To change the battery in your car, you must have a 10mm open-end wrench.  The battery cables always use 10mm nuts. The battery bracket typically uses a 10mm bolt, but some battery brackets are held in place with a 12mm or 13mm bolt. 

To change the battery like a professional, you may need a few extra tools. 

List of tools you need to change a car battery

With these tools, you can change the battery in virtually any car. Of course, there are a few cars out there that need specialty tools. 

Now let's look more in-depth at the tools that you need to replace a car battery yourself. 

How to use these tools

Let's take a look at how you would use these tools to change a car battery. 

Battery Terminal Brush

You will need a battery terminal brush to scrub the corroded battery terminal. Just insert the brush and twist the clean your battery positive and negative clamps. 

Make sure to clean the battery post as well. 

10 mm Combination Wrench or Socket

Before you can remove the battery and clean it, you need to loosen the 10 mm nut. The nut doesn't need to come off; you just need to get it loose. Once you loosen the 10 mm bolt on the negative and positive battery bracket, you can remove the battery clamps. 

You can also use a combination 10mm open-end wrench to loosen the bolt. 

Tools to remove battery bracket

Depending on how your battery is mounted, you may need one of the following: 

• Removing batteries that have the bracket on top

Most Japanese cars such as Honda Toyota or American cars such as Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge have the battery secured with a bracket on top of the battery. These batteries are easy to replace. Remove the 10 mm that holds the bracket in place. Remove the bracket and pull out the battery. 

• Removing batteries that have a side bracket

In many European cars such as BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, the battery is held in place with a bracket at the bottom of the battery. The bolt for the bracket is typically either a 12mm or 13mm bolt. You will need an 8" extension and a ratchet to get to this bolt, which is down, and usually, there isn't much room for your hands. 

Dielectric Grease

It is highly recommended to use dielectric grease to protect the battery terminal from corrosion and improve the connection. 

Where is a car battery located? 

The most common locations where you will find a car battery are: 

• The engine bay
• In the trunk
• Under the rear seat  

Frequently Asked Questions