What You’re Missing by Not Researching Battery Disconnect and Reconnect Procedures

What You’re Missing by Not Researching Battery Disconnect and Reconnect Procedures

During a recent collision industry seminar I was teaching, I asked if there were any technicians in the class, and several people raised their hands.

I asked them: “If I walked into your shop, and asked you if you research the procedures in the OEM repair manual before you disconnect a battery, what would you say?”

It’s a question I’d like you to consider right now as you start reading this article.

In that class, I heard one tech muttering something quietly, and I asked him what he said.

“I would say if you don’t know how to disconnect a battery, you shouldn’t be working on cars,” he replied.

That’s a fair statement, I told him. But then I took him—and the rest of the class—through the OEM procedures for a particular vehicle, showing him what that automaker states you need to be aware of before you disconnect a battery. Yet I think most of you, like that tech in my class, would acknowledge that no, you’re not researching the OEM repair procedures before you disconnect a battery.

So let’s talk about this. First, one of the things you need to know before you disconnect a battery is whether the vehicle is connected to telematics.

This is only going to become more important moving forward as more vehicles are “connected” to things like General Motors’ OnStar or Toyota/ Lexus Safety Connect.

What we’ve found is, in some instances, if the vehicle is connected and you disconnect the battery, it may send an alert through the telematics to the automaker to say something happened to this car’s battery. The OEM may in turn contact the customer via text or email, or sometimes even alert the dealership service department to ask them to reach out to that customer.

Your failure to research the procedures prior to disconnecting that battery just created a bad customer service experience.

So before you ever disconnect a battery, determine whether the vehicle is connected, and if so, determine if you need to place it in “service mode” first.

Another consideration is “wait time.” Every automaker I’ve researched says you have to wait a certain amount of time after you turn the vehicle off before you disconnect the battery. It’s not a one-size-fits-all procedure.

For one vehicle, the automaker may say you have to wait one minute, while another may say you have to wait six minutes. I’ve seen some OEMs say after you turn the car off, you have to wait 90 minutes before you disconnect the battery.

There are often other precautions listed in the automaker battery disconnect procedures. For example, you may have to protect certain components. I saw a procedure recently that said you have to have the left front door open when you disconnect the battery. If you don’t, it can trigger some diagnostic trouble codes.

Industry trainer Mike Anderson worries too few shops are researching automaker information related to disconnecting and reconnecting vehicle batteries

“Every vehicle manufacturer that I’m aware of has certain procedures that must be done when you reconnect a battery.”

— MIKE ANDERSON

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