I have a 2005 FX4 with 37k. I noticed the other day my battery was dead and just thought i left something on. I jumped it and stayed charge for 3 days and ran fine. I tried starting the truck this morning and it was dead. I looked on the battery were it has that clear glass so if it shows green its good and red for bad ect. Well it was on red, does that mean the battery is low and will go back to green if the battery is good and charged backed if I left something on? Or if it EVER goes to red the battery bad? (period) and needs to be replaced?

II'll probably need to check the alternator too to see if its making the battery go bad wouldnt you think?

Hope that all made since!

 

Green dot means the battery is good enough to test (ie charged enough). The battery may not hold a load, so a green dot does not necessarilly mean a good battery. Load testing is the only way to ensure a good battery.

Hope I did not confuze you any more

 

Unless they changed the design the Green dot really means nothing but that cell is good. You could have other bad cells and a Green dot showing all is good. I had the same problem described and took the battery to Ford and Sears and both said it was fine.
I could leave my door open for a few minutes and need a jump afterwards and still a green dot in the battery window.

Motorcraft now and years ago Delco used the same green dot hydrometer dumb idea.
Some of those type batteries are just junk that fool and confuse you.

I eventually just bought a new battery after a year of fooling around.

 

Thanks Guys, I went a head and went to Sears and bought a new battery.
3 Year free replacemnt. DieHard SUV, Truck and Van, North Battery.

Im pretty sure its the battery but wouldnt be surprised if its something else. I dont really have time to start trouble-shooting so went with a shot of buying a new battery. The light on the old battery is red and stayed red after charging and the truck started right up. However im sure it would of went dead in 2-3 days again.

What made me mad was when I charged my motorcraft battery and went to sears. I asked them would they test my old battery and if its bad i'll buy a new one from them. He said its $12.95 for them to test my batter regardless If I bought a battery from them or not. If I did buy battery from them I still have to pay the $12.95 which I thought was BS. However I wasnt in the mood so still figuring its the battery just bought a new one.

 

Took my truck in for first oil change today and asked the dealer bout checkin my battery because its been goin dead too. Was told i would have to leave it for 4 hrs because thats how long it takes their tester to check it. Anybody ever hear of this?? So I guess they're gonna give me a loaner till its checked out. Believe I'd be better off just footin the bill and buyin a new one!!

 

You shouldn't need to leave it for 4 hours.That is probably the time it would take before the guy can check it.We have a tester that can check load cca starting system and alternator all in about 5 minutes or less.We have been dealing with a lot of batteries lately on our equipment and a good tester is money well spent.

 

Forgot to mention that this is a $700 midtronics Micro 700 analyzer not something anyone would go out and buy for the average Joe.

 

I have taken batteries to Advance Auto Parts and had them tested for free many times. Takes less than 10 minutes.

 

They had the truck in the bay doin the oil change already so how much work could it have been to just check it out. Not much I'm sayin. They said somethin bout load testing for that long before Ford would replace the battery. Thought maybe there was a dealer mechanic in here that might know if this was BS or not??

 

the dealer might be trikle charging the battery for a couple hours then doin a load test to see if its good (some times a battery will take a charge but a small load will drain it in seconds)..I worked @ a john deere dealer and when a customer would bring a battery to be load tested we would have them leave it to charge then see if it will hold a load

 

Maybe they're tellin the truth. Hard to trust a dealer because of the bad rep they always get. These guys did a complete check plus oil change for $28.02 which is not bad.

 

Finally got the battery checked out at the dealership. Said it was fine but an aftermarket brake controller was pulling to much amps while hooked up. Guess what? 3 hrs labor not covered under warranty equals a $240.00 bill. Get this tho. Left the controller unplugged and the truck sit for 12 hrs and when I go to start it would barely turn over. Guess I otta bend over cause they sure gave me a good one.

 

I have that Green/Red dot thing on the Motorcraft battery in my Mustang. It has been on the red dot for about 3 years now. Starts up everytime and have never had a problem with it.

I'd go back to the dealership and let them know what's up. Either that, you hopefully paid with a check or CC? Dispute the charge and tell the bank that you paid $XXX.XX because the dealership said that was the problem and it would be fixed after, and it is still not working correctly. I recently had some very poor work done on my car. The shop owner said he is going to refund all of my money. I am giving it 2 weeks to come off the card, or the bank is getting some paperwork and pictures.

 

Hi-long time lurker- 1st time poster-
The green dot- red dot doesn't mean much. It is green when the battery is built and will remain so for years if the battery is not run dead- 1st time it is run dead it turns red and you will never see the green dot again. You can charge it and it may be perfectly fine for years but the dot will never again mean anything because it will not return to green. There's a lot more to battery technology and testing than this but that's the green dot-red dot in a nutshell. Hope that helps.

 

I was going to mention that mine turned red I believe when I jumped another car. It really is meaningless. If your volts are good and it starts everytime, you should be set.