First - don't yell at me, I already did a search, and did not see any topics on a DIY battery installation for a stock-sized battery. I also looked in the service manual, but I couldn't find anything about HOW to replace the battery, only the usual warnings about things to watch out for.

Second - don't yell at me to tell me it's easy and I'm stupid for asking. I know how to do some mechanical things, not others. I'm asking so I can learn. So there.

So... how do you replace the battery in an ITR? I'm sure it's something along the lines of "unhook the cables, switch the batteries, re-attach the cables", but that doesn't answer specific questions I still have, like:

1. What do I need to do, if anything, about cleaning the cable ends (clamps) where they attach? Brush with steel wool, maybe? Anything else?

2. How concerned do I need to be about all those warnings, to watch out for exploding gasses, etc? I don't smoke and I'll be doing this in a well-ventilated garage with the garage door open. Still a concern?

3. I already know my radio code to enter again after the battery is re-attached.

4. Anything about the alarm (optional Acura alarm) I have to worry about?

5. I assume the battery is somehow bolted down and there are bolts I have to unscrew. Can you describe where these are?

6. What do I do with the old battery after I switch them? Do I bring it back to the store for a refund of a core charge? Costco doesn't exactly look like they're set up to accept old batteries back...

Thanks in advance for any tips any of you can provide.

P.S. Don't yell at me.

 

1. If there's no corrosion, no cleaning is needed. My terminal connections looked great, so no cleaning was required. They still had a good bit of grease on them from the factory. If you have corrosion on the terminals and connectors, a couple of tablespoons of baking soda and a little water should loosen it, then wipe away.

2. Handle the batteries with care and there should be no problem in the scenario you described.

3. Good to go here.

4. Have your key fob ready to disarm the alarm when you connect the new battery cos it's going to go off. I'd put the keys on the windshield cowl near the battery or have someone at the ready.

5. The battery is held down by a black metal bar with two 10mm nuts that attach to two silver metal bars. It's less complicated than I just made it sound. All you'll need is a 10mm wrench to loosen the nuts. When you're about to completely unthread the nut, you'll want to hold the little silver metal bar that you're unthreading it from, or it might fall to the ground (no big deal).

6. I took mine to Auto Zone for disposal. Since I didn't purchase my battery from there I didn't get a credit but it didn't cost me anything.

 

Great - thanks!

 

ROFL nsxtasy asking for advice?

 

I could not respond in a timely manner cause I had to go to the hospital cause I laughed myself into a heart attack! Ken, your silly

Just undo the 2 10mm nuts, don't drop the rods and pull the ****** out. oh yeah disconnect the cables first. hehe

nothing to explode or hurt you, even if you were smoking, I tried a few times

 

i thought all type R owners actually knew something about car,,, i guess we learn something new everyday!

 

if you have a stock acura cd player, be sure you know your code before doing anything

1. undo negative terminal first

2. then positive terminal

3. clean if nessesary (should do every time unless they are perfect) (oh and clean with wire brush)

4. undo the battery holders (long metal poles with threaded ends)

5. pull out battery evenly

6. drop new battery in place and re-bolt

7. hook up positive terminal

8. before you hook up the negative terminal (especially in my case) if the negative wire touched the battery, my alarm went nutz. have your pager ready and when you touch the battery with the wire, turn off the alarm (usually with the unlock button) and you are golden

just did this a little while back cause my car keeps dying, but its not the battery

let me know if anything is unclear in my step by step

 

More good info that I would not otherwise have known. Thanks!

Another question - when you buy a battery, does it normally come fully charged, or should I assume that it might or might not be fully charged and I should hook up a charger to it for a while before using it? (I have an automatic charger that I can use.) I guess there's no harm in hooking it up; if it's fully charged, it just won't charge it...

 

The battery will be fully chanrged.

 

also make sure you don't drop or set your wrench or anything conductive/metal between the two terminals of the battery. I've seen a number of people shock themselves and its not fun. Otherwise sounds like you've got it Ken.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Erik95LS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">also make sure you don't drop or set your wrench or anything conductive/metal between the two terminals of the battery. I've seen a number of people shock themselves and its not fun. Otherwise sounds like you've got it Ken. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Lol, I've done some "welding" in my time

 

Ken,

Don't forget to keep the battery right side up. Don't tip it over. It more than likely will not leak it's contents but....

If your worried about corrosion, when you purchase your new battery ask for the 'corrosion doughnuts' or non conductive gel.

Stretch your lower back before you lift that bitch out. It's small...but heavy with not much to grab on to and some times cumbersome getting it in and out of the engine bay.

 

i noticed the negative cable seemed loose on the terminal until i pushed it way down. that might happen to you, but you'd realize it.

also, my stock alarm didn't go off... weird...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">P.S. Don't yell at me. </TD></TR></TABLE>

How many Princeton grads does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

 

You can use a 18mm wrench on the positive terminal to lift the battery out.

 

Coincidentally, I noticed the question and answer, copied below, in today's Motormouth column.

Do our cars have a remote positive connection point, to which we can attach jumper cables to keep the power connected while replacing the battery?

Q. I was very interested in the recent letter and response on the issue of removing battery cables (Transportation, Sept. 11). In the same vein, is there a recommended procedure for the safe removal and re-attachment of battery cables for the do-it-yourselfer who needs to replace a battery? I have a car that is not driven much, and the battery is about due for replacement.

C.J., La Grange Park

A. Removing the negative connection first and installing it last, is always the safest. If you want to save all the information stored in electronic devices such as your radio, there is another step. Using jumper cables, connect a known good battery to your car. Most cars now have a remote positive connection point. You can connect the negative cable clamp to any ground point on the engine. After installing the new battery, disconnect the jumper cables.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Do our cars have a remote positive connection point, to which we can attach jumper cables to keep the power connected while replacing the battery?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No.

Tip: Coat the terminals lightly with vaseline to keep corosion at bay.

 

Well, I bought the battery (at Costco for $37, 100 month warranty) around the time of this topic, but just got around to putting it in today. Everything went smoothly. (FWIW, my factory alarm did not go off when I connected it back up.)

Thanks to everyone for the tips.

 

Good to hear. I too just replaced mine. $59CAD. Not sure of the warranty. Car runs like a champ.

 

Be careful when tightening the bolts down, I melted a chunk out of craftsman wrench when I touched the terminal by accident. I'll be wearing eye protection every time I do this for now on FWIW.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RGoose18 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Be careful when tightening the bolts down, I melted a chunk out of craftsman wrench when I touched the terminal by accident. I'll be wearing eye protection every time I do this for now on FWIW.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is good advice. Obviously, you need to be careful (duh!). I think there are a couple of specific things you can do to avoid making contact with the terminals. One is not to touch the terminals at all except when you are disconnecting and reconnecting the cables to the terminal, and as rino924 advises, doing this as the very first and last things you do, so that everything else is tight and nothing is loose to make a short circuit. Another is, new batteries (mine, at least) come with plastic caps on the connectors. I intentionally left those caps on the connectors when I was placing the battery in the car and bolting it down, so it was impossible to touch the connectors during that part of the procedure. You can do the same thing by placing those plastic caps on top of the connectors of the old battery from the time you detach the cables, until the old battery is actually out of the car.

 

Good choice on the costco battery. I have had nothing but good experiences with them.