To reconnect your car’s battery, all you need to do is connect the car’s positive and negative cables to the correct battery terminals and secure them in place. We'll walk you through it step-by-step, and also explain how to clean your battery to remove corrosion, or remove it from your vehicle and replace it altogether.
Your car battery does its job unnoticed for the most part, so if you do need to disconnect it, you might find yourself at a loss. Never fear, wikiHow is here! There are a lot of car repairs that you should really trust to a mechanic, but disconnecting or replacing the battery in a gas-powered car is not one of them.
To disconnect a car battery, start by turning off the engine and opening the hood so you can access the battery. Wear eye protection when working with the battery to protect your eyes from sparks. Locate the positive and negative terminals on the battery.
Since you disconnected the battery, you'll have to reset the digital clock on your display. You'll probably have to adjust your other settings as well, so it might take a couple of minutes to get everything back the way you like it. When you first start up your car, you might notice that it idles rough.
It’s important to disconnect the negative terminal first to prevent any electrical shorts. Use your wrench to loosen the nut or bolt securing the terminal. After it’s loose, carefully lift the cable off the battery post and set it aside. 4. Disconnect the Positive Terminal Repeat the same process as Step 3 but for the positive terminal.
Disconnect the negative terminal first, then the positive terminal. Set aside 10-15 minutes to disconnect the battery, another 10-20 minutes if you need to remove corrosion, and another 10-15 minutes to put it back or install a new one. Reverse the original order and reconnect the positive terminal first, then the negative terminal.