Turvey Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Since when did doing a simple job like changing a car battery become such a (relativity) difficult task? Back in the day (God, I hate that phrase) you could change one in less than 5 minutes, including washing your hands after and putting the kettle on!!! 2 nuts holding the bracket on, a couple of turns and you got it off. Positive and negative terminals a quick turn and off. New one on in no time. Now, remove plastic battery cover. unclip 3 or 4 different cables from fiddly plastic clip things. Try and remove bit of plastic surrounding the battery whilst simultaneously trying to pull cables out of the way. Remove 2x10mm nuts holding the bracket on. Too deep for a socket so have to use a spanner to begin with. Finally get bracket off. 10mm nuts on battery terminals. Nice, easy access? Oh NO!!! Let's put the neg terminal so far under the windscreen scuttle that you can only manage a 1/8th turn on a spanner!!! Even pulling the old battery out and getting the new one in is an absolute pain due to the lack of room. Replacement is even more of a ball ache as you have to remember in which order it all came off because if you start putting it back together in the wrong order you have to take it all apart again to get that stupid bit of plastic surround in!!! Rant over 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMX Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 It's even more fun, in the driving rain with the sun setting on you 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmurray01 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 It is undoubtedly so that owners will decide to just put the car into the dealership for battery replacements, thus lining their pockets. Hence why I prefer old cars, where you could strip them down to individual parts and put them back together again, all on your driveway with a simple tool-box! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turvey Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 On 20/07/2016 at 10:33 AM, jmurray01 said: It is undoubtedly so that owners will decide to just put the car into the dealership for battery replacements, thus lining their pockets. That's kinda what I was thinking when I was doing the job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 On 20/07/2016 at 10:33 AM, jmurray01 said: It is undoubtedly so that owners will decide to just put the car into the dealership for battery replacements, thus lining their pockets. Hence why I prefer old cars, where you could strip them down to individual parts and put them back together again, all on your driveway with a simple tool-box! Actually is more likely to do with what happens to the battery in the event of a bad accident. Hence why they are housed in a battery box and strapped down not to mention where they are placed. A battery is a heavy weapon if it comes loose during an impact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmurray01 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 25 minutes ago, simcor said: Actually is more likely to do with what happens to the battery in the event of a bad accident. Hence why they are housed in a battery box and strapped down not to mention where they are placed. A battery is a heavy weapon if it comes loose during an impact. I understand that, but until the early 2000s batteries were placed in pretty much the same place and using the same restraint methods for 50+ years. I doubt they changed it for safety reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 they have moved them for crash protection i believe, modern cars are designed to absorb a crash so battery had to be moved away from the crumple zones. ?? thats my theory anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmurray01 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 1 hour ago, iantt said: they have moved them for crash protection i believe, modern cars are designed to absorb a crash so battery had to be moved away from the crumple zones. ?? thats my theory anyway. True. That said, the best crash protection is a good driver behind the wheel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 yeh, but its every other driver on the road that can make use of your crash protection unfortunatly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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