Is a car battery “tray” required or necessary for vehicles?
Question by Chris B: Is a car battery “tray” required or necessary for vehicles?
Bought a used car and the battery died.
Bought a new one and installed it, however, there was no battery tray in the engine compartment.
Do I need to get one or is it okay for the battery to sit in there as long as it is secured? Will my new battery drain quicker with no tray? What is the benefit of the tray? Thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by Johnny B
It is a safety feature to keep your battery in place.
Add your own answer in the comments!
The tray is an integral part of the hold down clamp and secures the battery in place especially during collisions and vehicle roll-overs etc. There’s also a risk of the battery terminals shorting out and causing a fire under the hood. The battery cell electrolyte should be leveled by a level battery tray. If the battery were strapped some other way, it would be preferable to buy an Optima type spiral cell battery which has a leak-proof electrolyte design.
As long as the battery is secured, it shouldn’t be a problem. Make sure it isn’t sitting on something that may puncture it.
The tray provides a stable shelf for the battery and usually has a retainer for the battery built into it. It also catches any leaking acid, preventing it from corroding anything under the battery, such as wiring harnesses, suspension parts, etc.. The battery shouldn’t drain any faster.
Call a local wrecking yard and see if they have one out of a junked car. It shouldn’t be very expensive.
Presumably you have some sort of statutory vehicle inspection requirement in the US.
If you look up the requirements for a vehicle to pass this test it will let you know what you need or don’t.
The minimum stipulation should be that the battery is mounted securely in place and can’t move about or touch the body or other major metal component.
The ‘nicety’ of a battery tray is it keeps your battery protected from the elements/grease/oil and also if your battery leaks acid it stops it getting on your engine (battery acid and metal/alloys – not a good combo). If you have a crash you don’t want sparks from the battery igniting anything!
battery needs some way of holding it up right and needs a hold down to keep it in place and most all cars have a box to rest them on which dont come out so if you got one in there now same way its in there should be right way im guessing your talking about some type of that you woul dbuy and place under it maybe that you dont have to have
you really should have 1. that way it has a good place to sit.