AC Delco Car Battery -- Black vs Red Hydrometer?

Question

MY AC Delco car battery seems to work fine to start my car, but there is a "window" that shows if the battery is adequately charged. Mine shows black, not red, even though the car is used regularly and has not been discharged by leaving the lights on. The mechanic at our gas station declared that this means the battery is not good and needs to be replaced. If so, I will do it. But is that a correct statement?

Answer 1

any battery after 4/5 yrs. is near spent. if you get 5yrs. out of any battery you did good , this winter in Ohio will suck the life out of any battery that's on the edge of the 4/5yrs. is yours this old? if so its time to replace it before you get in trouble ,

Answer 2

There is a little ball in the little window. The specific gravity of the acid in the battery is good if you see the ball(red or green). Great. I've seen several times when the ball is stuck in the bottom (no color) from transport or while hitting pot holes. Besides there are 6 cell in a car battery, so the little ball is telling you that the one cell is bad MAYBE. If you can take the battery to an auto parts store and have them check it. It's usually free. Just ask the if they could do a "load test" on your battery. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

the issues with Delco's are this.. the 60 month/5yr warranty delco battery is made for AC Delco in Korea using recycled lead. the 6 and 7 year warranty delco batteries are made in the USA with new lead. In terms of power, delco batteries are pretty close with the CCA, you pay more for more warranty, not as much more battery. Diehard's are made by Interstate Batteries, they're good batteries. They're expensive because of the commission fee the salesperson gets at Sears. Also they charge more because of the name: Diehard

Answer 4

if you are talking about the little circle window where you can see into the battery then red means bad. Red means it is shot and needs replacement if it show any other color than that then you are ok.