Are you a hands-on kind of person? Maybe you like popping open the hood of your Chevrolet and getting a little grease on your hands. Yet, you may not know how exactly to change the battery under the hood of your precious Chevrolet. If so, this week’s blog is one that is perfect for you! This week, we have come up with a guide on how to change the battery in your vehicle. Take a look below and give it a go when you feel confident and your Chevrolet is begging for a new life, battery we mean!

• Park your vehicle on a flat, leveled surface and give your vehicle’s engine ample time to cool down. Pop open the hood, locate the battery, and decipher the positive cable from the negative one. The positive cable often has a plus sign and usually is red, the negative will have a negative sign and is usually black.

• Disconnect the negative terminal first, loosen the bolt and remove the cable from the port, push toward off to the side. Repeat this step for the positive port. ALWAYS disconnect the negative terminal first because you can end up shorting your circuit if you disconnect the positive cable first.

• Once the cables have been disconnected, unclamp the battery. Now, you can remove your battery from the holding tray; be careful, can be heavy and difficult to lift. Clean off the terminals and the new battery before placing it back into the battery tray. Use a battery-cleaning solution and a wire brush to clean the terminals. If there is any excessive corrosion to the clamps, consider replacing them. Let everything dry completely before re-inserting the new battery back into your vehicle.

• Once the battery is back in the tray, secure it once again with the clamp we removed prior. Reconnect the positive terminal first and do the same with the negative – tighten all clamps with a wrench to secure that you have a strong connection. To avoid corrosion, apply an anti-corrosion solution to each of the terminals. Close the hood and try to start your car – if it starts up, you are good to go. If your vehicle doesn’t start, check the connections and ensure your battery it tightly secured. If you are still having problems, contact our service department.

If you’re unsure if your battery is still in good standing, give us a call to schedule a service appointment for one of our mechanics to test your battery. You can also ask to test your battery when you have your oil changed. This is a proactive way to know where the life of your battery may be.