Car Battery Question
homepc
The battery is fully charged and maintained with a Battery Tender Plus. I
had Woodhaven Toyota check it out last week and they said the battery is A
OK. They also said that the green indicator does disappear on a few of
their Johnson Control batteries.
My question is would a Princess Auto battery tester like this be worthwhile?
I've seen some other ones on the net that were either really cheap or way
too expensive. I'm just looking for an easy quick and reliable way to check
the car battery.
myh...@mts.net
-->The green ball indicator on my 2007 Corolla car battery has disappeared.
-->The battery is fully charged and maintained with a Battery Tender Plus. I
-->had Woodhaven Toyota check it out last week and they said the battery is A
-->OK. They also said that the green indicator does disappear on a few of
-->their Johnson Control batteries.
-->
-->My question is would a Princess Auto battery tester like this be worthwhile?
-->
-->http://www.piurl.com/p/1ykC
-->
-->I've seen some other ones on the net that were either really cheap or way
-->too expensive. I'm just looking for an easy quick and reliable way to check
-->the car battery.
-->
You shouldn't worry about the green ball. Did the dealership do a load test on
the battery, if not you should have it tested. You could test it yourself for
free, get a multi tester and set it for DC24 volts. With the car running, put
the negative (black) lead on the negative ( - ) of the battery, and the red
lead on the positive of the battery ( + ) , it should read something around
12.5 V. Turn the fan on, the rear defroster, lights, etc. , if you see a very
significant drop in voltage you may need a new battery.
One way to find out if could be your alternator not supplying enough voltage to
charge the battery is to do the same procedure as above.
Note: Start the car, disconnect the positive battery post ( Do Not) allow it
to touch any metal surface. I usually put a thick rag under it and set it on
top of the battery.
With your multi tester set still in the 24V DC, put the black lead on the
negative ( - ), and the red lead on the positive line that you put on top of a
rag on the top of the battery.
With the car running you should have approx. 13.8 V, if you have a significant
drop, your alternator could be on it's way out.
If you go to do this test and with the car running, you unhook the battery and
the car dies then you won't need to do the test, the alternator needs work or
replacing. If the car keeps running, then do the test.
If the battery is older than 5 years, think about replacing it anyway. With our
climate battery's take a beating and don't usually last more than 5 yrs.
You don't want to be somewhere in the middle of -35C and have your battery not
start your car.
Stoneman
I didn't think they still used LED indicators in batteries anymore.
They're pretty useless in indicating a battery charge or the ability
to hold it (considering a typical LED only needs 30mA of current).
Check the battery with a hygrometer tester. You can get them at
Canadian tire for under ten bucks.
Use only 100% pure distilled water when topping up.
homepc
"Nobody" <n...@home.anymore> wrote in message
news:Xns9CCB6B5814B...@209.197.15.171...
I read it's a little plastic ball that's green on one side and yellow on the
other. When the battery needs replacement the ball is supposed to turn
upside down to show yellow. The ball in my battery disappeared all together
last week. That is supposed to indicate that the water level is low. The
dealer checked the water level and battery charge and everything was OK,
except for the missing indicator ball. They explained that this happens
sometimes and that the battery is still good.
myh...@mts.net
-->
-->"Nobody" <n...@home.anymore> wrote in message
-->news:Xns9CCB6B5814B...@209.197.15.171...
-->> Stoneman wrote:
-->>
-->>> On Nov 22, 10:32 am, "homepc" <wiebe...@gmail.com> wrote:
-->>>> The green ball indicator on my 2007 Corolla car battery has
-->>>> disappeared. The battery is fully charged and maintained with a
-->>>> Battery Tender Plus. I had Woodhaven Toyota check it out last
-->>>> week and they said the battery is A OK. They also said that the
-->>>> green indicator does disappear on a few of their Johnson Control
-->>>> batteries.
-->>>>
-->>>> My question is would a Princess Auto battery tester like this be
-->>>> worthwhi le?
-->>>>
-->>>> http://www.piurl.com/p/1ykC
-->>>>
-->>>> I've seen some other ones on the net that were either really
-->>>> cheap or way too expensive. I'm just looking for an easy quick
-->>>> and reliable way to check the car battery.
-->>>
-->>> I didn't think they still used LED indicators in batteries
-->>> anymore. They're pretty useless in indicating a battery charge or
-->>> the ability to hold it (considering a typical LED only needs 30mA
-->>> of current). Check the battery with a hygrometer tester. You can
-->>> get them at Canadian tire for under ten bucks.
-->>> Use only 100% pure distilled water when topping up.
-->>>
-->>
-->> It isn't an LED. It is a plastic battery hydrometer.
-->
-->I read it's a little plastic ball that's green on one side and yellow on the
-->other. When the battery needs replacement the ball is supposed to turn
-->upside down to show yellow. The ball in my battery disappeared all together
-->last week. That is supposed to indicate that the water level is low. The
-->dealer checked the water level and battery charge and everything was OK,
-->except for the missing indicator ball. They explained that this happens
-->sometimes and that the battery is still good.
-->
Get a load test done, then you can say the battery is good or not
Me, my battery is 6 years old, time to replace it before it won't start one
day..... I'd rather that not happen.
Troy
"Nobody" <n...@home.anymore> wrote in message
news:Xns9CCBB9F77DB...@209.197.15.171...
> If the ball gets stuck, that will happen. The construction of the
> device is here:
> http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_to_central/automotive/1272361.htm
> l?page=2
>
> or a better picture here:
> http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/hweb4.pdf
>
> Note that the device only checks one cell and even thought it says it
> may be good, it only takes one other bad cell to make the battery
> bad.
>
That Canadian Kid
news:hebi22$qdb$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
For that price you should have this in your tool box.
That Canadian Kid
@newsfe12.iad:
> My Delco is on its 9th, must be a good brand of battery!
>
After 5 or 6 years you should replace your car battery whether it is stil
working or not. Keeping a car in a garage, always plugging it in, having a
built in battery charger etc will always extend the life of a good battery.
That Canadian Kid
news:i2jog5h8oh6p7798h...@4ax.com:
> On Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:45:59 GMT, That Canadian Kid
> <Th...@Canadian.Kid> spake thusly:
> All rechargeable batteries are good for "X" number of charge/discharge
> cycles. The deeper the discharge, the lower the number of cycles.
> Automotive starting batteries [as opposed to marine/deep cycle] are
> designed for a short, shallow and heavy discharge followed by an
> immediate recharge. Deep discharging a car battery 5 or 6 times can
> render it useless.
I have a diesel, so I have two batteries, high crancking amps and house in
my shop all winter. I alwasy coat the battery posts when I replace a
battery so that nothing can come in contact with them and they stay clean
and do not corriode.
I have found over the years taking care of your battery saves a lot of
heart ache in the long run.
> --
> jbu...@hotmail.com
> (Jim, daddy to Lesleigh [Autistic] 04/20/94)
>
> "Faith may not move mountains, but you should see what it does to
> skyscrapers" --Panama Floyd
>
> Please note: All unsolicited e-mail sent to me may, at
> my discretion, be posted in this newsgroup verbatim.
>
Stoneman
> device is here:http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_to_central/automotive/1272361.htm
> l?page=2
>
> or a better picture here:http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/hweb4.pdf
>
> Note that the device only checks one cell and even thought it says it
> may be good, it only takes one other bad cell to make the battery
> bad.
"Step 6. Attach nipple clamps to chest and battery. Wet body
generously..."