Alright, so today I wanna talk about messing with my old 2019 Honda. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a daily driver, but lately it’d been acting funny, especially in the morning. Thing was taking a good second or two longer to crank over, ya know? Kinda sluggish.
Getting Fed Up
This went on for, like, maybe two weeks? Every morning it was this little moment of “please don’t die on me today.” Turn the key, it’d groan… and then finally wake up. Really annoying. I figured it had to be the battery. Battery was probably the original one that came with the car back in ’19 – getting old.
Time to Swap it Out
I wasn’t gonna pay some shop a bunch of money for something that looked pretty damn easy. I drove over to the big auto parts store down the street. Walked straight back to the battery racks – man, there are a lot of choices! I just looked for the exact model the car needed. Snagged one that looked the same size and type as the crusty old one. Paid for it and brought it home.
The Actual Swap
Parked the Honda on the driveway. Popped the hood. First thing I did was find the negative terminal on the old battery – usually black, sometimes has a minus sign. Loosened the clamp nut with a 10mm wrench – took a little elbow grease – and popped the negative cable off. Did the same for the positive terminal, that one’s usually red with a plus sign. Set both cables carefully aside so they wouldn’t flop back and touch anything.
Then, the old battery was just sitting there, held down by this flimsy metal bracket across the top. Undid the nuts holding that thing down. Lifted the old battery straight up and out – heavier than it looks! Plopped it on the ground.
- Grabbed the new battery
- Lined it up in the tray
- Put the metal bracket back over it and tightened the nuts down – snug, not crazy tight
Before I hooked it up, I took a second to wipe down the battery terminals on the car cables with a rag. Looked kinda grimy. Wanted a clean connection. Then:
- Connected the positive cable clamp to the new positive battery terminal first
- Tightened that clamp nut down good with the wrench
- Then did the exact same thing for the negative cable to the negative terminal
The Moment of Truth
Closed the hood. Hopped in the driver’s seat. Said a little “please work” to myself. Turned the key. Whir-BRRRROOM!
Instantly fired up like a brand new car! No hesitation, no groaning, just smooth engine noise. Such a relief and honestly, kinda satisfying knowing I just fixed it myself.
Total time? Maybe 20 minutes, taking it slow. Cost? Just the price of the battery. Saved myself a trip to the shop and probably at least an hour of labor charges. Sometimes the simple stuff really is that simple.
