Most often, the car battery can be refilled to avoid the expense of getting a new one. When a battery is giving troubles, often just what is needed is addition of a little water to the electrolyte fluid in the battery. This is an easy to do task when you heed all the warnings.

Required items

Screwdriver
Distilled water
Flashlight



Remove the battery at the negative terminal. Keep the negative terminal away from the battery.
Inspect to see if at there are white, fluffy deposits on the battery, wash them off with 8 oz. of water mixed with 3 tsp. of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Rinse until the mixture dissolves the deposits and the bubbling stops. Air-dry the battery and do not touch the battery when it is yet wet.

Screw open the top of the battery with a screwdriver. The (either raised or flat) patch that you will pry off is the cap, and generally goes across the entire center of the battery.

Start prying at one end and then the other to gradually loosen the cap. Keep the cap aside upside down and avoid contact with underside of the cap. There may be more than one cap on the battery that you will need to be pried off.

Check inside the battery where the cap was attached with a flashlight. Check for a rim, about an inch down inside the battery, or exposed plates (flat pieces of metal inside the battery). If the liquid (called electrolyte) is low or is not covering the plates up to the rim then use car and very slowly, pour in distilled water enough to cover the plates or touch the rim.

After this, replace the cap on the battery. Firmly press around the edges of the cap and gently tap it in place with a hammer, where necessary. Hook up the battery terminals again. Clean clothing and exposed skin immediately with sufficient amounts of water, even when there has been no contact between you and the battery.