How To Install a Car Battery

Installing a car battery is one of the easier vehicle maintenance tasks to accomplish at home. All you need is the right tools on hand, some level ground to park your vehicle, and about an hour of time. If you don’t have the time or the tools, make a service appointment for Sunset Ford St. Louis. Our friendly technicians will take care of you and help you with a car battery installation near Fenton.

If your battery is nearing the end of its serviceable life, it’s better to replace it before it conks out completely. You don’t want to be left in a lurch!

What Tools Do You Need To Install a Ford Battery?

Before you think about replacing your old battery, have some tools on hand. If you want to know how to install a car battery, you’ll need:

• Rubber gloves to protect your hands
• An adjustable wrench or pliers
• Battery cleaning solution
• Wire brush
• Anti-corrosion spray

Have all of your tools? Now you’re all set!

Step-by-Step Guide for Car Battery Installation in St Louis 

Follow these simple steps to change your Ford battery. Make sure your car engine is cool because you don’t want to pop the hood only to have to deal with a hot engine.

1. Park your vehicle on level ground.
2. Activate the parking brake.
3. Turn your engine off.
4. Pop the hood.
5. Put on rubber gloves to protect your hands.
6. Loosen the nut that holds the black (negative) cable on the battery. Twist the nut all the way off once it’s loose enough.
7. Follow the same step for the red (positive) cable.
8. Loosen the clamp that holds the battery in place. This prevents it from shifting around in your engine compartment.
9. Remove the clamp completely after loosening it. Set it aside, as well as the nuts that attached it, so you don’t lose them.
10. Carefully lift the battery out with both hands. Your car battery is very heavy.
11. Set the battery on the ground.
12. Clean away any corrosion that may be left behind from the old battery, using the cleaning solution and wire brush. If you don’t have any cleaning solution, make a water and baking soda solution. Small amounts of corrosion are normal for batteries near the end of their serviceable lives.
13. Remove any corrosion you might see on the black and red cable connectors.
14. Place the brand-new battery in the empty spot.
15. Tighten the clamp to keep the battery in place.
16. Spray anti-corrosion spray on the two wires. This will help prevent build-up over time. Small amounts of corrosion may happen after several years of use. Anti-corrosion spray can increase the life of your battery because it doesn’t have to work as hard to get power to your systems.
17. Attach the battery cables in their proper place.
18. Tighten the cables completely without over-tightening.
19. Start your vehicle. If the car battery is connected properly, your vehicle should start as normal.
20. You might notice that the dashboard clock reset itself. That’s because the car battery kept that clock on! Just like a power outage at your house might mean resetting the time on alarm clocks, you may have to reset the time on your dashboard clock.

One final step: You cannot just throw away a car battery after you remove it from your vehicle. It must be disposed of properly. Feel free to bring it by the service center of Sunset Ford St. Louis and we’ll take care of it. 

Ready for Car Battery Installation?

Do you need a car battery installation near you? The technicians at Sunset Ford St. Louis can help, whether you’re driving from St Louis or Arnold. While we specialize in selling new Ford vehicles, we can install car batteries on any make and model, and we also perform regular maintenance on any vehicles too, such as oil changes or tire rotations.

Contact us or call (314) 329-3680 for more information.