Battery replacement question

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Author Message   Bryan Weiss Posted on Monday, May 20, 2002 - 03:36 pm:    Ok, can anyone answer this question from the clinically inept... Putting in a new Optima battery today and just want to know if there are any quirks I need to know about or can I just go ahead and yank the old one out. Also, which lead is disconnected / reconnected first... negative or positive? Thanks.   Erik G. Burrows (Erik) Posted on Monday, May 20, 2002 - 04:04 pm:    You shouldn't have any problems if you're quick. Try to keep the disconnected time to less than 10 minutes. Also, clean the battery clamps with a fine wire brush and it wouldn't hurt to put some anti-corrosion compound on when you're done. Disconnect the negative first, and put it back last. That way, while you're working on the positive lead, if your wrench comes in contact with anything, it doesn't weld itself in place.   Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Posted on Monday, May 20, 2002 - 04:45 pm:    While everything Erik said is correct, depending upon the model year of your vehicle and the state of your current (LOL) battery, there may be some things you should be prepared for. IF your current battery is completely dead, AND if your vehicle is a post 1996 MY it is likely that you have lost your vehicle management memories. IF your vehicle is older than MY 1996, the only thing you will lose is your radio code. Now, IF your vehicle is newer than MY 1996, and your battery is not completely dead, you can avoid all of these problems by providing 12 volts to the vehicle through the lighter socket. In this way, you can swap out your battery and not lose any of the memories. These vehicles are VERY sensitive to low voltage during cranking (will set both ABS and air bag error codes necessitating a trip to the dealer). Removing a hot battery will not cause any irreparable harm, but your engine will not run at its peak efficiency or performance until a given number of start/stop sequences, and a range of throttle positions have been encountered. In the event your battery has already died, you have already lost these memories. As Erik stated, be careful with the cables-especially if you are going to provide an alternate power source while swapping batteries. peace, Paul   Erik G. Burrows (Erik) Posted on Monday, May 20, 2002 - 09:15 pm:    Also, if you do as Paul described, and provide temporary power via the lighter socket, be careful to use either a normal battery charger (I'd bet you can even find one that has a plug on it instead of clamps), or a FULLY charged battery. Otherwise when you plug that temporary battery in, it'll try to charge off the one under the hood, and probably pull way more amps than that socket is meant for. If you have a DII, use the 'accessory' socket in the back, instead of the lighter socket in the front, it's on a 30 amp circuit.   Norm Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 03:46 am:    Now that I'm going to install an Optima to go with my new winch set up, the question is: Can you get a decent metal battery clamp to fit the Optima in a '95 Disco? Can the Optima use the original metal battery clamp that I have never been able to use since the original stock battery died years ago? I have been using Champion 4x4 batteries ever since with these cheap-ass rubber clamps and bungie cords from Wal Mart and I don't like it. Thanks, Norm   chris browne Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 05:54 am:    Optimas variy in size a bit but my red one uses the original clamp.   Dave Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 08:57 am:    Paul in regard to your post above I have a question. While in the process of purchasing a new battery for my 97 Disco I, my vehicle was without a battery for 3 days. After installing a new Optima "red" the only lights or apparent problems I incurred was the necessity of imputing the radio code again...no other lights came on the dash and the Disco seems to run as before. Am I missing something and do I need to take the vehicle to the dealer and have him reset anything? SHould I have seen (or currently see) any lights indicating the vehicle management memories need to be reset? Appreciate any insight into this. Thanks! Dave   Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 10:01 am:    Dave: You may have gotten lucky. My experiences are limited to Disco Is where a failing alternator took much circuitry with it, necessitating the use of Autologic and the installation of a new stereo. Oh yeah, the stereo alarm would go off when least expected-that got annoying quickly. Your '97 MY Disco may have fewer electronic issues than the newer engine management systems. Usually, there is no long term detrimental impact, just that gas mileage may suffer until the computer re-learns what it knew. OR, one can be in it deeply. Again, it depends upon the circumstances, etc. i've been told that the LR engineers considered it unlikely one would require battery replacement for a long time after purchase... Paul   LR Max Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 02:40 pm:    A quick note about plug-in chargers that go into the cigarette lighter; I had one of those things go south on me. One day I left the lights on in my truck, and I needed a jump. I had one of those cigarette plug-in things, and I used it. About 90 seconds later, the thing starts to pour out smoke from the little converter box, and just about catches on fire. I ended up having to use jumper cables (never leave home without em'). So, just a little warning . Max T.   Dave Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 04:10 pm:    Hi Paul, I appreciate your feedback. The reason the original battery went dead is that I had to leave the Disco I (97) parked outside in winter for quite a few months due to an unexpected trip and it wasn't started while it sat. I pulled the original battery and didn't get to replacing it for 3 days before I installed my Optima. As I mentioned, the only sign that something was different after installing the new battery was the need to input the radio code. Other than that, no lights or other warning signs and the gas mileage and well as the apparent functioning of the Disco seems as before. As you mentioned, maybe I got lucky or maybe I've yet to notice something that is running different but haven't come across it yet. Thanks again! Dave   Byran Weiss Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 05:31 pm:    Thanks for the replies. Put the battery in yesterday and had no problems. As far as the battery clamp... I couldn't use the original. (I tossed it in the trash cuz it didn't fit). I just went to Menards and got a piece of 1.5" x 7" metal, drilled two holes, and used the orignal posts with screw ends that held the other clamp. works fine.