Battery Cover

[Rick Coleman]

When I speak with other Alpine owners and I look at some of the threads in the forum I have begun to think I am one of the few people who have not discarded the factory battery cover. I do find it a pain in the neck. Is it necessary? It doesn't do a great job of keeping things clean in any event. If discarded, when cleaning off the batteries and compartment do I have to worry about getting water on the electrical things in the compartment? It really does get dirty in that compartment when traveling, and I am jealous of the spotless compartments I see in forum photos.

Thanks

[Rick Coleman]

When I speak with other Alpine owners and I look at some of the threads in the forum I have begun to think I am one of the few people who have not discarded the factory battery cover. I do find it a pain in the neck. Is it necessary? It doesn't do a great job of keeping things clean in any event. If discarded, when cleaning off the batteries and compartment do I have to worry about getting water on the electrical things in the compartment? It really does get dirty in that compartment when traveling, and I am jealous of the spotless compartments I see in forum photos.

Thanks

[EngineerMike]

Rick- IMO the batt cover is a nice but clumsy thing, and I'd store it for the next owner IIWM. Then, I'd take a look at the various degrees of road filth access the batt compartment has. One place dirt comes in easily is the slot over the jack box; you can close that off w/a rubber sheet (to allow some flex in the head of the jack).

Some openings are needed to allow the battery gassing to dissipate (till you switch to AGM batteries), but perhaps not all of them. Closing some off will help w/the filth. Then just hose out the batt compatment on a warm day when it will dry out, & leave it open to do so. A little baking soda & water in a spray bottle will help neutralize acid built up on batt tops if used before hosing. The cap should be on the engine diagnostic port and all caps tight on batts, and I wouldn't use a spray nozzle, just run clean water over the batts & tray after spraying.

[jerry davis]

My 05 didn't come with a battery cover and I've had no problem. I spray the batteries with something like 409 cleaner. The high ph neutralizes the acid and the detergents help degrease the batteries. A light spray of water then cleans the area. I am careful to keep the water away from the electrical components other than the batteries.