![]() ![]() In some vehicles, fumes from regular operation can cause corrosion to accumulate on top of the battery terminals, especially during summer months or in regions with year-round warm weather. So put on some protective gloves, consult your owner's manual, and then carefully follow the steps below to troubleshoot the battery yourself. But, the light could also be triggered by a minor (and easily fixable) issue like corrosion or loose clamps. Now let's talk about your car battery light! It could mean it's time to replace the battery. It needs more "juice!" Troubleshooting Your Battery Light Your car isn't getting enough voltage from the car battery to operate properly. Faulty wiring in the car's electric charging systemĪ dashboard battery light basically means there's a battery charging problem.Damaged cells or plates inside the battery.A problem with the alternator or voltage regulator.You'll likely notice other signs of a weak battery charge, like power windows that are slow to come up or a stereo that won't turn on.Īn illuminated battery light could be due to a number of issues, including: If the light stays on as you’re driving, though, pay attention. The light will turn off after a few seconds. If your car battery light comes on when you start the car, you're in the clear! It’s completely normal for this light to illuminate when you first turn on your car. It might be a quick fix! What Does the Battery Light Mean? But before you break out the jumper cables or worry about possible repairs, take some time to determine why your dashboard battery light is on. A dashboard car battery light could signal any number of issues under the hood, from a damaged battery to a glitch in the alternator. The more of it there is, the older the battery is.How often do you think about your car battery? If you’re like most people, the answer is “never”-until there’s an issue with it. The amount of corrosion on and around the terminals is an indicator of age. ![]() If there is no code on the battery, you'll need to estimate its age based on appearance. These characters can be interchangeable, so "5C" and "C5" mean the same thing. ![]() Putting it together, "5C" indicates a manufacturing date of March 2015. For example, the letter 'C' would mean March. The letters A through L directly correspond to January through December. The second character is a letter that refers to the month the battery was made. The first character will be a number from zero through nine that corresponds to the last digit in the year in which the battery was manufactured. Typically found on the battery cover and sometimes on the battery itself, this code can be several characters long, giving the date information in the first two characters in the sequence. If there is no date sticker, the battery will have a strip, engraving, or heat stamp with a decipherable alphanumeric code. For example, "3/15" would simply mean the battery was manufactured in March 2015. The first step is to locate the battery under the hood and look for a sticker with date information printed in a recognizable convention. In those cases, there is a more methodical approach to finding out when the battery was manufactured and shipped to the wholesale distributor. However, many people buy used vehicles, which means they can't determine the battery's history or age unless the previous owner provided the documentation. If the receipt does not exist, a dealership or auto parts store may have a bill of sale on record and can provide the purchase date. In this case, you can just refer to the original receipt for the date of purchase. So, your battery's age will be the same as the time elapsed since you bought the car.Īnother straightforward way to determine battery age is to buy the battery new, as a replacement for one that went bad. The simplest is if you bought your car new. There are several ways to determine the age of a car battery. ![]()
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