How do I install battery

No, it should fit into the LH access panel, but its a tight fit. The strap holding it in place is real pain to secure. I strapped it down today, ended up with spending 30min, marks all over my arm and thumb that the touch id on my phone wont recognize...


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Patrick said:

No, it should fit into the LH access panel, but its a tight fit. The strap holding it in place is real pain to secure. I strapped it down today, ended up with spending 30min, marks all over my arm and thumb that the touch id on my phone wont recognize...


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If I ever do it, the top will come off. Less than 30 minutes and I did try once taking the battery out and I was cussing the whole time. I gave up, and trying to get that strap back on was worse.

Yeah,next time ill take the top of, take the battery out, and leave it like that till season starts. Then ill put the battery in and secure it and finally put the top back on. Way easier


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Also with the top off, you don't need to worry about dropping some of the bolts


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Patrick said:

Also with the top off, you don't need to worry about dropping some of the bolts


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really didn't think it was any worse than putting a battery in a RX, but its all in what you get used to.

be careful if you leave the top off that the plastics don't get warped sitting over time, might be better to set the top onto the body just don't put all the screws back in.

Thanks guys this helps a lot. I guess we will be taking the top off.

Wrench4fun said:

really didn't think it was any worse than putting a battery in a RX, but its all in what you get used to.

be careful if you leave the top off that the plastics don't get warped sitting over time, might be better to set the top onto the body just don't put all the screws back in.

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Do you have the accessory fuse panel that mounts on top of the battery? That, I am assuming, makes it tougher. I have that fuse panel...

Rthonb said:

Thanks guys this helps a lot. I guess we will be taking the top off.

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It IS possible to get it in the access panel, but again its hard


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spark-orion said:

Do you have the accessory fuse panel that mounts on top of the battery? That, I am assuming, makes it tougher. I have that fuse panel...

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Are talking about the fuse box you have to add when putting a depth finder in? I don't have that fuse box just the stock one, I would doubt the accessory box would make it much harder...just move it out of the way, if you think putting a battery in a spark is a pain try putting a pair of batteries in a 1995 speedster before they went to a single full size battery!

Wrench4fun said:

Are talking about the fuse box you have to add when putting a depth finder in? I don't have that fuse box just the stock one, I would doubt the accessory box would make it much harder...just move it out of the way, if you think putting a battery in a spark is a pain try putting a pair of batteries in a 1995 speedster before they went to a single full size battery!

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Yep. All I know is, I will be taking the top off if I ever have to pull the battery. Getting that strap back on the battery, it sucked and I built a tool to help with those straps from my RXT days. This winter I made extensions for my battery maintainer so I could just leave the battery in...

I leave the battery in all winter. I just plug my battery tender on to the battery in the spark and left it their all winter.


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Yeah just took the top deck off to strap the battery back down. is a total pain thru the access panel. also changed the oil while i had the deck off. I will leave the battery in from now on. I added the connecter for my trickle charger. so all i gotta do is hook it up

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF-EIJkUxOupeoF50jelVGA
I figured out how to put the strap back on. If you have the circuit that sits on top of the battery, remove it from the metal holder and move to the right, out of the way. If you don't skip this step. Keep the metal holder in place, then pull the strap out towards you, with the other hand press the strap to the metal plate, keeping the tension there. After that there should be enough slack that you can drop the end piece in and hook it with little problem. Don't forget to put the circuit back on the metal plate. You may need to bend the tongs in a bit so they click in place.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF-EIJkUxOupeoF50jelVGA
I figured out how to put the strap back on. If you have the circuit that sits on top of the battery, remove it from the metal holder and move to the right, out of the way. If you don't skip this step. Keep the metal holder in place, then pull the strap out towards you, with the other hand press the strap to the metal plate, keeping the tension there. After that there should be enough slack that you can drop the end piece in and hook it with little problem. Don't forget to put the circuit back on the metal plate. You may need to bend the tongs in a bit so they click in place.

I just reinstalled mine yesterday. I had to tilt the battery on about a 45 degree angle to wedge it in through the access panel and placed it into the tray. Not that bad. The tough part was getting the retainer strap back in place. What I ended up doing was taking a long open ended wrench and used the wrench to hook the metal clip at the end of the rubber retainer strap. Then I pushed it down far enough to get it over the the hook at the bottom of the tray. When I wired up the leads I put in a charging pigtail for future use with a battery tender. A headlamp was really usefull because you need two free hands. One to push on the wrench and the other to clip the ring over the hook. I have an old tire iron that I may use after I grind a notch into one end to grab the wire ring and push it down over the hook. Once I figured out the method, it took about 15 minutes.

Rthonb said:

I had the dealership winterize my spark. Do I have to remove the top to re install the battery?

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Just one of the many design flaws of the Spark. Absolutely stupid that you must remove the top to replace a battery.

I installed a new battery without taking the top off or any parts off. I used duct tape over the top/sides of the battery to keep from losing the battery wire nuts on the uninstall. I used a 1.5" wide strap to assist in lifting the battery in and out of the slot. I used 6" needle-nosed vice-grips to remove and reinstall the strap. Clamp the vice-grips on the rubber strap about 1" above the attachment bracket at a 45-degree angle. I used a 1" piece of zip-tie folded-over and stuck below the wire nut to keep the nut from moving around on the install and future uninstall. I installed the battery with the wire screws in place then removed them after the battery was in-place to attach the wires.