Battery Replacement

[FaccLndscpng]

I know that were not all Mechanics but as a business owner there are many times that you will have to fix stuff while in the field, well I need to replace my Trucks Battery and a friend of mine is a mechanic and he says that if you leave the truck running while replacing the battery you wont lose any codes like the radio and whatever else. What do you guys think? does this sound crazy or should I give it a shot? I have known the guy for like 5 years now and I dont want to go back to him and ask again, like as if I dont trust him or anything like that. I know the job isnt that complicated but I dont want to have to go and track down codes from dealers. And I know someone is going to bring this up so I'll get it out of the way, I chose to replace the battery myself not for the cost issue but because I would like the knowledge and experience of doing it myself. like a few years ago I replaced an A/C Condenser on my last truck and everything went great. what do you guys think? has anyone else done this or heard of this? let me know. I know I cant be the only one that works on his own equipment or attempts to atleast.

[musician/lawnman]

Lawn care business tips

Ok, 1) Yes that will save the data if you do it that way however there is some risk of electric shock, Once you have the truck running do NOT accitentally touch the wrench to the positive terminal & anything else at the same time, Once it's off, cover the positive battery cable well. Use clothing, a big towel a heavy duty rubber glove or combinations thereof. The trucks alternator puts out alot more power than the battery & it will hurt like hell so don't ever put yourself in a situation where you are the link in the positive/negative circut. It could kill ya. 2) Your vehicle even if you change the battery with it off should only lose noncrucial information like your radio presets, clock time, & if you have power seats/mirrors that remember positions for driver 1, driver 2.... you may have to reset those. 3) The dealers use a tool to save that information so it doesn't need to be reset inconvieniencing their customers, the tool can easily be made at home. It's basicaly a 9v battery that plugs into your cig lighter. Take any old car cell phone charger & attach a 9v to the wires. Though plug it in with the car OFF right before you change the battery, once you got the new battery in remove it before you start the truck or the 9v will over heat & explode. This sends enough power into the system while you change the battery to maintain memory so these settings are not lost. Do this ONLY WITH THE TRUCK OFF.

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[Steve]

Could you also take jumper cables and connect them to the terminals and then to the new battery?

That way you could have the vehicle off and disconnect the terminals from the old battery, pull the old battery out and then place the new battery in and connect the terminals.

I would rather do that then work on it while the engine is running.

[musician/lawnman]

Steve,
Probably wouldn't work very well as you need to be able to access the terminals with a wrench to loosen them, & the jiggle them off. The process would likely knock the jumper cables off I think.

Originally Posted by musician/lawnman

3) The dealers use a tool to save that information so it doesn't need to be reset inconvieniencing their customers, the tool can easily be made at home. It's basicaly a 9v battery that plugs into your cig lighter. Take any old car cell phone charger & attach a 9v to the wires. Though plug it in with the car OFF right before you change the battery, once you got the new battery in remove it before you start the truck or the 9v will over heat & explode. This sends enough power into the system while you change the battery to maintain memory so these settings are not lost. Do this ONLY WITH THE TRUCK OFF.

This is the way to do it. Trust, it works and is an inexpensive method. Most people already have all the components laying around the house.....

[FaccLndscpng]

Thanks guys I will give it a shot tomorrow and let you know what happens. In regards to this and other related issues, Steve I know that people have started threads before about it but how about starting a section for Equipment Repair and tips? Like under "Show off your pics" and "Community Assistance" I know that a lot of people would like to ask some questions or people like chuck have a lot of knowledge and experience that could be shared and maybe help others with troubleshooting some common issues. What do you think?

[Steve]

That is a great idea. Let me move this thread to the equipment discussion area that I changed to include repair discussions as well.

Thank you.

[FaccLndscpng]

well I finally got around to replacing the battery... everything went good, I kept the truck running and changed out the battery in no time. i didnt have to worry about radio codes which by the way isnt your presets its an anti theft thing that pretty much locks your radio out so that no one can steal your radio. but anyway you can also purchase or rig up a device that will also save your codes but i left my truck running and just wrapped a rag around both leads negative always first off and last on and the whole process only took about 5 minutes. thanks to everyone for their input. also note that I am not a professional mechanic and I am not responsible for any injuries that may occur if you should attempt this procedure. i dont know if we have to worry about anything like this or not steve but i threw some thing in just to be safe.