[vrprabhu]

Foreword -

This is not a hi-tech D-I-Y. Rather, just a cosmetic cum mechanical care for an old car.

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

I had to change my battery yesterday....

BTW, the old battery lasted a little over five years in my car....

Further details are available here - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post4430275 (Palio Battery options DIN50/DIN55 and manufacturers)


This D-I-Y happened because the battery died suddenly, which led to a brand new battery sitting in a pretty old car. I guess the new battery sort of makes my car look dilapidated? :-(




Buying a new battery and fitting it was easy enough, but there is more to it than what meets the eye!

The cable tie used to keep the fuses in place, is a 'jugaad' because the (original) battery tray's condition was like this -



So, rest assured, just like any other bhpian who is ready to get his hands dirty, planned to fix it on my own and bring it back to ship shape!

Which was through this new battery tray. Take a look and now you know what exactly I mean....



Doesn't that make a pretty 'before' and 'after' picture? a la weight gain treatments?


Eagle eyed readers would have also observed that the strap securing the battery is also wounded!!. The tray had outlived its life, I guess!

Palio owners would know that the battery tray has a couple of holders to secure two fuse boxes. In my case, the car being old, the tray was was practically breaking into pieces, and these fuse carriers were dangling loose (and hence the cable tie).




Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, I am told. In my case, it was only just about skin deep.... err, more like battery deep! The true state of affairs if you peek beneath the tray, was :




Hawk-eyed bhpians would have identified the weld spots.


Actually, the battery support area was rusted, which the tray was hiding. So had to undertake minor cleaning and a small patch welding. While the welder was it, he also fashioned three new bolts for securing the battery tray (if my memory is right, the original ones were nuts welded for bolts to be fastened) without even my asking, and went ahead to fabricate a better solution than what I was planning. The guy was really skilled and ingenious in designing the solution, so much so, once he completed the welding the final outcome surpassed the original! Charged only 500 bucks for the job - which I gladly paid, because he did the job quickly on the spot.


After the welding, it was clear that battery tray had to be replaced. And while at it, thought why not go ahead and clean the rust and paint the whole area?

That's exactly what I did.


In order to find a replacement tray, I scoured the spare parts shops looking for a suitable replacement. Almost all the shop keepers I visited looked at me as if I were loony. A few sympathetic ones showed their wares and gave some suggestion.

To sum up -
(a) my efforts were in vain;
(b) spare trays are available only a few cars like M800 and Alto;
(c) the nearest in size to DIN45 was that of Indica's, which is all metal and won't serve the purpose anyway; and
(d) one may succeed in finding the proverbial needle in the haystack, as compared to finding spares for Palio in interior TN.

Savior was 99rpm.....

But it also made me realise that not many cars have a separate battery enclosure or tray over and above the support base (the Punto Evo has a full battery enclosure sitting on the frame!) - so suggest all to please look beneath the battery once in a while and make sure everything is hunky-dory! Else, you are welcome to follow my D-I-Y!!

And I now proudly present an unique specimen - the only Palio with a hand painted battery compartment!

Jokes apart, these are items that you need and this is how you go about it.

Requirements -

1. Patience

2. Even more patience :-)

3. Lots of time - better to do it over two days

4. Battery tray (sourced from 99rpm, ~700 Rs. excluding the cost of handling and shipping).

5. Primer and Paint (the smallest can was 250ml), emery paper, thinner, brush etc. (~400 Rs.)

6. A good piece of nylon strap to join the clamps.

7. A warm and sunny day to do the actual job!


What I did -

DAY 1

1. Popped up the hood and removed the battery and the tray off the car.

2. Got the cables / terminal links / wires etc. out of the way, by carefully moving them.

3. A part of harness goes besides and beneath the tray, so there is no other way except to move it back and forth while you work.

4. Cleaned the rust with emery paper and removed the layer of rust and accumulated dirt and gunk. Cleaned the area with a brush. Since this is an internal area, there was no need for a smooth finish or 'putty' work.

5. Applied primer over the entire battery support area and adjacent places. And let it dry.







The whole process took about a couple of hours (dismantling the battery and tray took about half-an-hour, cleaning and sand papering took about an hour, applying primer took another thirty minutes). Another half-an-hour was spent on removing the two clamps on at ends of the battery strap, cleaning them and applying primer.

It was beyond 1 PM, when the first part was completed - felt that it would be better if the primer got completely dried, before I began the actual painting.

If you look closely, you can see that primer has not fully dried. So decided to leave it to dry for the day. (Planned the job for a Saturday and Sunday - it proved to be correct decision).


DAY 2

Started the work by noon. Not only was it to have a relaxed morning but also to ensure that the primer is absolutely dry for the next part.

6. I had bought a silver / aluminium coloured paint. There are two separate items to be mixed (pigment and binder?) to get the paint ready for use. I chose this shade because I thought it would help with lesser heat absorption underneath the battery and I could put the paint to use later, for some domestic chores.

7. Painting with a brush isn't easy. The quantity of paint on the brush, its consistency and the strokes do make a difference to the application and final outcome.

8. The initial attempt was sort of a trail with a thinner coat, which I tried out on the two clamps. Once it was completed, I was sure that the job can be completed as planned (if it didn't work out, was planning to go to a FNG and get the area sprayed). The second coating went well and the paint was adhering nicely to the clamps.

9. Thereafter, started painting the primer which had dried out nicely. This work needs some patience, as compared to primer application, because I wanted to apply it uniformly in single direction, and also time to allow the paint to dry. The plus point was that since the surface to be painted is horizontal, the paint doesn't run (one or two drops did drip though, when dipping the brush in the paint). After a second coat, the end result was like this :







Don't know whether it is pretty, but hope it gets a passing grade?!


8. More waiting - for the paint to dry. (I used this time to tape up the wiring harness, as many of the earlier insulation tapes had lost their adhesion. Also hand stitched the strap to the clamps - now I have a hand crafted battery fastener in my car :-). Be sure to get the length right.)


9. Spot the difference!?!



The battery tray has two outlets (with attached tubes) in the two channels - probably to let the acid spill outs and other liquid to flow out without touching the metal body. However, when I had the welding done, had forgotten about it, because one outlet of the original tray was broken, and there was no trouble fitting the old tray after the welding was completed.

So had to fashion a hole in the welded area, to make a provision for the outlet to be inserted through the base so that the battery tray can sit securely with all bolts fitting snugly in the respective orifices in the tray.

Notice the taping of the harness? One electrician has given me a simple and effective tip - 'kaam sampvaithana, ek gattha maraiyache aheth' (while completing the taping, tie the end of the tape as a knot) so that the tape remains secure and ensure that it doesn't come undone.

10. Coming to the end of the job - the new battery tray now fitted securely. See that all the holes are matching and the re-painted clamp now sitting snugly. (There was one more plastic / fibre support originally on this clamp which too was corroded, but that doesn't seem to exist at all now).



Hopefully a much better sight?


11. Battery strap is now neat and secures the battery well.




12. A good job done, I hope. Both the fuse carriers now fitted onto the tray and secured.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the DIY Section. Thanks for sharing!

[crdi]

After having seen a metal battery tray get rust welded to the body in one of my older cars, I have made it a habit to squirt some used engine oil on the battery tray, even for the plastic ones.

I do it every three months or so, It accumulates dust and haven't had a chance to measure the out come. But my assumption is that it would give some amount protection from the elements and acids.

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

This is not a hi-tech D-I-Y. Rather, just a cosmetic cum mechanical care for an old car.

I was recently watching Mighty Car Mods on YouTube and there was an episode in which they had to get an old import car certified in Australia. They explained how the battery hold down clamp is required to be a metal clamp in that country and there is a logic behind that.

In case of a rollover (extreme case) or the battery falling out due to worn out strap, the +ve and -ve terminals can hit the metal of the body or inside the engine bay and short out and eventually could start a FIRE.

[scorpian]

What i follow is:
Use a rust converter two coats which helps kill rust and neutralize it.
Then use a primer spray can that now you get easily in all hardware stores, again i use two coats.
Final i use black or silver, whatever i find in high temperature which i feel is again more suited to engine compartments and have a better life, use this again two coats.

Reason for using spray cans is they are faster drying give better coverage in nooks and crannies where brush cant penetrate.

[sgiitk]

May I suggest that adding a layer of 'rubberized' paint may also help. It will cut down on both noise and future corrosion. Should not be too expensive.

[Jeroen]

Good job. Always very satisfying to do these little jobs yourself, makes such a difference!

I redid amongst others, the battery tray on my Mercedes some time ago. On my Mercedes the tray can be completely removed, so I took it out, shot blasted it, primed it and put several layers of Hammerite paint on it.

See, scroll down: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...ml#post4155865

Jeroen

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by Tgo

In case of a rollover (extreme case) or the battery falling out due to worn out strap, the +ve and -ve terminals can hit the metal of the body or inside the engine bay and short out and eventually could start a FIRE.

Believe it or not, I have had this experience twice; the first time, got rear ended, the engine died & didn't restart. I thought the nasty jerk could have shorted the battery - but all the electricals were working. Luckily, I remembered reading in the owner's manual about a fire safety device in the Palio, which shuts off fuel supply in the case of any major collision. The switch is located in the passenger footwell and needs to be reset to restart the car. (The second time was on a very bad patch of an non-existent road, which I misjudged, and bounced through - the loose battery strap broke and battery hit the bonnet. No damage, but the switch got triggered. Now you know why the battery strap was in that condition in the original picture )

Originally Posted by scorpian

Then use a primer spray can that now you get easily in all hardware stores, again i use two coats.

Reason for using spray cans is they are faster drying give better coverage in nooks and crannies where brush cant penetrate.

Thanks for the tip. Probably I will have to get these things online.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

May I suggest that adding a layer of 'rubberized' paint may also help

Thanks. I will keep that in mind.

And, you have answered an unasked question! The D-I-Y was sort of a precursor, for a bigger job. The paint in the boot area where the spare tyre sits is chipping off. I wanted to get it redone. Before removing the existing paint, wanted to be sure what was used earlier by the manufacturer - now that you have given the answer, will plan that job accordingly.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Good job. Always very satisfying to do these little jobs yourself, makes such a difference!

Thanks! Yes, doing these small odd jobs is satisfying, and a nice way to spend free time (I try to think of ways and means to avoid sleeping and / or TV in the afternoon on holidays - these activities fit the bill perfectly )

Only thing is that my mom, wife and neighbours think that I am loony!

[iampulo]

Originally Posted by scorpian

What i follow is:
Use a rust converter two coats which helps kill rust and neutralize it.

Which rust converter do you use?

[iampulo]

Originally Posted by scorpian

What i follow is:
Use a rust converter two coats which helps kill rust and neutralize it.
Then use a primer spray can that now you get easily in all hardware stores, again i use two coats.
Final i use black or silver, whatever i find in high temperature which i feel is again more suited to engine compartments and have a better life, use this again two coats.

Reason for using spray cans is they are faster drying give better coverage in nooks and crannies where brush cant penetrate.

Which rust converter do you use? I too have my battery tray rusted. Any suggestions team?
And what shall i do of engine mounts.?

[Reinhard]

Neat stuff. Thanks for sharing. Was a deja vu for me. About an year ago, I did something similar in my Nexon. Electrolyte spill during a top-up (at ASC) had wrecked havoc on my battery tray (powder coated MS) and under it. Soon after, the battery also died its natural death with age. Used that opportunity to resurrect the battery tray and add some protection for the parts underneath with paint coats.

Patiently did this over 3 days. Polished away all the grime and rust using wire-polish tool with 3 coats of lacquer and 2 coats of clear top coat. Its been holding up pretty well since.

Some images attached. The tray costs not much to replace. I don't think i may have saved much by renewing the existing one. But then its not money savings that we salvagers/DIYers look for, is it?


















Its a rather common issue in most budget cars. I'm surprised the car-makers have not found a fool-proof way around it with correct materials of the tray and precise drain ducts to avoid spills anywhere on the vital parts like mounts / chassis underneath the tray. The battery acid is very corrosive and aggressively eats through any metal it contacts.

[iampulo]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Neat stuff. Thanks for sharing. Was a deja vu for me. About an year ago, I did something similar in my Nexon. Electrolyte spill during a top-up (at ASC) had wrecked havoc on my battery tray (powder coated MS) and under it. Soon after, the battery also died its natural death with age. Used that opportunity to resurrect the battery tray and add some protection for the parts underneath with paint coats.

Patiently did this over 3 days. Polished away all the grime and rust using wire-polish tool with 3 coats of lacquer and 2 coats of clear top coat. Its been holding up pretty well since.

Thanks for the insights. I dictated your procedure to my local mechanic and here's the magic he has done.






Seems good to go for the next few years. Hoping so! Thanks!