Is it safe / easy to change a car battery on a 2008 Honda Ac

[jrturner]

Hi,

My car battery is displaying 7.5v on the multimeter, which I take it means it needs replacing. I bump started it the other day and gave it a 1 hour drive - so would have thought it should be fully charged.

How safe / easy is it to replace the battery myself?

What precautions do I need to take?

Thanks,
J

[lemmingjames]

Make sure youre standing on a rubber mat ideally wearing a full latex bodysuit just to be safe.

Ive heard the Hondas of the 2008 variety are the biggest killers when it comes to electrocution, more deaths by Honda than working on HV in a 3rd world country

[thatdude]

jrturner said:

Hi,

My car battery is displaying 7.5v on the multimeter, which I take it means it needs replacing. I bump started it the other day and gave it a 1 hour drive - so would have thought it should be fully charged.

How safe / easy is it to replace the battery myself?

What precautions do I need to take?

Thanks,
J

First, make sure you have the security code to hand for the radio. If you dont, you'll need to find that out - Honda will sell it to you (my brother had to do this!)

it's fine, it's easy. Obviously ensure the ignition is off, and dont bridge the contacts with anything conductive (like your spanner). Undo the battery strap / backet that secures the battery. Disconnect the negative (black) terminal first, then the positive. Remove battery, and inspect the battery leads for any corrosion and clean them up (a wire brush is usefull, and you can get dedicated electrical contact cleaner sprays if its really bad. If both lead clamps are nice and shiny, leave it alone). Install new battery, connect leads (positive first, negative after). tighten down the clamps nicely (but you dont need to lean on the spanner like king kong, just get it tight). Job done. Check it all works (ignition on, start engine) and put in your radio security code.

Just to be certain your battery IS charging, check it across the terminals and it should be 13-14 V.

[GreenV8S]

thatdude said:

First, make sure you have the security code to hand for the radio. If you dont, you'll need to find that out - Honda will sell it to you (my brother had to do this!)

It's possible to save the radio codes by connecting a temporary 12V supply. If yo9u have somebody supply and fit the new battery for you, you may well find they do this to save hassle. It's also possible to buy little gadgets that plug into a lighter socket or OBD2 port to do this. They don't wpork on all cars, and unfortunately you might find out the hard way they don't work on yours,

[voicey]

Whatever you do, ensure you take the key out of the ignition before connecting the new battery. Otherwise you run a real risk of decoding the key from the immobiliser.