Emergency Light Battery Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How to change Emergency Light Batteries?
Answer: To change your emergency light batteries follow these steps:

• Locate the emergency light battery compartment on the light. Exit signs normally have the compartment located in a space directly above the word "Exit."
• Open the battery compartment and pull the wire harness off of the battery if it has one. Otherwise, the battery is just wedged against the leads.
• Plug the new battery into the wire harness and insert the battery back into the compartment, or snap the new battery back against the leads.
• Replace the cover and press the "Test" button on the light to verify the battery is working.

Question: How to Test Emergency Light Batteries?
Answer: To test your emergency light batteries follow these steps:

• Open the battery compartment in your emergency lights. All emergency lights vary; some you remove by unscrew the top part that contains the light bulb, others you need to remove a side or base panel.
• Remove the batteries from the emergency light battery compartment. You need to test each battery separately, as all the batteries need to have an equal charge. One bad battery affects the power you get from the battery pack.
• Look on the label of one of the batteries to ascertain its mAh when fully charged. It's usually printed near to where the voltage is given and the battery type. If the mAh isn't mentioned, then you can test the voltage of the battery instead, but it's not as accurate, as voltage remains steady until the battery is about 75 percent discharged; mAh drops as the battery gets used.
• Place the metal probes on the ends of the two colored wires from the meter onto the battery terminals. Put the red probe on the battery terminal labeled with a plus sign and the black probe on the terminal labeled with a minus sign.
• Check the meter reading. The mAh is the same as the mAh on the battery label if it's fully charged. If you're using voltage, it's the same as the voltage on the label unless the battery is nearly discharged. If the voltage is less than on the battery label, get a replacement.