The battery plays a key role in starting a car engine. And how successful this launch will be largely depends on the state of charge of the battery. How many of us monitor the battery charge level? It’s called, answer this question for yourself. Therefore, there is a high probability that one day you will not start your car due to a dead battery. Actually, checking the state of charge itself is not difficult. You just need to periodically measure the car battery voltage with a multimeter or voltmeter. But it would be much more convenient to have a simple indicator showing the battery charge status. Such indicators will be discussed in this material.
Device Description
Before using the indicator, it is important to gently tap it with any hard object .
After such exposure, air bubbles, which may interfere with inspection of the device, rise to the surface. As a result, the shade of the sensor can be viewed in more detail. While charging the device, the density of the electrolyte begins to increase near the electrodes themselves. Above the location of the electrodes, the density begins to increase significantly due to the onset of diffusion. The battery indicator reacts to such a process, which in some cases can lead to an incorrect result. Even though the battery is 100% charged, the indicator may remain black.
This process can be explained by the fact that an electrolyte with a high density does not have time to completely mix with an electrolyte of lower density.
The process of mixing electrolytes through diffusion can continue for several days. The condition of the battery can be definitively assessed using a measurement made by a special tester.
Main types of charge
The battery plays a major role when starting the car engine. How successful this start will be depends largely on recharging the battery .
But not every driver monitors the battery charge level. In this case, the chance that one day the car simply will not be able to start due to battery failure increases several times. Checking the charging of the device itself is considered quite simple. In this case, you just need to check the voltage in the car battery from time to time with a special diagnostic device - a voltmeter or multimeter. But it is much simpler and easier if the user has a special indicator in stock that will show the general state of charge of the device. It is precisely these indicators for car batteries that are in great demand at present.
Modern technologies continue to actively develop; in the automobile production sector they are trying in every possible way to make travel by transport and its maintenance more convenient. On modern cars, the on-board computer, in addition to various functions, includes battery voltage indicators.
But such extensions are not available in every car. On older models there may be an analog voltmeter, which will not be easy to determine what state the system is in. For beginners in the automotive field, it is best to first study the vehicle battery charging rate and only then begin to determine the indicator. We recommend: Characteristics of the 6ST-55 battery
Recently, an increasing number of indicators for determining battery charge have begun to appear on the market. They began to be produced for batteries, which are a hydrometer, as well as for additional displays in the car interior.
Many countries produce these types of indicators. They are quite simple to place inside the vehicle and connect to the on-board screen. In addition, the Internet presents a large number of simple schemes for creating charge indicators with your own hands. There are no particular difficulties in this process.
Common reasons why the battery light is constantly on
These include the following cases:
- The alternator drive belt is loose, worn or torn;
- the fuse has blown in the section of the circuit from the ignition switch to the control light (in this case there is charging);
- contact is broken in the connector blocks of the mounting block;
- malfunction of the relay regulator;
- diode bridge malfunction;
- malfunction in the circuit of additional diodes;
- break in the current supply circuit to the rotor electromagnets;
- poor contact at the battery terminals;
- lack of supply current at the output of the generator;
- the generator brushes are worn out;
- there is no ground on the negative wire.
The source of many faults in the battery charging system is the generator voltage regulator relay
The light may sometimes come on when the turn signal is turned on.
The most common reason is a malfunction of the diode bridge, poor contact in the rotation fuses, or poor contact in the ground wire of the instrument panel. It is necessary to check the contacts of all terminals on the wires coming from the generator. The problem must be fixed. Indeed, if the generator malfunctions (a break in one of the three diodes), the battery will no longer receive a full charge and after some time will be completely discharged every time the turn signals are turned on and/or off.
The light bulb goes out and burns at full intensity
A battery light that barely burns at half intensity while the engine is running indicates a generator malfunction: the diode bridge or insulation in one of the stator windings is broken. Less commonly, there is a problem with the ignition switch. The key cannot turn all the way due to accumulated dirt. A few drops of WD-40 “liquid key” into the ignition key hole will alleviate the situation. Sometimes it may be necessary to repair the car's electrical wiring and timely diagnose a decrease in the signal to the indicators.
The light comes on when the speed increases
This is a signal that charging has stopped when you press the gas pedal. The most common cause of this malfunction is wear of the slip rings on the generator shaft. There are problems with the belt, brushes or bearings of the generator. The malfunction must be found and eliminated. Otherwise, due to loss of charging, the battery may fail at the most inopportune moment.
The light comes on at idle
The light comes on as soon as the car starts. Sometimes the reason is simple. When the engine is idling, powerful current consumers are turned on: air conditioning, headlights, windshield wipers. The load on the generator increases sharply and the battery simply does not have enough charge. The light starts flashing periodically. If the alternator belt is loosely tensioned, then when you turn on the headlights or air conditioning, you can hear the squeal of a slipping belt. But a battery light burning at low speeds can also indicate a malfunction of the relay regulator or rectifier bridge. In any case, the fault must be found and eliminated.
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The light flashes periodically when the engine is cold
A flashing battery light requires you to pay special attention to the generator. Perhaps the brushes or copper slip rings on the armature shaft are worn out
Perhaps there is a bad contact in one of the phases of the diode bridge. Often the cause of this malfunction is loosening of the nuts securing the diode bridge contacts or oxidation of the closing surfaces of the contacts.
The battery charge control lamp lights up when the headlights are turned on.
The light comes on when the headlights are turned on
This is the reason why the generator cannot produce rated voltage when the load increases. It is necessary to check the AC source for a break in one of the phases of the diode bridge, wear of the commutator rings or brushes.
The light remains on when the ignition is off
In this case, the current to the light bulb can only come from the ignition system. It is most likely that there is a problem with the ignition switch, the switched on contact of the ignition unloading relay or the car alarm.
And the light is on and charging is in progress
In this case, it can be assumed that there is a loss of current in the battery lamp circuit or at the contact from the generator, or at the contact from the ignition switch. The reasons may be different: the wire is broken or has fallen off the connector, the contacts in the connecting blocks have oxidized or rusted. Very rarely, the cause may be a relay regulator.
Built-in indicator
Built-in charge indicator models are installed mainly on maintenance-free car batteries.
This indicator includes a special float, which is also called a hydrometer. It is necessary to consider its structure and principle of operation in more detail. Such a device includes the following parts: indicator eye, light guide, float, indicator leg. The operating principle of many hydrometer models is similar to each other. The indicator can take three different values in the following cases:
- As the battery charges, the density of the electrolyte increases. In this case, the spherical float is painted green, rises up the pipe, and can be easily distinguished through the indicator eye. Most often, a green-colored ball floats to the surface when the device is charged 65 percent or more.
- If the ball sinks in the electrolyte, this indicates a low density according to the norm. In this case, the charge in the battery does not reach the required level. At this time, through the indicator eye, the user will be able to see a tube painted black. This indicates that the device is not charging enough. In some types of indicators, a red ball is specially installed, which rises through the pipe at a reduced density. In this case, the sensor color will be red when viewed.
- There is another possible case of low electrolyte levels. Here, through the indicator eye, the surface of the electrolyte will be visible. To improve the situation, you need to add distilled water or a special electrolyte to the device. In the case of a maintenance-free battery, such a procedure will be extremely difficult.
Factors of inaccuracy
Such a built-in indication system on the car battery helps to fully assess in advance the discharge of the car battery. But you should not fully rely on the readings that the hydrometer provides to the owner. If you study a large number of customer reviews about the functioning of such a device, you will find that they quite often show inaccurate values and quickly break down. Several factors lead to this:
- The indicator is built into only one of the car's six batteries. This means that indicators of the density and overall charge of the device will be read only from a single bank. Since no communication has been established between them, one can only make guesses about the position of the remaining cans. For example, in this device the electrolyte level may be normal, but in others it will be at an insufficient level. The process of evaporation of water from the electrolyte is quite different among the banks (in extreme cases this procedure is carried out at a more accelerated pace).
- The sensor is made of plastic or glass. The plastic parts of the device may crack or become damaged when exposed to high temperatures and sudden cooling. As a result, the owner will receive inaccurate data.
- The density of the electrolyte directly depends on the surrounding temperature. The hydrometer does not consider this fact in any way when deriving the result. For example, on a cooled electrolyte it may indicate normal density, although in fact it will be significantly reduced.
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It is important to remember that to check the battery charge using the day indicator built into the car, you need to open the hood, rub the peephole and look into it. Many car owners rarely look under the hood. It is very important to have a special device right in the car that will show the battery charge indicator. Such devices are created by car manufacturers themselves and other distinctive companies.
Today, quite interesting devices are going on sale for monitoring the amount of battery charge by measuring the voltage in it.
Why may the green light not light up after charging?
Some people are faced with the fact that even after a long period of charging, the color of the eye does not turn green. There are several reasons for this:
- the green ball is simply stuck in a narrow passage and does not fit into the right place - lightly shake the battery to move it;
- dirt from the plates, which crumble over time, prevents the indicator from showing the correct value;
- the battery has failed.
The peephole on the battery is a convenient way to check its charge level, but many car enthusiasts argue that this is a useless gimmick and you shouldn’t completely rely on its values. To accurately check the charge, it is better to measure the voltage using a load plug.
When starting a car engine, one of the important roles is played by the battery and the degree of charge of its battery. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly monitor this process. There is a well-known way to periodically measure the charge level with a voltmeter. But it is better to have a regular battery charge indicator that will constantly show the battery status. A battery with an indicator will protect you from many unpleasant situations.
DC-12V indicator
Such a device can be found in the store in the form of a designer.
It is this that can be freely used by those who are well versed in soldering and electrical engineering. The DC-12 V indicator gives the owner the opportunity to regularly check the battery charge indicators and the operating principle of the relay itself. The indicator can be purchased as a special part for the car; it can be assembled independently. The price for such a battery charge level indicator will range from 300 to 400 rubles. The main distinguishing features of such a device include the following:
- voltage indicator, which ranges from 2.5 to 18 volts;
- maximum current consumption up to 20 mA;
- The total size of the printed circuit board is 43*20 millimeters.
Why is it needed?
Car batteries are used in cars as an additional source of electricity:
- for power supply of headlights, on-board network;
- to start the engine.
The battery consists of six interconnected cells. Its voltage norm corresponds to 13.5 V, 2.25 for each element. When discharged, the value drops to 9 V and below. These indicators are critical - 70%, they signal that the battery is faulty. This cannot be allowed.
TMS device panel
This device is best suited for those owners who have a second battery built into their car. The device looks like an aluminum panel with a special voltmeter and a toggle switch for switching between batteries. The place of production is considered to be China, the cost reaches 1,500 rubles.
In stores you can find car battery indicators with a 12-volt charge level from the manufacturer Faria, located in the USA. But the cost for such devices is very high and ranges from four to five thousand rubles. For that kind of money it will be much easier to buy a new battery.
The battery light is on: causes and consequences
22.10.2019
Issues discussed in the material:
- How does the battery warning light work?
- Why is the battery light on?
- Why doesn't the battery light come on?
Every car owner from time to time carries out diagnostics of his car to identify problems. Nowadays it becomes almost impossible to do this, especially while driving. The testing tools are becoming increasingly scarce. For example, voltmeters are no longer installed on the instrument panel, and problems with charging can only be recognized after notification of the warning lamp. In this article we will tell you why the battery light on the instrument panel is on.
