C4 Battery Replacement
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 22
Likes: 1
C4 Battery Replacement
Is there any good step by step instructions out there to replace the battery in a 1995 C4? Mine is dead in the garage so I can not easily just take it to my local dealer. Thanks.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 17,551
Likes: 26
From: El Paso Texas
Fender has a bolt between it and the rocker panel (10 mm if memory serves me correctly) that you can loosen by sliding an open end wrench in. You just have to loosen the fender enough to move it out of the way of the battery.
Taking the battery out is less than a 5 minute affair. Ensure key is off when you hook up new battery. Positive first, then negative.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,841
Likes: 19
From: CLT, North Carolina
You will have to remove the lower fender panel which requires several different tools; two sizes of torx bits, a 10mm open end wrench, and a ratchet with sockets and long extension (to reach the battery retaining bracket bolt at the bottom of the battery tray).
Pro
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 628
Likes: 13
From: Indiana
When you open the hood and look at the battery location directly beside the battery is a small piece of fender that has the slots in it. You must remove several of the fender liner screws, a bolt on top of the piece and loosen a 10mm screw that is at the bottom between the fender piece and the lower rocker panel. Once out you can get to the battery hold down bracket bolts and slide the battery out through the fender opening. I once paid a Chevy dealer to replace my battery when it was in for an oil change. They billed me for an hour and a half labor. I ask why and they said they had to remove a support bracket and the ECM and its brackets just to get at it. They took it out through the top. I got out my owners manual and showed them how it was supposed to be done and refused to pay for more then a half hour labor. I have done it in less than twenty minutes several times before that and just thought since it was in for oil I would just have them do it. I have never used a dealer for any thing else since that day.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2008
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From: Delta B.C. Canada
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That lower 10mm bolt can be hard to spot and hard to get a wrench at. The gap is narrow, so if your 10mm wrench doesn't fit in there, get an old one and grind it narrower. As already said, you only have to loosen it, not remove it.
When re-installing the piece, make sure you adjust it so that your door gap is correct.
When re-installing the piece, make sure you adjust it so that your door gap is correct.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 97
Likes: 2
From: Simi Valley CA
That lower 10mm bolt can be hard to spot and hard to get a wrench at. The gap is narrow, so if your 10mm wrench doesn't fit in there, get an old one and grind it narrower. As already said, you only have to loosen it, not remove it.
When re-installing the piece, make sure you adjust it so that your door gap is correct.
When re-installing the piece, make sure you adjust it so that your door gap is correct.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,841
Likes: 19
From: CLT, North Carolina
I watched about 1/2 of the video before being compelled to comment on a few errors. The bolt on top is 10mm, not 3/8 standard. You can gain enough room to get to the torx fasteners inside the wheel well by turning the wheels to the left. They are not allen or star, they are specific size "torx."
The negative battery cable is not in danger of grounding itself because it is ground. Positive is the one to be careful of.
Resume watching...
He did a good job cautioning against over-tightening the cable clamp bolts. Former GM Corvette engineer Gordon Killebrew says side terminal battery leaks at the posts are usually due to overtightening. He recommends 11 lb/ft torque and no more.
Video does a good job of guiding you through the steps. Thanks to the OP
The negative battery cable is not in danger of grounding itself because it is ground. Positive is the one to be careful of.
Resume watching...
He did a good job cautioning against over-tightening the cable clamp bolts. Former GM Corvette engineer Gordon Killebrew says side terminal battery leaks at the posts are usually due to overtightening. He recommends 11 lb/ft torque and no more.
Video does a good job of guiding you through the steps. Thanks to the OP
Last edited by Greg Gore; Nov 10, 2013 at 01:00 PM.
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