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From: homepc on 22 Nov 2009 09:00
I have a 2007 Corolla CE (Canadian made) with an original battery from
Johnson Controls. Just a couple of weeks ago, the green eye disappeared. I
use a Battery Tender Plus to maintain the battery and the charge is OK. I
got the Toyota dealer to check the battery while I got my winter tires
changed over a few days ago. They checked the water level and said it was
within specs, and the battery power was more than adequate. They also
mentioned that the green eye indicator does disappear for no reason on a few
of their batteries.

Has anyone had a similar problem and found a work around? I only drive
during my weekends, and I rely on that green indicator to tell me if that
battery is good or not. I was considering buying some kind of hardware
battery tester but after looking on Google, I can only find really cheap
ones or really expensive ones. Is there something I can plug into the
cigarette lighter or the Battery Tender Plus pig tail to accurately measure
the battery charge and strength under load without breaking the bank?


From: dr_jeff on 22 Nov 2009 09:09
homepc wrote:
> I have a 2007 Corolla CE (Canadian made) with an original battery from
> Johnson Controls. Just a couple of weeks ago, the green eye disappeared. I
> use a Battery Tender Plus to maintain the battery and the charge is OK. I
> got the Toyota dealer to check the battery while I got my winter tires
> changed over a few days ago. They checked the water level and said it was
> within specs, and the battery power was more than adequate. They also
> mentioned that the green eye indicator does disappear for no reason on a few
> of their batteries.
>
> Has anyone had a similar problem and found a work around? I only drive
> during my weekends, and I rely on that green indicator to tell me if that
> battery is good or not. I was considering buying some kind of hardware
> battery tester but after looking on Google, I can only find really cheap
> ones or really expensive ones. Is there something I can plug into the
> cigarette lighter or the Battery Tender Plus pig tail to accurately measure
> the battery charge and strength under load without breaking the bank?

Did you explain this to your dealer? It seems that if the battery is not
operating as it is supposed to (including the green indicator) it should
be replaced under warranty.
From: homepc on 22 Nov 2009 09:44

"dr_jeff" <utz(a)msu.edu> wrote in message
news:A6adnbJCNoOf25TWnZ2dnUVZ_tednZ2d(a)giganews.com...
> homepc wrote:
>> I have a 2007 Corolla CE (Canadian made) with an original battery from
>> Johnson Controls. Just a couple of weeks ago, the green eye disappeared.
>> I use a Battery Tender Plus to maintain the battery and the charge is OK.
>> I got the Toyota dealer to check the battery while I got my winter tires
>> changed over a few days ago. They checked the water level and said it
>> was within specs, and the battery power was more than adequate. They
>> also mentioned that the green eye indicator does disappear for no reason
>> on a few of their batteries.
>>
>> Has anyone had a similar problem and found a work around? I only drive
>> during my weekends, and I rely on that green indicator to tell me if that
>> battery is good or not. I was considering buying some kind of hardware
>> battery tester but after looking on Google, I can only find really cheap
>> ones or really expensive ones. Is there something I can plug into the
>> cigarette lighter or the Battery Tender Plus pig tail to accurately
>> measure the battery charge and strength under load without breaking the
>> bank?
>
> Did you explain this to your dealer? It seems that if the battery is not
> operating as it is supposed to (including the green indicator) it should
> be replaced under warranty.


The car is just past the three year warranty last September. I wrote to
Johnson Controls and they replied:

Your electrolyte level in that particular cell where the charge eye is
located, may be a bit low. You can top off that cell to the bottom of the
splash barrel with city tap water or distilled water. Bottom of the splash
barrel means that the electrolyte level will be about an inch below the top
of the cover. Do not over fill and make sure to wear safety glasses. Once
you top it off and the electrolyte equalizes, the green charge eye should
appear again. This may take a few days+ of driving to mix the acid. If
this does not work, then you can use a voltmeter to check your battery.
After you turn off the engine let the battery rest for a 3-5 hours and then
check the voltage. A fully charged battery will have a voltage > than
12.65 volts.,


The car dealer checked the water level and it was within specs. I'm not so
sure about using a voltmeter, doesn't the battery need to be tested under a
load?



From: Jeff Strickland on 22 Nov 2009 11:40

"homepc" <wiebe008(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:hebg6j$c4u$1(a)news.eternal-september.org...
> I have a 2007 Corolla CE (Canadian made) with an original battery from
> Johnson Controls. Just a couple of weeks ago, the green eye disappeared.
> I use a Battery Tender Plus to maintain the battery and the charge is OK.
> I got the Toyota dealer to check the battery while I got my winter tires
> changed over a few days ago. They checked the water level and said it was
> within specs, and the battery power was more than adequate. They also
> mentioned that the green eye indicator does disappear for no reason on a
> few of their batteries.
>
> Has anyone had a similar problem and found a work around? I only drive
> during my weekends, and I rely on that green indicator to tell me if that
> battery is good or not. I was considering buying some kind of hardware
> battery tester but after looking on Google, I can only find really cheap
> ones or really expensive ones. Is there something I can plug into the
> cigarette lighter or the Battery Tender Plus pig tail to accurately
> measure the battery charge and strength under load without breaking the
> bank?
>

Since you have an '07 and the current model is the '10, and the factory is
likely to use a 36-month battery, my suggestion is that you should be
prepared to buy a new battery.

But the battery is not a go-no go kind of product, so you will have plenty
of warning that it's on its last leg. The symptom you want to watch for is a
loss of cranking power. The trouble is that you use a battery tender, which
is in essence a continual charger so you might not see the weakness
developing. And you are closing in on the cold season so the tender is
needed now more than ever so leaving it off for a week to see if the battery
holds a charge on its own can give a false result.

But, park the car this afternoon when you are finished using it, and do not
connect the tender. Then see how well it starts on Thu or Fri, and if it si
weak then you will know.

I'm not sure about the eye, but I seem to recall that it goes from green to
black to red, but I'm not entirely clear on that. If black and not green,
then the electrolyte is weakening. The ball is essentially weighted, and
when the electrolyte is good, the ball floats with the green side up, as the
electrolyte weakens, the ball rolls over.

If your goal is to not worry, buy a new battery now. Time is not on your
side because they are pretty good at making a battery last n-number of
months. If yours is 36 months, then 36 months is happening now. I once had a
36-month battery in a motorhome, the battery died in the 37th or 38th month.
With shelf life ans shipping and such, I'd guess a 36-month battery to give
you 40-ish months of service if you got it fresh off of the assembly line.
Since you bought the car new, then odds favor you getting it sooner off of
the line than I got mine from Costco. The idea holds true, but your window
might be a tad wider than mine was.







From: Jeff Strickland on 22 Nov 2009 11:42

"homepc" <wiebe008(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:hebipe$vll$1(a)news.eternal-september.org...
>
> "dr_jeff" <utz(a)msu.edu> wrote in message
> news:A6adnbJCNoOf25TWnZ2dnUVZ_tednZ2d(a)giganews.com...
>> homepc wrote:
>>> I have a 2007 Corolla CE (Canadian made) with an original battery from
>>> Johnson Controls. Just a couple of weeks ago, the green eye
>>> disappeared. I use a Battery Tender Plus to maintain the battery and the
>>> charge is OK. I got the Toyota dealer to check the battery while I got
>>> my winter tires changed over a few days ago. They checked the water
>>> level and said it was within specs, and the battery power was more than
>>> adequate. They also mentioned that the green eye indicator does
>>> disappear for no reason on a few of their batteries.
>>>
>>> Has anyone had a similar problem and found a work around? I only drive
>>> during my weekends, and I rely on that green indicator to tell me if
>>> that battery is good or not. I was considering buying some kind of
>>> hardware battery tester but after looking on Google, I can only find
>>> really cheap ones or really expensive ones. Is there something I can
>>> plug into the cigarette lighter or the Battery Tender Plus pig tail to
>>> accurately measure the battery charge and strength under load without
>>> breaking the bank?
>>
>> Did you explain this to your dealer? It seems that if the battery is not
>> operating as it is supposed to (including the green indicator) it should
>> be replaced under warranty.
>
>
> The car is just past the three year warranty last September. I wrote to
> Johnson Controls and they replied:
>
> Your electrolyte level in that particular cell where the charge eye is
> located, may be a bit low. You can top off that cell to the bottom of the
> splash barrel with city tap water or distilled water. Bottom of the
> splash
> barrel means that the electrolyte level will be about an inch below the
> top
> of the cover. Do not over fill and make sure to wear safety glasses.
> Once
> you top it off and the electrolyte equalizes, the green charge eye should
> appear again. This may take a few days+ of driving to mix the acid. If
> this does not work, then you can use a voltmeter to check your battery.
> After you turn off the engine let the battery rest for a 3-5 hours and
> then
> check the voltage. A fully charged battery will have a voltage > than
> 12.65 volts.,
>
>
> The car dealer checked the water level and it was within specs. I'm not
> so sure about using a voltmeter, doesn't the battery need to be tested
> under a load?
>
>
>

Yes, it needs to be tested under load.

It's also not a warranty item, and even if it was, after 36 months its got
to be well within the pro-rate -- meaning you got 99% of its life, you get
1% off on the replacement. I'd not pursue the warranty issue for very long.






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