How to replace the car battery of a GWM H5
One of the advantages of owning a conservatively-engineered vehicle is that many maintenance jobs can be performed at home, and without the need for any particular aptitude or special tools. In this step-by-step guide, we show you how to replace the battery in your GWM H5 SUV. It’s quick and easy, and won’t take more than a few minutes to do.
How to get your GWM H5 charged up and ready to go again.
First off, let’s get some basic points regarding car batteries out of the way. Safety is always of primary concern, which is why we recommend disconnecting the battery as a first step. Doing so reduces the risk of accidental short-circuits occurring, and could free up some extra moving space for spanners.
The vehicle we photographed in the compilation of this article used a battery locating clamp is of non-original design (because the original battery has been replaced by a slightly differently-shaped one at an earlier point in its life), but its operating principles remain the same – the only likely difference is that the OEM battery clamp will need a 10mm spanner to be removed, instead of the 12mm spanner we used in obtaining these photographs. Nonetheless, the procedure remains unaltered, so this difference doesn’t matter at all.
Related: Explore the GWM H5 range in this launch report of the entry-level "City" derivative.
In the GWM/Haval H5, the battery is located in the engine bay, behind the left (passenger side) headlight and above the left front wheel housing (illustrated with the red arrow). There’s not a lot of other things in the way, with main wiring harnesses and peripheral equipment mounted at a convenient distance to give your hands plenty of space to move around. This obviously makes the battery replacement procedure even more simple.
Let’s get started!
1.The first step is to loosen and remove the battery terminals. You will need a 10mm spanner to release the cable terminals from the battery posts, with the negative terminal being the first to be released. Simply lift up the small black cap (as indicated with the yellow arrow) to expose the negative terminal (green arrow), release the locating nut, and pull the cable terminal from the battery. Remove the positive (red) terminal next, following the same technique (red arrow).
2. Loosen the battery clamp nuts (marked with light blue arrows). In the demonstration car, this happened by using a 12 mm spanner, but in the standard car, this may need a 10mm spanner instead – apart from the different spanner size, it really makes no practical difference.
3. Unhook the battery locating clamp at their its ends, by wiggling them out of their locating holes (marked with the orange arrow) in the battery tray. There’s one on each side of the battery tray, but process of unhooking them is identical on both sides.
4. Remove the battery locating clamp, and put it aside.
5. The battery is now loose, and can be lifted out of the battery tray. In the case of this demonstration vehicle, the battery has some convenient grey plastic handles to offer an easier grip, and your car’s battery as well as its replacement will likely have similar handles. Use them as intended, then simply clip them out of the way into their hidden positions once the new battery has been placed into its slot.
6. Insert the replacement battery into the vacated space, and re-assemble in the reverse order of the removal process. Don’t over-tighten either the battery locating clamp or terminals, as doing so may bend the clamp of damage the cable terminals (or the new battery itself): once all the free play is taken up, it’s tight enough.
7. Finally, once everything is complete again and you’ve checked that the car starts, close the bonnet, and congratulate yourself on a job well done.
8. The last step is to hand over the old battery to a battery shop, who will give you a handy little refund. DO NOT dispose of the battery in your household trash, as doing so poses a risk of fire and chemical spills - and will cost you money even if nothing bad happens if you do...
If you’re not quite at ease working on cars, this simple operation may at first appear to be somewhat daunting. But, if you enjoy a bit of a challenge and have the right tools at hand, you’ll be satisfied at overcoming this uncomplicated maintenance task.
Many thanks to the friendly folks at Monaco Motors in Pretoria for their kind assistance in compiling this article.
* This article was created as an advisory piece. AutoTrader SA does not accept any responsibility for possible damages incurred by individuals or workshops following these instructions. If in doubt, please consult a professional auto technician.