Battery warning light
The warning light for a vehicle's charging system. When it is lit, the battery is not being charged.
Easily confused with
How to read it
The symbol is a car battery drawn in outline, with its positive and negative terminals. Toyota calls it the charging system warning light and says it indicates a malfunction in the vehicle's charging system. Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations define the battery charging tell-tale as a signal that, when alight, indicates that the battery is not being charged.
Also searched as: alternator light, charging system light.
Dashboard symbols vary by manufacturer. The vehicle's owner's manual or a qualified mechanic can say what a light means for a particular vehicle.
What the manual says to do
Ford's F-150 manual says the light comes on when the ignition is switched on, and that lit with the engine running it indicates a malfunction and the vehicle should be checked as soon as possible. In the Nissan LEAF, when the warning appears with a chime, the manual says to stop immediately in a safe location.
One light, several names
UN Regulation No. 121 lists it as the tell-tale for electrical charging condition, and Canada's regulations as the battery charging tell-tale. Toyota calls it the charging system warning light, and Nissan's LEAF manual the 12-volt battery charge warning light.
Differences by country or standard
UN Regulation No. 121 sets the colour of the electrical charging tell-tale as red. Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations describe the same symbol but list no colour for it, where they list red or red-orange for brake warnings.
In an electric car
In the Nissan LEAF, the light concerns the car's 12-volt battery, which a DC/DC converter charges from the 400-volt lithium-ion battery. When it comes on, the car also shows its red master warning and its EV system warning light.
Read next
- Next in Dashboard warning lightsWindshield washer fluid symbolThe windshield washer fluid symbol. On the dashboard it is the light for a low washer fluid level; under the hood it marks the cap of the washer fluid reservoir.
- The same shape in US state flagsFlag of ArizonaArizona’s flag has thirteen red and yellow rays across its top half, a blue lower half and a copper star in the centre. Arizona’s flag law says it shows “the copper star of Arizona rising from a blue field in the face of a setting sun”; the governor’s office reads the rays as the 13 original colonies and the western setting sun, and the star as copper.
More dashboard warning lights
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with squares and rectangles.
Sources
- Toyota Dashboard Symbols & Warning Lights Meaning, Toyota Motor North America (MyToyota)
- Regulation No. 121: Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to the location and identification of hand controls, tell-tales and indicators, UN Regulation No. 121, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (text published by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), para. 2.5; Table 1, item 12
- Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1038): Interpretation, C.R.C., c. 1038, s. 2, Government of Canada, Justice Laws Website, s. 2, definitions
- Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1038): Identification of Controls, Tell-tales and Indicators, C.R.C., c. 1038, Schedule IV, s. 101, Government of Canada, Justice Laws Website, s. 101, Table
- 2020 Nissan LEAF Owner's Manual, Nissan North America, p. 2-15
- 2020 F-150 Owner's Manual, Ford Motor Company, Instrument Cluster: Warning Lamps and Indicators
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 3, 2026. How we research
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