As you power-up and drive your vehicle around, there’s bound to come a time when you need to disconnect your battery terminals.
It could be as simple as fault troubleshooting, replacing a bad battery terminal, or it could even be as severe as full maintenance of your vehicle. While it appears hard, and it appears scary, it is very easy to do and will take you a few minutes maximum.
You need to apply caution in a few areas to avoid damage to the terminals. Batteries not only hold electrical charges, but they also harbor quite some corrosive materials and might be inflammable.
This means that you may need some couple of tools like a socket wrench. Well then, follow these simple steps on how to safely disconnect car battery on your vehicle.
How to safely disconnect the car battery?
Battery terminals are made of lead; it is possible for it to wear off if not properly connected/disconnected.
Consider battery polarities also; do not just take off any terminal. The procedures below show how to disconnect a car battery order.
Turn off the ignition & apply safety procedures
Even before you disconnect the battery from the engine, switch off the ignition key and retrieve the key from ignition.
Keep the door open your car door might lock up when replacing the battery terminal, depending on what car model you use, if you are using an automatic transmission, ensure that your car is in park position; or if manual transmission, leave in the first gear selector.
It is recommended that you should apply some safety procedures while disconnecting the battery terminals since the car battery stores electric charges.
Your car battery is capable of releasing flammable gas, and so it is therefore recommended that you should have a fire extinguisher placed close, and wear some safety gloves, and eye protection equipment.
Open the hood and locate the battery
Having made provision for your safety, the next is to open the hood and pull the hood lever or press a button that is mostly found below or beside the steering wheel. If you don’t find your car hood level, then refer to your car owner’s manual for guidance.
Other car manufacturers sometimes have their batteries installed out of sight in the trunk. If you don’t find the battery in your car hood, then it is in your car trunk. Once you find it, the next step is taken.
Determine the size of wrench you need to loosen the terminal nut
Look closely at your car battery and its terminals. Discover, by merely looking, the size of wrench you will need to unfasten the nuts. You will need to procure a pair of those, to perform the task, depending on the space available for maneuvering the wrench.
A single wrench is all right if the terminal is fastened by a single bolt but if it is bolt and nut, then of course, you will need two.
Most battery cable clamps carry 10mm bolts so you should use a 10mm flat wrench to disconnect the terminals. A set of socket wrench with same size socket will accomplish the same thing.
disconnect battery negative cable
It is a good, intelligent practice to always disconnect the negative battery lead first, to avoid the possibility of causing sparks that might short circuit a car computer (or other electronics and systems) or even blow the battery up.
Once finding the negative terminal, run your wrench to free the nut causing the terminal to be tightened. Turning in anti-clockwise direction.
On getting it freed you can proceed with your hand if wishing to find how to disconnect car batteries without tools; that is, carefully wiggling off the cables. Other than remove the nut but take care to wear gloves.
If your car utilizes a double battery, well just use the same procedure in a similar way that is detaching the jumper cable after have disconnected the negative terminal but in any event, if going to do anything on car electrical system, just disconnect car battery negative. No need to disconnect both.
Disconnect the battery positive cable
After successfully disconnecting the negative cable, the next step is to disconnect the positive cable.
Take the proper wrench from your mechanic toolbox and turn it counterclockwise to release the nuts. Certainly, don’t bridge the positive and negative terminal of the battery, as it may explode or damage the battery.
Be sure the positive terminal doesn’t touch the car chassis. It may disturb the car’s electrical circuit since there is probably some residual charge left in the system. It could also cause electronic damage.
Remove the battery strap and pull out the battery
Most car batteries are fastened secured with a bracket or strap that holds the battery down to its sitting. You will need to unscrew the strap before you can pull out of the battery.
Unscrewing the battery strap will require a sizeable wrench too, maybe of a bigger diameter. Make up the spanner on the nut and turn counterclockwise.
Pull the battery carefully so that both terminals don’t touch the metal body at the same time which will spark an electric spark.
Cleaning the battery terminals
Some disconnected battery terminals can get corroded over time. If your battery was disconnected because of disuse for instance, check that terminal before you reconnect it.
If you later reconnect the recharged battery without inspecting it, or trying to start the car, the engine may fail to turn over properly because of poor conductivity.
Scrub the battery corrosion off with a wire brush or a piece of sandpaper until no grime is left.
After getting rid of the corrosion, spray water on it and dry up the water with a clean cloth or rag.
When the terminal is clean and nice, smear a little grease for some lubrication and extra protection against corrosion.
FAQs.
Q: When should you need to disconnect the Batteries?
- When parking a car for a long period
- When replacing a battery
- When cleaning or changing the battery terminal
- If your car drains, the battery charges
- For proper troubleshooting
- When doing major work
Q: Which battery terminal must be disconnected first and why?
It is not difficult to disconnect the car battery from the engine. You only need to know the first cable to be disconnected. Review this article properly, and you will learn how to disconnect car batteries for storage if you plan on parking your car for a long.
The first cable to be disconnected when removing the battery is the negative. The reason is simple. The negative cable from the battery is attached directly to the frame of the car. Thus, you can short-circuit the battery if there is contact between the positive cable and the car body.
Q: Can you just disconnect the negative terminal?
Yes, you can disconnect the negative terminal. This is so because the negative terminal is connected to the ground.
By disconnecting the last-terminal charge first, you lessen the possibility of shorting out the battery, since you have eliminated the “ground.” Be aware that you want to avoid the negative terminal making behind contact with the positive.
Q: How do I temporarily disconnect my car battery?
Your car may develop a fault that will end up draining the battery charge each time you cut off the car and leave it for some hours or days.
When facing such a challenge, a permanent disconnection could prove an arduous task because you find yourself passing through the entire process of disconnecting all battery terminals and pulling out the battery.
To avoid the stress and to save time, just disconnect the car battery and only the negative cable.
Because by disconnecting the negative terminal, you have taken the entire car chassis out of that circuit.
Q: Why Do You Disconnect the Negative First?
The negative terminal from the battery goes through to the vehicle chassis/ground and through to other components in the car.
Hence, by taking it off first, you leave the car chassis out of the negative polarity of the battery. Doing this first reduces the chance of short circuited, and will timely protect your battery and other car electronic devices.
Q: What Happens If You Disconnect the Positive Terminal First?
Always take off the negative terminal first. If you attempt taking off the positive cable first, your spanner can slip spark and short to the chassis or create an instantaneous arc weld.
Knowing how to connect back car battery terminals will Save you the much stress and electrical problems that could lead to catastrophic damage.
Q: Which battery terminal gets connected first?
When reconnecting the cables to the battery, the positive cable has to be done first, or the negative. If the latter is attached first, the entire body of the car is charged with nuts and bolts on the body.
If the spanner catches the frame or any other part of it while attaching the positive cable a short may occur which might blow the battery.
Q: Do You Disconnect Your Car Battery When Not in Use?
If you are going on a vacation or you plan on taking a winter trip and are not in use for a while, there’s one thing that should not skip your mind.
It is disconnecting your car battery. Disconnecting the car battery when on vacation could save you from replacing it when you return.
The car’s electrical systems, for instance, headlights, can still run the battery down even with the ignition turned off. This means your car may not start for you do to a dead battery and may require you to jump-start your car.
Final Words
It is important to learn how to disconnect car batteries safely because there are some situations where there may be no auto mechanic.
You should learn how to know your battery polarity and which terminal to remove first when removing the battery. It is also recommended that you live regularly cleaning battery corrosion.