My 2009 LR2 is starting to get fairly anemic starting (starts to crank, big pause, then it cranks). I'm starting the troubleshooting process (battery, alternator, etc.), but given that the battery is over 5 years old and has been through some pretty good Midwest winters, I'm guessing the battery needs to be replaced.


Does anyone have a procedure for changing out the battery? I've read some conflicting reports that you may need to keep power going throughout the change to avoid the car locking up, but I can't find anything definitive for the LR2 (and searching LR2 battery replacement comes up with a lot of articles/videos on changing the key fob battery, not the actual car battery).


Thanks in advance.

 

I have been watching for an answer to your question, but since nobody has replied in a few days I will just chime in with my thoughts.

I am a DIYer when I can handle the job myself and it saves money. But for the last two battery changes I've had done on my LR2, I paid the shop to do it. They don't charge too much to replace a battery since the labor is minimal. They will properly dispose of your old battery, and if they do it right as you should discuss with them, they will retain the electronic settings in your vehicle by maintaining power during the switch.

Now if you're still set on doing it yourself, what I've read is that you retain the electronic settings by connecting power to your battery clamps during the change. You can do this if you have one of those portable battery jump start packs. Some gizmos use the 12VDC accessory socket inside your vehicle, but this would not work for the LR2 (and most modern vehicles) since the socket is only active when the ignition is on.

Hopefully someone else who has actually performed this operation will chime in.

 

The battery can be replaced without issue at all.

The 'lock up' concern is only when the battery is allowed to near fully discharge, and set various modules into a default mode when voltage is low. Basically, it won't cause any issues going from near 12V(even a low charge, so call it 10V) to nothing(disconnected) however letting it go from 12 to 9 to 6 to completely flat can cause things to 'lock up', as partial voltage is worse than no voltage at all.

 

Also if you wanted to apply power just to be safe IIRC the REAR 12V accessory outlet on the center console is hot at all times...it still powers my gadgets with motor off and key out. I'm going to try that out when I replace my battery.

I have a 9V battery adapter for this purpose, it works fine on other cars. From an electrical engineering standpoint, most "normal" 12V integrated circuits boards will work fine at 9V...get down to much less than that and things might get funny. This is because circuit boards typically have an onboard voltage regulator to smooth and convert the power supply to a voltage appropriate for the IC's in question...probably around 2-4V. But make sure your 9V battery is fresh...

I'll report back.

 

If the computer modules do "lock up" what is the fix? Thanks.

 

Tow it to the dealer for a reset as far as I know. I'd call the dealer first, they might have some advice.

 

I tried the 9V battery adapter tonight (on the rear center console plug). The stereo kept it's memory but I had to reset the clock. Will probably just hook a battery charger up to the cables next time.