Changing a car battery

pipeliner

Folks,

I wonder if someone could give me some advice, Is it possible to change a car battery yourself or are you better off getting a mechanic to do it?

who the fug

Yes

Check the user manual, and read the radio handbook as well

Anan1

It's very easy to do, but make sure you have your radio code to hand.

pipeliner

Thanks for the replies, I never got the friggen manual when I bought the car or radio manual so I guess my radio will be f**ked when I connect the new battery.:mad::mad:

who the fug

what is the make and model of the radio

Pkiernan

pipeliner wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, I never got the friggen manual when I bought the car or radio manual so I guess my radio will be f**ked when I connect the new battery.:mad::mad:

Unless your battery is 100% dead, there will still be power enough for the radio.

Here is a tip I used to keep power to the radio while changing the battery.

I got a 12v plug adapter, connected it to another battery (in this case a jump starter pack), and plugged it into the cigarette lighter. Then I removed the dead battery.

After I replaced the battery, the radio was still fine.

It was a little bit of work, but saved €50 at the dealer trying to get the radio code.

Matt Simis

You can also get a car "memory protector" or something along those lines in car parts places (possibly Maplins too) that do the above in a more off the shelf manner.. basically a little battery that plugs into the 12v Cig socket and keeps enough power to keep the radio from loosing its code.

skinthegoat

Depending on the age of the car, you may have to consider more than just the radio. I'm not a mechanic, and perhaps someone can expand on or correct this, but most cars now involve a level of computer control. It's possible to lose a lot of important engine settings by allowing a period to elapse with no battery connected. I speak from experience, having got myself into all sorts of bother changing the battery in a '95 C180. The trick is to ensure that some sort of 12V supply is connected at all times, whether you do this with jump leads or one of the gadgets mentioned by previous posters. Good luck!

itarumaa

skinthegoat wrote: »

I speak from experience, having got myself into all sorts of bother changing the battery in a '95 C180.

What kind of issues you had then? Never heard or experieced any issues when changing a battery, well except maybe for the radio code issue.

Matt Simis

Ive changed batteries many times in various cars, never had an issue with "important" settings going missing. Sure, some ECU learnt values go missing, but its designed to relearn them when driven again. People let batteries run down all the time, a provision for this would have to be (and is) designed in.

Alanstrainor

Have to change the battery in a Polo tomorrow, hopefully it'll be grand, haven't had to do it in a polo before.

skinthegoat

Well, maybe I've been had then. First off, I had the battery out of the car overnight charging it. When I put it back, I found it very difficult to start. Replaced the battery at this stage - I'd been having problems with it for years after long periods without use, holidays. &c. Again, very difficult to start. Took out plugs, found them completely black and coated. Fitted a new set, and OK for a couple of days. When problems returned, checked new plugs and found them completerly black again. Took it to a garage, and they said the mixture was crazy, that I'd lost all my ECU settings. They did a cleanup on the fuel system and reset all the ECU settings. No problems since. I though myself that there might be a small hold-up battery in the ECU, and that mine was dead; but that's just a theory. I mentioned this to a mechanic, and he said that you shouldn't leave any modern car without a battery - even a flat one will have enough to keep the electronic memory alive. Me, I don't know, but that's my experience.

pipeliner

thanks for the replies folks, i got to change the battery and WOO HOO the radio still works:D:D:D