Mitsubishi Colt Red 2005 - Mitsubishi Colt 2005 battery clamp

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Wed 9 Jun 2021 10:18
Mitsubishi Colt Red 2005 - Mitsubishi Colt 2005 battery clamp - SteveTu
I have an old Colt that my daughter used to learn in way, way back. She returned the car last year - and like an i****, I didn't keep it ticking over, so now the battery is completely dead (and probably loads of other issues I don't know yet!).
I thought I'd give it a charge, so went to take the battery out - the terminals came off fine, but the battery doesn't have an 'over' battery clamp, but what appears to be a clamp at the base of the battery. I can get to the nut on the clamp, but it just keeps on 'undoing' without the clamp releasing. Anyone gor any ideas as to how I can get the battery out?
Thanks in advance.
SteveTu
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Wed 9 Jun 2021 11:23
Mitsubishi Colt Red 2005 - Mitsubishi Colt 2005 battery clamp - elekie&a/c doctor
You may have to force the battery out clamp . A large pry bar carefully manoeuvred to release the battery. This should give access to cut off the bolt or clamp the spinning nut .
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Wed 9 Jun 2021 18:47
Mitsubishi Colt Red 2005 - Mitsubishi Colt 2005 battery clamp - Rerepo

Remove the air scoop, air filter housing and intake pipe (it takes a couple of minutes, just one 10mm bolt to remove - everything else is plastic push-on stuff). Once out of the way you will have good access to the battery clamp and its fastener, which you can free off or cut away.

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Thu 10 Jun 2021 09:43
Mitsubishi Colt Red 2005 - Mitsubishi Colt 2005 battery clamp - SteveTu

@Rerepo - Thanks for that advice. I came to that conclusion yesterday. Originally, I couldn't find, by feel, the retaining 'nut' under the clamp - but I found that yesterday. and there's no way of holding that still while removing the upper nut without being able to manoeuvre underneath freely. Who designs these things? The scoop is only held by a single specific plastic clip (the second is 'missing') at the front- but I don't have spares, so I'm wary about doing even more damage and not having the 'bits' to get it back.

I'm not sure it's worth the hassle, as the car is 16 years old and been sitting on my drive for 6 months - so will most likely have other issues that my recent neglect has caused - let alone my daughter's years of neglect! I had hoped I was missing something simple!

Edited by SteveTu on 10/06/2021 at 09:43

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Thu 10 Jun 2021 11:53
Mitsubishi Colt Red 2005 - Mitsubishi Colt 2005 battery clamp - Rerepo

The little fasteners used on the air intake scoop are readily available from eBay and Amazon. You can get a box of assorted sizes for about £5. The scoop is not essential though so you can leave it off in the short term. Trust me that removing that whole air intake assembly takes about 3mins. Loosen off the big jubilee clip and pull off the inlet hose, and remove the air cleaner lid and filter. Then undo the 10mm bolt at the back of air cleaner box. Firmly push the box in the direction of the battery until it releases (there is a kind of rubber retainer underneath the box). Then push it away from the battery to release it from the other clip. Now lift off and you can access the clamp etc.

Those Colts are strong cars and the engines almost never die. I'm sure it will run fine with a new battery and a service. 6 months is not long. I was at the supermarket this morning and spotted two 2006 Colts, a 3 door and a 5 door. Both red..

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