How to Read Car Battery Health Indicator

See how you can tell if the car's battery is still in good condition or if its going flat and dead.

[joescan]

Thank you Sir. You have satisfactorily answered how the battery indicator works. I obviously need to replace my 7 year old battery

[robertyoung]

Thanks my friend you help me by refreshing my memory lots of thanks

[youngoschy]

Thanks man. My stupid battery doesn’t even come with a guide for the indicator, haha.

[KeapYene]

Thanks a lot! My car battery died twice in the same week: didn't leave lights on or anything. I decided to check it out at a car sales garage, and the dealer told me I had a green light, needed to change the battery immediately. Haha. I'm a rookie, but I've got google. Thanks for saving me from being scammed. I'll just recharge the one I have now.

[InformativeAflatoon]

It might be different in your battery model but the one I use has different meanings for red, no color (transparent) and green. Green means charged and good to go, transparent means running low and if the indicator turns red, it means you're battery is about to die and needs replacement.

[bikerleo]

What if the indicator is green but has a red dot in the middle and the battery has been on charge for 3 days.

[bigdoggtheinfamousone]

Do I need to start the engine or should the car be off to check

[johnw]

My battery says black means it's good... The light is black but car acts as if it needs a charge? I can't tell if it's clear or black

[awalk]

This indicator is simply a small green ball (or other colour ball) that floats up a tube based on the specific gravity of the solution in the battery. It can stick in the tube sometimes. It only gives and indication of the solution density and does nothing more than that. Only a voltmeter will tell you the condition of the battery voltage.

[iPeterMac]

My car can't start while the indicator say it's greeen. the indicator is suck though.

[chocolate_squiggle]

You can ignore these indicators, people. It might give a state of charge or something but has absolutely nothing to do with state of health. A battery can read full voltage and still be useless when put under a heavy load, like say, starting a car! Out of curiosity I kept my old battery when it was replaced two years ago. It charges to 14. something volts and holds around 12. something volts, just as it should. The indicator is green. But this week I put it in the car and it only just barely cranked over the engine. I saw it dip to near 7 volts rather than staying about 9 as it should. Don't be fooled by these dumb indicators. A $5 multimeter will tell you so much more.

[tnamen]

When do I have to add distilled water...

[driftwud]

huh? you got the information about red green and black wrong. there is a label on the battery on the video that says green = ok. black = recharge. red = dead.

[MyRcGoSlow]

Mine shows green but it’s not charging ?

[mehsan]

My honda civic 8th gen battrey shows white but still running good from 3 months with all time Ac on

[TheOnlyOwnedbyCow]

Mine is almost completely black or clear with a barely visible red dot. It doesnt really match any of the indicator guide.

Mine is Green - Normal
Black - Distilled Water
White with Red dot - Needs charging

[RobBob]

WRONG ! on many batteries, black means it just needs charging.

[caddyzscatyz]

Damn my batterys on green and car dont start sometimes

[Akotski-ysrr]

Ok but the color was green and the battery was still dead…

[tnamen]

Sir i just bought a new SF sonic car battery. It's just 1 month old. A white signal indicator is on very soon. Please help fix this issue.

Note. Car is normally used, battery charging system, alternator etc are good and voltage reading is between 13 and 14. It's emergency please.