Battery Warning Lights
Cars,  Auto Parts

Five Problems Cause Battery Warning Lights on the Dashboard

As the name suggests, warning lights on your dashboard are a warning system that is based on the information fed into your vehicle’s computer monitoring system. When you are diligent in getting your car regularly serviced, then it’s most likely that you will not see many of these warning lights on your dashboard, except for the time you are starting your engine.

Battery warning icons light up when you start your car. However, if the battery icon stays on, then there might be something wrong with it. Here are five problems that cause battery warning lights on the dashboard.

  1. Battery overheating
  2. Alternator malfunction 
  3. Regulator charging problem
  4. Issues with the belt 
  5. Loose cables

Reading this post will surely help in determining a specific problem your vehicle’s battery might be experiencing.


What Does the Battery Warning Light Mean?

Once you start your vehicle’s engine, the car will perform a check to ensure that the battery or the alternator is generating the accurate voltage. The warning light will then shut off after a few seconds if the dashboard’s computer has determined that the battery or the alternator is functioning correctly. If it stays on, the computer most likely detects an issue with the charging system.

If this warning light illuminates, you might want to use only the necessary accessories, including the headlights and the wipers, to avoid draining out your car’s battery.


Five Problems That Cause Battery Warning Lights on Dashboards


Battery

The first thing that you should be checking is the battery itself, as it can certainly cause the warning icon to light up on your dashboard. With this, you need to thoroughly inspect your battery and make sure that it is in perfect condition. Normally, you would see a green light on the battery icon, which is an indication that it is in good working condition.

When you see a red light on the battery icon, it means that it might be overheating. Depending on the model, it might also mean that the battery needs replacement as soon as possible. As you may already know, batteries may have different ways to indicate if they are still in good working condition. So, what you can do is check the instructions on the battery to know for sure.

You can also perform tests using certain tools that will check if your vehicle’s battery has the correct voltage; therefore, it is still in good working condition. You would also want to inspect the connectors and see if they are still in good operating condition. If they are not, it might be one of the causes why the battery warning icon is lighting up.

Check to see if the contact points, both positive and negative, are sitting nice and clean. If they are not, it might prevent electrical contact. In case you are not yet familiar, you would not be able to properly charge your battery if there is no electrical contact. Lastly, you might also want to check when the battery was last installed, as it can give you an idea about when to replace it.


Alternator

After you have checked the battery, the next thing on the list would be the alternator. You should be aware that there can be different ways in which an alternator may malfunction, and it depends on the model. In some models, the vehicle’s alternator just gives up and no longer gives out charge, and its purpose is to generate electricity that is transferred to the batteries.

check the alternator
Via: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzz7P3qNHcE


Regulator

Another problem your vehicle’s engine might be experiencing is probably because of the regulator, which is responsible for giving out a quick charge to the battery. If it gives out too much charge, it may cause damage to your battery. On the other hand, if it is not giving out enough charge, you will not have enough power to allow the engine to operate.

You should also be aware that as the regulator is a part of the alternator, it might also mean that you have to replace the whole thing altogether. Doing this would guarantee that you can get rid of the battery warning light on your dashboard.


Belt

The belts are responsible for allowing the alternator to spin. Once it spins, it can generate an adequate amount of electricity, which will be transferred to the car battery. Just like any other component of the engine, making sure that the belts are in excellent working condition is vital to keep your vehicle running effectively and smoothly.


Cables

The next thing you need to inspect on your vehicle’s engine is the cables. Make sure that they are not loose and are working correctly. If you have loose cables, then it might not be able to spin the alternator enough to generate a charge for your battery. With this, you need to check if the cables are sitting nicely and tight. If it’s a little loose, then you need to tighten it instantly.

In addition, you need to make sure that the electrical cables are connected and tightly secured to the battery connector. You would also want to check if all the wires are in good working condition and that they are not broken. If they are damaged, it might be a reason why your vehicle’s battery is not accepting any charge; hence, the battery warning icon lights up on your dashboard.

To sum up, you need to check the battery, the alternator, the regulator, the belts, and the electrical cables. It might be of great help if you take these components out to have a better look. You might also want to spray water on your engine to clean it, especially if needed. You also need to make sure that these parts are not wet and are not cut or in any way damaged.

When checking to see the problem of why the battery icon on your dashboard lights up, you would want to make sure that you turn the air conditioner off, as it can use a lot of power. You may also turn the headlights off, as well as the radio and any other internal light. You would also want to avoid using power windows, as they use a lot of your battery’s power.


Conclusion

If you see an icon lighting up on your dashboard, it would be in your best interest to get it rectified as immediately as possible. Doing so will prevent you from worrying about it later, thus, allowing you to save more of your time and money. With these five problems causing battery warning lights on dashboard posts, we hope that you have learned valuable information you can apply.