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Guide

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Mahalo mechanic Desmond Bryant shows just how easy it is to replace your battery.

Here's What You'll Need
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* Safety goggles
* Safety gloves
* Open-ended wrench—look at the bolt on the terminal to determine the size 
* Standard wrench (for domestic cars) or metric wrench (for imported cars)
* Pair of pliers

1. Put on your gloves to protect your hands from fluids and the sulfuric electrolyte solution on top of the battery. Never touch the white powder with your bare hands. 
2. Using the open-ended wrench, loosen up the NEGATIVE terminal on top of the battery.  Once the bolt is loosened, remove the cable from the NEGATIVE terminal. Safety Tip: make sure you put the cable to the side so that it doesn't touch the other cable. 
3. Using the open-ended wrench, loosen up the POSITIVE terminal and then remove the cable, again making sure that the cables don't touch. Note: The POSITIVE terminal is the red topped cable with a + symbol. 
4. Your battery might be sitting in a housing bracket. Not all cars have them but they're pretty simple. The bracket is usually held in by two bolts. If you have a housing bracket. Follow these simple steps: Using a pair of pliers, loosen the bracket bolt, turning counter clockwise. Once you get it finger loose or loose enough to turn with your fingers, unscrew the bolt by hand.  Set it aside in a place where you can easily find it such as a pocket or a cup. Remove the second bolt in the same way. 
5. The average battery weighs 24 pounds so you might need help removing it. They are deceptively bulky and not always easy to handle. Set your old battery to the side. Make sure to properly recycle your old battery and don't just throw it in the trash. There are many programs countrywide to help you recycle your old battery. You can sometimes even trade them in and get a discount on the new one. 
6. Place your battery in either the housing bracket or if your car doesn't have one, simply put it in the place where the old one was. Then re-attach the red cable to the POSITIVE terminal. Reconnect the NEGATIVE terminal cable. If you have a housing bracket, make sure you place it in securely using the bolts you set aside earlier. 

Read more by visiting our page at:
http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-replace-a-car-battery/