Batteries

Usually, when any warning light turns on is an indication that there is something wrong in that system.

Occasionally, malfunctions in the sensors and alert system can imply trouble in the system it represents, even though there is nothing wrong.

When a warning light or signal is noticed, the vehicle operator should either check out the system alerted [ONLY IF QUALIFIED] or have the vehicle checked by a qualified automotive service technician. This is because some malfunctions can be serious enough to cause very expensive damage to the vehicle's components.

The warning symbol with the battery icon can illuminate due to many things, some of which immediately come to mind include [but this list is not all inclusive]:

• Loose or missing drive belt allowing alternator to "slip" and thus not put out enough voltage to properly charge the battery.
• An "open circuit" [loose or broken conductor (wire), corroded connections or connectors, burned out diodes in the alternator, etc., etc.] in any of the circuits related to charging of the battery.

The thermometer icon usually comes on to indicate that the coolant [water and antifreeze or lubricant] temperature is above or approaching an dangerously high temperature. Uncorrected over-temperature of an engine can ultimately result in boil-off of coolant, and total destruction of an engine. It can also be dangerously unsafe for anyone trying to add more coolant to the system.

Depends what kind of batteries

All batteries do the same thing. Have the same purpose and can conduct electricity.

• The alkaline battery can take the square or cylindrical form that we all know so well. The contents are contained safely within a steel casing. The cathode, which is the negative part of the battery, is a compressed mixture of manganese dioxide paste and carbon powder. The center of the cathode is hollow and lines with a conductive separator to prevent the cathode and anode materials from mixing, but allowing their varying electrical potentials to pass from one to the other. The anode is the positive part of the battery and contained within the center of the cathode. It's a gel of potassium hydroxide and zinc powder.
• The box or exterior of the Zinc-Carbon battery doubles as the anode, being made entirely of zinc. It contains a mixture of manganese dioxide and carbon powder as the cathode. The cathode floats within a solution of ammonium chloride and zinc chloride dissolved in water.
• Nickel-cadmium batteries are better known as NiCad or rechargeable batteries. They are made of two thin plates of nickel oxy-hydroxide and cadmium which are flattened together and rolled up into a cylinder shape. The nickel oxy-hydroxide acts as the anode, and the cadmium acts as the cathode. The catalyst is the electrolyte fluid which fills the battery, known as potassium hydroxide. This causes an electrical charge to build between the anode and the cathode.