Questions and Answers

This Battery Has Eyes!! Q. I recently had to have a new battery, and it seems to have a little tell-tale window through which you can peer into the interior. There is a label that implies that this window might appear green, orange, or black. But nothing to explain what these colours mean. Currently, it appears green, which I guess means it is okay, as it is brand new.

But what would orange mean, low charge? Low acid level? Nearly dead? And what would black mean, dead as a dodo? No one seems to know.

Cheers,
John

A. That "Green Eye" is actually a battery hydrometer built into the battery. The theory is you can tell the state of charge by looking at the color of the "eye". Since the battery is sealed there is no way to add battery acid or test with a hydrometer, this is the answer to that problem. You are correct in that green is fully charged, orange is low charge and black is dead.

In the real world, it's useless. I have seen many, many bad batteries that couldn't hold a charge if it had handles. And they all had that green eye winking at me. I don't know how many times people have told me "It can't be the battery! The eye is green!"