Your battery is the heart of your engine's electrical system and maintaining its health is crucial to keeping your vehicle running smoothly.
Here is what you can do yourself to give your battery proper care in between visits to your local service facility.
Precautions
- Your vehicle's battery creates gases that are potentially explosive. Never smoke near your battery or use a match or other open flame near it
- Keep metal objects, including watches and jewelry, away from your battery terminals - contact could create a spark and ignite the gases
- Battery acid is caustic - use safety goggles and rubber gloves, and avoid contact with your skin, eyes, nose or mouth
- Always make sure your engine is turned off before you check your battery
- Never remove or damage the vent caps
- Make sure the area you are working in is well ventilated
- Keep the top of your battery clean and dry
- Make sure that the battery connection cables are tightly fastened to the terminals
- Check for broken connections and frayed or cut cables - these need to be replaced as soon as possible
- Check for any other obvious signs of wear
- Remove the ground connection first by removing the negative (-) terminal from the post (note: older vehicles may have a positive ground)
- Remove the positive (+) terminal from the post
- Scrub any corrosion off the terminals, cables and posts using a stiff brush
- For tough buildup, use a solution of baking soda and water, taking special care that none gets inside the battery
- Reconnect the terminals in the reverse order from which you removed them, positive (+) first, then negative (-)
- Double-check to make sure the connections are tight and secure
