I have an red battery icon on my dash!

by Gemica
(Chicago Il.)

When I turn my car on to the on position (not the engine) 2 lights show up on my message center. One is a yellow security light and the other is a red battery light. When I start the car up they both go out! My question is by the battery light showing up red when the car is in the on position but cuts off when I start the car is there something possibly wrong with my battery or is it indicating low cells in my battery? But when I'm driveing the car the battery light doesn't come on at all!


Steve Says,

Hi, Gemica. Thanks for using my auto repair website. This is a great question!

The quick answer is "no" there is nothing wrong with your battery...most likely!. The reason your light comes on when you first turn your car on is because your vehicle is performing a check of the dash icons to make sure they still work. You car will turn them on for a few seconds to test them, then turn them off. If there were a problem with your charging system then the battery light would come back on while you were driving or after the car was started.

The battery light on your dash is actually not just a battery light. It is an light that tells you when your whole charging system (alternator + battery) is having a problem. In fact probably more often than not it is your alternator that is having problems when that light comes on.

When you start having battery problems or alternator problems your car can tell. It checks by checking ow much voltage is in your charging system. This tells it whether the alternator is having problems or not. If the voltage gets too low then it tells the battery light on the dash to come on to alert the driver that there is a problem in the charging system.

Generally when you start to have battery problems or alternator problems you start to notice other things as well. Things like your battery being dead when you try to start your car. Sometimes it can also cause your car to stall when you are driving.

If you ever need to check your battery you can take it to any good auto parts store and they will test it for you for free.

To make sure your battery stays in good condition you should check to make sure the battery cable connections are good and tight and that they are clean. This will ensure that there is a good connection so the alternator can charge the battery correctly.

I hope this has helped you with your car question. Please let me know if you have further questions or comments.