Battery Health Indicator

[loggyboy]

How accurate are these?

My Battery was flat this morning, the diagram shows that a blue ring with a red dot healthy, however mine just had the blue ring, which according the diagram, doesnt mean anything! lol

[Rikos]

What Battery health indicator are you talking about mate

[Rob]

they are not reliable... i have had the same situation as you, the Battery was flat but it showed the Battery was ok.

the indicator is on the Battery BTW

[corsavandal]

I got a solid green circle on the one i got from Lex.

Loggy, were the passenger and drivers doors closed properly last night as the bulb's at the bottom of the door have drained many a number of battery's from not having the door closed.

[loggyboy]

I got a solid green circle on the one i got from Lex.

Loggy, were the passenger and drivers doors closed properly last night as the bulb's at the bottom of the door have drained many a number of battery's from not having the door closed.

Yeah was all locked up this morn, plus int dome light wont go out if doors ajar.

[corsavandal]

could you use the remote to unlock the car?

[loggyboy]

Yes

[corsavandal]

at least its not completely flat then. have you managed to get it charged up during the day?

[loggyboy]

Used a booster to get it going there and then. (which didnt have much in it, but was enough to get it to crank)

Hopefully It will start ok tonight, if not still have the booster with me.

It has been releuctant to turn over on occasional mornings, but untill this morning it had always started. Bonus is ive just got my 'gold member' in the post so that will be handy to get a replacement bat tomorrow.

[golfvr6]

Used a booster to get it going there and then. (which didnt have much in it, but was enough to get it to crank)

Hopefully It will start ok tonight, if not still have the booster with me.

It has been releuctant to turn over on occasional mornings, but untill this morning it had always started. Bonus is ive just got my 'gold member' in the post so that will be handy to get a replacement bat tomorrow.

Hey there - I had the same problem. Turns out the best way to check the Battery - is too go a garage and have a load test conducted. Mine concluded that the Battery was knackered. So went on the hunt for a Battery. I ended up getting one from Lexus Hatfield - £56 Inc VAT.

[loggyboy]

So went on the hunt for a battery. I ended up getting one from Lexus Hatfield - £56 Inc VAT.

Sounds about right, Reading quoted me 'about £50' lol

I'l try and get one at lunch tomorrow :)

[dazz32]

My Battery has the blue,black,red circle indicators on top of the Battery...mine is ok at the moment it shows a blue circle and says this is ok in the hand book....BUT still wouldnt trust it being spot on???!!

[KevLex]

The Battery charge indicator is a mini hydrometer mounted in one of the battery's cells. There are 6 cells in a 12V lead acid Battery so it is only able to report the condition of one of the cells.

When the Battery is in reasonable condition the hydrometer will give a good indication of the state of charge of the Battery. The problem comes when the Battery ages and the cells begin to perform differently. It it not uncommon for one or more cells to no longer hold their charge when the Battery is more than 3 or 4 years old.

The first time you will notice a problem is when the car is not driven for slightly longer than usual and the ambient temperature is low. The only way to accurately diagnose the problem is to measure the specific gravity of each cell with an external hydrometer or charge the Battery up and then perform a load test.

Normally if the Battery has been working well and then all of a sudden there is a problem, if you make a quick check of the charging voltage with the engine running and check that there are no excessive loads on the Battery when the engine is off and the doors are closed then it is likely that the Battery is in need of replacement.

My original Lexus Battery lasted 7 years which was quite impressive. A replacement 65Ah Battery from Lexus Plymouth was about £55.

[loggyboy]

I did make a check of the levels last night and they seemed low so topped them up with some distiled/ion water. After that I took it for a run to charge, It the started fine after leaving it for a few hours. It started 'ok' this morning but it was still obvious that it wasnt great.

So still going to get a new Battery today as its probably the original Battery, i which case its also 7 years old and covered nearly 100k.

[kam05]

My Battery too failed last week, this was the original Battery which had done 98000 miles. Bought a replacement from Lexus Leeds for £55 inc VAT.

Word of warning...check the Battery that you are buying has not been sat around for months on end wherever you buy your Battery from, be it a Lexus dealer or a motor factor. Last thing you need is a Battery that has been sat on the shelf for 6 months without being charged. Lexus Leeds told me that they bought in a bulk load of batteries from Toyota around Christmas time, hence they are able to sell their batteries off at £55 each. To order in a Battery from Toyota, Lexus Leeds would have charged me £75 if they didn't have any in stock.

The Battery I bought from Lexus Leeds was about 2 weeks old, according to the sticker.

[loggyboy]

The one ive just picked up from lexus Bracknell, was £55 all in after 15% Owners Club Discount. It has a November sticker so should be ok.

[loggyboy]

New Battery fitted - has breathed new life in to it, starts like a whippet with a bum full of dynamite.

The Bat is a different style, toyota branded and has a different style of indicator.

[Mars]

My Battery packed up last Saturday. Car is coming up to five years old next month and has covered just under 40,000miles. This was due to the fact that since April 2007 I have only been driving it once a week if that at the weekend. I could not even jump start it. The Battery indicator was showing the Battery to be in good condition and so I charged it for 4-5 hours and it started the car ok. I will be able to tell tomorrow whether the charging has worked if the car starts.

I would says 7 years for a Battery is great as I had this once before with a Honda. Lexus Woodford is qouting £65.27 incl but with the Gold discount this works out at £55.48.