When deciding to replace a new battery, you need to pay attention to information about your battery to verify which type of battery to buy is suitable for your vehicle. Find out the following information: 

• The capacity of the battery: The first thing to care about is the capacity of the battery, the capacity is calculated in Ah, and through Ah we can know how much electricity the battery can store, you need to make the right choice for the model you are using because if the electrical system of your vehicle is only 12V, but the battery you choose provides up to 24V, it will damage the system.
• Starting current parameter: The starting current parameter is the maximum amperage that the battery can provide within 30 seconds at a temperature of 0 degrees Celsius, the starting current needs to provide enough energy to be able to start the engine, so drivers should pay attention to buy a battery with the right starting current parameter for their vehicle.
• Size of the battery: Before buying a battery, car owners should pay attention to measuring the size of the battery to avoid buying a battery that is too small or too large for the position of the battery.

After choosing for themselves a suitable battery, the drivers proceed to remove the old battery and install the new battery.