Batteries don’t last more than three to four years. Luckily changing your battery is one of the easier car repairs you can DIY with just a little know-how and a few tools.
Tools you need to replace car battery, include:
- Keep Alive Memory tool (KAM)
- Wrenches (13 or 10 mm are common)
- Wire brush & sandpaper
In this post, you’ll learn what tools you need to successfully change a car battery.
Tools You’ll Need
Changing the car battery isn’t a big deal. However, you will need a few tools to get the job done right. These tools aren’t expensive, but a tool like the KAM tool plays a pivotal part in the process.
What’s a KAM tool?
As you know modern cars use a ton of computers to manage complex systems. Your car’s computer power supply must not be interrupted, and that, of course, presents a problem when you need to remove the battery. The solution is a temporary power supply.
A KAM tool is a simple device that supplies your car’s control units with power while your battery is disconnected.
It uses an external power source, like a spare battery or a donor vehicle. It’s obviously important to connect the KAM tool to your car before removing the battery terminals.
A good KAM tool will allow you to scavenge power from a donor vehicle by connecting directly to its battery or through the vehicle’s 12-volt PowerPoint. The power is supplied to your car through the DLC (Data Link Connector), which you can find below the driver’s steering column.
What wrenches do I need?
You’ll need a wrench to loosen both battery terminals, and they’ll be the same size, but you’ll also need a wrench to loosen the battery hold-down bracket, and it may be a different size.
An adjustable wrench is a useful tool for loosening the battery terminal bolts, but they can be a little cumbersome. An exact wrench will be a lot easier to operate.
The battery hold-down bracket usually comes in two main flavors – it runs across the top of the battery or is mounted at the base of the battery.
Across the top of the battery type bracket is easy to unfasten even with a wrench. But if you have a battery bracket at the base of the battery, you may need to use a long socket extension and ratchet to unfasten; space is limited.
Common battery terminal and hold-down bracket faster sizes include:
- 10 mm
- 11 mm
- 12 mm
- 13 mm
Wire brush & sandpaper
A wire brush and some rough grit sandpaper (P80) will be needed to help remove corrosion and contaminants from the battery terminals. Corrosion will prevent the flow of voltage from the battery to the car and also, inversely, prevent your car’s alternator from charging the battery.
