How to Change the Battery in a Lincoln Town Car

by Paul Dohrman

closeup of jumper cables image by Katrina Miller from Fotolia.com

Ford has produced the Lincoln Town Car for decades. It is a full-sized, rear-wheel-drive, luxury sedan with a V8 engine. The approach to changing its battery doesn't differ significantly from other cars. The same precautions need to be taken. Note that car batteries are not only a source of skin-corrosive acid, but also of explosive gas that has been known to cause blindness if ignited with a spark.

Step 1

Put on eyewear and gloves. The eyewear is to protect yourself from sparks igniting the explosive gas that batteries emit. The gloves are to protect your skin against battery acid.

Step 2

Turn the ignition off. Turn off any lights.

Step 3

Locate the battery. For model years 2005 through 2009, it is immediately behind the right headlight. Unscrew the clamp on the negative (-) battery terminal. A half-inch wrench is the standard fit. Unscrew the bolt enough to remove the clamp.

Step 4

Fan the air around the battery manually, just to clear away any possible explosive gas that a spark emitted just when you pull away the clamp might ignite. Such explosions have been known to cause blindness.

Step 5

Remove the clamp from the negative terminal. Keep it from contacting other metal while the positive terminal is still connected.

Step 6

Repeat Steps 3 through 5 for the positive (+) terminal. Keep track of which is the positive clamp and which is the negative clamp.

Step 7

Lift out the battery. If it has a plastic case, Lincoln advises that it must be lifted either by opposite corners or with a battery carrier. This avoids excess pressure on the sides, which can cause acid to flow through the vent caps and injure you.

Step 8

Clean any corrosion off the clamps with a wire brush. Use a baking soda solution to neutralize any acid present.

Step 9

Place the new battery in the battery recess, clamp the positive terminal with the clamp used on the prior battery's positive terminal, clamp on the negative-terminal clamp, and tighten the bolts on the clamps. If you weren't wearing gloves, wash your hands when you can; even without touching acid, you still should be concerned about the lead you contact from the terminals.

Step 10

Reset the clock and radio. Reprogram the engine's idle and fuel trim strategy. This is necessary for optimum engine performance. To do so, stop the car, set the emergency brake, put the car in park, turn off accessories, turn on the engine and let it idle until it reaches operating temperature. Turn on the air conditioner and let the engine idle another minute. Put your foot on the brake pedal, release the emergency brake, put the car in drive and drive it for 10 miles. This completes the programming.

References

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