Battery Question: please be gentle, I'm not a car person

First off, I guess I should say I own a 2000 V6 Mustang...

Ok, so about 2 weeks ago my check engine light came on... Of course, like an idiot I ignored it because I was low on cash and couldn't take it anywhere to have it looked at...

Last night I go to try and start it and I get nothing... the engine doesn't even turn over... nothing... I also notice that my keyless entry isn't working and my dome light seems dimmer than normal... so naturally I assume the problem is the battery... I'm getting close to 50,000 miles and 5 years of ownership and it's never been changed before...

I guess I was just curious if the battery dying would cause my check engine light to come on, or is this the beginning of a bigger problem?

And also, if I get a new battery, how hard is it to change? Is it as simple as removing the positive and negative connections and pulling it out, or is it secured to the car in some way? Any help would be greatly appreciated...

And as I said in the title, I know next to nothing about cars, so please go easy on me... also, if I'm in the wrong place, I'll gladly take my questions elsewhere if someone would be so kind as to point me in the right direction...

Thanks,

Sam

Thanks for your help dude... I had a feeling it might be the alternator because of the check engine light (I didn't think it'd come on if it was just the battery)...

Hopefully I can get it up to autozone tomorrow and have them check it out so I'll know for sure...

Thanks again man!

I must note, you made a real nice post. Besides that, I agree with our mod.

LsRedy2Kstang said:

Well, first off I think that you need to take the car to the closest AutoZone where they will read the codes free of charge.

Secondly, I think that it sounds like the alternator has actually crapped out on you!

It is not that hard to change in our cars just a couple of bolts a wiring harness and then the belt.

But to answer your question it is just as simple as unbolting/bolting the terminals from the old battery to the new. But like I said, get a jump then drive to the closest Autozone/Pep boys whatever is closer and have them to test the charging system to tell you if it is the battery or alternator.

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I have never heard of the check engine light coming on due to a bad alternator, I thought it mainly had to do with the engine emmissions system.

Also...don't forget to unscrew that wedge on the side of the battery that holds it securely in place. I remember one time when I couldn't understand why my battery would not come out of its stand....till I saw that wedge holding it in place..

Actually...my battery just died on me on my stang, it was about 4 to 5 years old. It would not hold a charge and Autozone tested it and confirmed that. I went with the top of the line duralast they had, I notice my stang starts a bit quicker now, heh.