How to Safely Disconnect Your Car's Battery

Any time you're working on anything electrical-related on your vehicle, you'll need to disconnect the negative battery terminal. Watch this short video from Ben with YouTube channel Gears & Gasoline to learn how to disconnect your car's battery.

1. Locate your hood catch, open the hood, and support it safely with the hood prop.

2. Find the negative battery clamp and disconnect the cable using a wrench or a ratchet and socket. The negative cable and clamp will be marked with a minus on the battery, and the cable will be black. Make sure you're aware of your movements while loosening the clamp—you don't want the wrench or ratchet to touch the positive and negative terminals at the same time.

3. Should you need to remove the battery completely, you'll also need to disconnect the positive battery cable (the red one), as well as any battery hold-down clamps or other hardware. If you disconnect the positive cable, be very careful not to let the wrench make contact with the radiator core support or anything else, as a dangerous electrical arc could occur.

That's it—your battery's disconnected, and you're safe to work on your vehicle.

Last updated October 21, 2019