12Volt battery sight glass color

[FFHdriver]

I searched but couldn't find a comment on this. After several miles of driving my battery "eye" is black/opaque, colored. Everything on the car works normally. What is causing this and should I have it checked? Several days ago I could see something red in the glass. At other times it's been green. Car has about 4500 miles. TIA

Edited March 5, 2010 by FFHdriver

[rpreuss]

I searched but couldn't find a comment on this. After several miles of driving my battery "eye" is black/opaque, colored. Everything on the car works normally. What is causing this and should I have it checked? Several days ago I could see something red in the glass. At other times it's been green. Car has about 4500 miles. TIA

 

There are discussions on this. May be on other forums. But anyway....

 

Mine has been red since I first noticed it about a week after I picked up the car. It was a demonstrator with about 45 miles on it.

 

I know from a Delco Marine Battery I had that, at least on THAT battery, it measured the specific gravity of the electrolyte (Water/Sulphuric Acid) to indicate the charge of the battery. The Delco was a Deep Cycle battery for a trolling motor. Designed to be almost fully discharged every time.

 

So, when I saw the red dot, I mentioned it at the dealership. They "tested it" and it passed, so they would not replace it. I tested it (Head lights on for 15 minutes or so) and the voltage never dropped below 11.5.

 

So, since it does not have to crank the engine over but just engage the relay on the "Big Battery" I say WTF.

 

Some day, I plan on finding my Dad's old specific gravity tester and removing one of the caps on the battery and seeing if there really is a problem or if the red dot is just screwed up.

[Oman]

Mine is green and has been green the whole time I have had the car. They are supposed to be green all the time. I don't know if there is an issue with the indicators on some batteries, a problem with some batteries, or some other charging system issue.\

 

Jon

 

 

There are discussions on this. May be on other forums. But anyway....

 

Mine has been red since I first noticed it about a week after I picked up the car. It was a demonstrator with about 45 miles on it.

 

I know from a Delco Marine Battery I had that, at least on THAT battery, it measured the specific gravity of the electrolyte (Water/Sulphuric Acid) to indicate the charge of the battery. The Delco was a Deep Cycle battery for a trolling motor. Designed to be almost fully discharged every time.

 

So, when I saw the red dot, I mentioned it at the dealership. They "tested it" and it passed, so they would not replace it. I tested it (Head lights on for 15 minutes or so) and the voltage never dropped below 11.5.

 

So, since it does not have to crank the engine over but just engage the relay on the "Big Battery" I say WTF.

 

Some day, I plan on finding my Dad's old specific gravity tester and removing one of the caps on the battery and seeing if there really is a problem or if the red dot is just screwed up.

[FFHdriver]

Mine is green and has been green the whole time I have had the car. They are supposed to be green all the time. I don't know if there is an issue with the indicators on some batteries, a problem with some batteries, or some other charging system issue.\

 

Jon

Dealer ran a load test on the battery and it checked good. Battery checked 12v with engine off and 14 with ICE running. I'm not worrying about the color anymore.

[DTJJK96]

I was washing the car today and also raised the hood for the first time since we got the car and found that the battery color is red.

Should I take it to the dealer to have the battery checked? It appears based on this post that it doesn't matter.

[lolder]

How long have you had the car? Many of them show red when delivered. Check it again in about a week. A fully charged battery that has not been recently charged or discharged should read 12.7 v.d.c. on an accurate digital voltmeter. A fully discharged battery would read 11.7 v.d.c. Cheap analog voltmeters are usually not accurate enough for this. My battery seems to stay green and around 12.4 v.d.c. and it was red when I got the car. When the car is on, the DC to DC converter charges it at about 13.3 to 14.2 v.d.c.

[FFHdriver]

How long have you had the car? Many of them show red when delivered. Check it again in about a week. A fully charged battery that has not been recently charged or discharged should read 12.7 v.d.c. on an accurate digital voltmeter. A fully discharged battery would read 11.7 v.d.c. Cheap analog voltmeters are usually not accurate enough for this. My battery seems to stay green and around 12.4 v.d.c. and it was red when I got the car. When the car is on, the DC to DC converter charges it at about 13.3 to 14.2 v.d.c.

After being black all week this weekend the glass turned transparent and I can see the red object. Battery voltage is unchanged. Had two 40 mile trips this week so battery shouldn't be under charged. Just doesn't work like the Delco I'm used to.

[DTJJK96]

How long have you had the car? Many of them show red when delivered. Check it again in about a week. A fully charged battery that has not been recently charged or discharged should read 12.7 v.d.c. on an accurate digital voltmeter. A fully discharged battery would read 11.7 v.d.c. Cheap analog voltmeters are usually not accurate enough for this. My battery seems to stay green and around 12.4 v.d.c. and it was red when I got the car. When the car is on, the DC to DC converter charges it at about 13.3 to 14.2 v.d.c.

 

We got the car in January. We haven't taken any long trips yet but are planning one this weekend so I will have to check it when we get back. I would think if it needed to charge it would have done it by now. But who knows!

[lolder]

I just measured mine and at 12.45 v., the specific gravity of all cells was about 1.30; fully charged. I would expect the voltage to read almost 12.70 v. Most cars now have sophisticated multi-stage alternator voltage regulators and I would expect the FFH to be even more so with it's DC to DC converter (no alternator). Since this battery doesn't start the car, it's unknown on what kind of schedule they charge it. Interestingly, in the FFH you can't go the other way and charge the HVB from the 12 v. system. I believe the Ford Escape Hybrid had such a system. There is a warning message should the 12 v charging fail. I don't think anybody has mentioned seeing the message even with "red eyes". I'd like to hear a digital voltage reading from somebody with a "red eye".

[FFHdriver]

I just measured mine and at 12.45 v., the specific gravity of all cells was about 1.30; fully charged. I would expect the voltage to read almost 12.70 v. Most cars now have sophisticated multi-stage alternator voltage regulators and I would expect the FFH to be even more so with it's DC to DC converter (no alternator). Since this battery doesn't start the car, it's unknown on what kind of schedule they charge it. Interestingly, in the FFH you can't go the other way and charge the HVB from the 12 v. system. I believe the Ford Escape Hybrid had such a system. There is a warning message should the 12 v charging fail. I don't think anybody has mentioned seeing the message even with "red eyes". I'd like to hear a digital voltage reading from somebody with a "red eye".

Do you mean you unscrewed the cell caps? What did you use, a big screw driver? Were they very tight? I wondered if that could be done. Mine has the battery label covering about 4 of them. I was afraid I'd void the battery warranty if I messed with them. TIA

[lolder]

I used a quarter. They were snug. No problem. It appears to be a normal, wet, lead-acid battery.