battery replacement on 04 intrepid

[momoftwo]

wow do I need some advise. single mom who needs to replace my battery . put key in and nothing no even the bell for the key in the ignition and opened the hood and it is not on the top, positioned under the air filter and i need to know if i can get to it or do i need to have the car towed and have it replaced by a mechanic. I did notice then when I slammed the hood closed the bell for the key in the ignition chimmed I noticed some white corrosion on one of the terminals, could it be a terminal problem. i bought the car used in 2006 and havent replaced anything yet. If anyone has any advice I would love your help!

Sue

[shadetree]

Hi Sue,
Welcome.
First let's try something simple. Remove the negative cable(Black) from the battery then the positive cable(Red).
Next mix up some baking soda and water to form a paste. Spread this paste over the terminals and the top of the battery. This will neutralize the acid. Don't forget to do the cable ends also. Once it stops foaming you can rinse it off with water. When you reconnect the cables just do it in reverse order with positive then negative. Also put some petroleum jelly on the connections to prevent corrosion.
Next and this will involve spending a little money but not much. Unless you know someone that has a multimeter. If not go to a Radio Shack or an electronics store and get a small digital multimeter preferably one with autoranging.
Then you can check the voltage on the battery to see if it has at least 12 volts in it.
This should get you started and just post back for more help after that.

Shadetree

[driver540]

After you clean the terminals and reconnect them, see if you have power. If you do and the car will start. Drive it to a local part store and most of them will check your battery for free (Autozone).

[gacyota]

You guys have not seen where the battery sits on this Intrepid. It is not very easy to get to.
One way to get to it is to remove the passenger side tire, and remove the plastic molding that the battery hide behinds. You have easy access to your negavite cable this way.
The positive cable is accessed by removing the air filter housing. Take the air filter out and the hoses attached to it. You will see 2 prongs on the bottom of the housing that go into the fender. You have to pull those prongs out of the fender and the housing can be moved so you can see the positive terminal.
I suggest once you have cleaned the corrosion, get those anti corrosion rings at a parts store, They will save you from having to deal with this again.
Hope this helps

[re-tired]

AHH American engineering at its best . You have my sympathy's ma'am. The designer of this #@$$%#@ setup should have to fix it.

[Frodoro]

(09-03-2007 06:09 PM)gacyota Wrote:  You guys have not seen where the battery sits on this Intrepid. It is not very easy to get to.
One way to get to it is to remove the passenger side tire, and remove the plastic molding that the battery hide behinds. You have easy access to your negavite cable this way.
The positive cable is accessed by removing the air filter housing. Take the air filter out and the hoses attached to it. You will see 2 prongs on the bottom of the housing that go into the fender. You have to pull those prongs out of the fender and the housing can be moved so you can see the positive terminal.
I suggest once you have cleaned the corrosion, get those anti corrosion rings at a parts store, They will save you from having to deal with this again.
Hope this helps

Those are the typical procedures in removing the battery. I've been tried it a while ago with my own. However, it is better if they post pictures here so that we can easily figure out.