VXOC Astra-J/GTC

Tools needed:

* 10mm spanner/socket - preferably a long socket but a normal one will do
* 13mm spanner/socket
* Flat head screwdriver - preferably a long one

I Thought I would do a how to guide on removing the battery (shame I didn't need to do this at Xmas, else i could have won the draw haha) as there isn't anything online and there's abit to dismantle. Apologies if some of the pictures look like there are bits already removed. I took photos as I started to put things back together.

Anyway, start with your battery. It's advisable to remove the negative cable first. So once you've done that tuck it somewhere safe.



Lift the flap up that is marked with the +. You will then need to lift the whole flap up. You will see where the remaining half is clicked down. Pull it away from the mound and pull up. For ease of use, I would recommend removing the whole flap completely. Pull it awake from the hinge point and it will lift off.



Then start removing the 4 biggest bolts until you are left with this.



Lift the red positive cable and plates away from the battery and leave them somewhere safe along with your 4 bolts.

Once the plates and the bolts are removed, you can lift the entire plastic frame away. It is clipped to the battery so you need to gently lever it with a screwdriver



Once the cable block is removed from the battery, just tuck it somewhere safe. Do not unscrew the little bolts. This is unnecessary.

As this stage you need to remove the bar which goes across the battery. Undo the small nut to the right hand side.



The bar then hinges up and pulls away



Now this step may not apply to every car. If not, skip to the next step.

I believe the part you need to remove here is called the glow plug controller wiring. Gently remove the two plugs. Be careful as the plastic may be brittle. Once the plugs are removed and tucked in a safe location, push the tab on the left hand side and pull the controller out and put it somewhere safe.



Slide the controller holder up towards you and put it... You guessed it.... Somewhere safe.

Finally you need to remove the retaining plate in order for you to remove the battery. To do this, there is a square hole located right at the bottom which you will need to lever with a flat head screwdriver.



Whilst levering, pull the plate up towards you by the triangular piece that protrudes over the battery. Once you have done this, you can pull the battery up out of the tray. Be careful not to catch any of the wires whilst your lifting the battery up.



Follow in the opposite direction in order to put everything back together. Remember that the positive cable doesn't connect to the battery directly. It does so via the metal plates. You will need to remove the connector and fit it to your new battery. I've tried to explain in this collage




Hopefully I've got everything. If I've missed anything, let me know.

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Nice write up thank-you.

Only thing I will say is you always remove the negative first, and it always goes back last.


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Very good how to there well done

Cheers both.

Sound advise there Rusty. Updated to reflect that.

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Hi everyone

just joined this thread because i needed to change my battery on my 2012 astra gtc 1.7cdti

if i hadn't of looked on this thread then i wouldn't of been able to change it so thanks for all the info above

what was not mentioned on here though was the trigger on the alarm when you remove one terminal,so i read some more info on this...

what you do is slacken the neg terminal,then switch the ignition on and off,then you have 15 seconds to remove the neg terminal,hope this helps,but otherwise,it was easy to change

thanks

si.

(3:rd-Apr-2020, 15:27:32)gtcSi1972 Wrote: [ -> ]Hi everyone

just joined this thread because i needed to change my battery on my 2012 astra gtc 1.7cdti

if i hadn't of looked on this thread then i wouldn't of been able to change it so thanks for all the info above

what was not mentioned on here though was the trigger on the alarm when you remove one terminal,so i read some more info on this...

what you do is slacken the neg terminal,then switch the ignition on and off,then you have 15 seconds to remove the neg terminal,hope this helps,but otherwise,it was easy to change

thanks

si.

The only time the alarm would trigger when removing the battery is if you have the car locked otherwise it won't trigger.

Pulled enough battery's off the J's while working on them without an issue of the alarm going off.

Hi, just wanted to say thanks for this write up,I managed to change my battery this morning in about 15 minutes. Thanks!

(5:th-Apr-2020, 08:13:10)Rusty2009 Wrote: [ -> ]

(3:rd-Apr-2020, 15:27:32)gtcSi1972 Wrote: [ -> ]Hi everyone

just joined this thread because i needed to change my battery on my 2012 astra gtc 1.7cdti

if i hadn't of looked on this thread then i wouldn't of been able to change it so thanks for all the info above

what was not mentioned on here though was the trigger on the alarm when you remove one terminal,so i read some more info on this...

what you do is slacken the neg terminal,then switch the ignition on and off,then you have 15 seconds to remove the neg terminal,hope this helps,but otherwise,it was easy to change

thanks

si.

The only time the alarm would trigger when removing the battery is if you have the car locked otherwise it won't trigger.

Pulled enough battery's off the J's while working on them without an issue of the alarm going off.

Sorry for the late reply and thanks

changing the battery was simple.

Joining the thread.late, but do these batteries need any reprogramming back in? Also is it an idea to you a OBD memory saver for this job?

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