What Do The Lights Mean On Ryobi's 80V Zero Turn Mower Battery Charger?

Companies often do what they can to make something user-friendly. While full-on digital displays with clear and understandable readouts on electrical devices are the best option for the consumer, sometimes that's not the route the manufacturer goes. When a legible LCD screen isn't possible, some companies turn to a series of indicator lights. Typically, power tool battery chargers utilize LED lights, like the red, green, and orange indicators on Ryobi's 80V Zero Turn Mower battery charger. The problem is that unless you're an avid Ryobi user or have studied the manual, you may not always know what some flashing lights mean.

What an indicator light represents will vary from charger to charger, even within a specific brand. For example, the 80V charger has one additional LED light (orange) compared to the standard 40V charger. If upgrading from a 40V to an 80V battery, you'll want to know what your charger is telling you. Though the 80V charger has a list of what each light combination means, if that strip ever fades or falls off, you don't want to have to do any guesswork. Nothing's worse than thinking a battery is charging when, in reality, it's been stuck in Testing mode.

After plugging the 80V charger into a wall outlet, the red LED should turn on and remain steady. It should stay solid until a battery is plugged in, at which point the other LEDs will come into play. If the battery is hot or cold to the touch when connecting it to the charger, you may get a solid orange light. The orange LED will remain on while the charger is in Testing mode and will change once the battery cools down or warms up.

If both the green and red LEDs start flashing with the 80V battery plugged in, there's an error with either the charger or the battery. Remove the battery and unplug the charger, then reconnect everything. If the LEDs start flashing again, test the charger with a different battery (if one is available). After swapping the battery, if the green LED starts flashing, there's a defect with the first Ryobi battery. Should the green and red LEDs continue flashing, though, then the problem lies within the charger. Replacement chargers are available through Ryobi, but they cost just over $700.

The last charger status to know is a steady green LED. This indicates that the battery is fully charged and ready for use. If you see this indicator but only seem to get a portion of a charge when you try to use it, the battery may have a capacity issue and may need to be replaced.

The red and green flashing LEDs is a dreaded sight because that likely means something needs replacing. Regardless of whether you're replacing the mower's 80V battery or the charger, you'll be spending between $700 and $900 unless you buy them secondhand. Before rushing to the store, though, that kind of pricing warrants determining if either device is covered under Ryobi's warranty policy.

According to Ryobi, both the 80V Ride-on Zero Turn Mower battery and charger are covered for five years if used for residential purposes. If you're using them commercially or in any way that generates income, the warranty drops to two years.

If you're finding that both the battery and charger work, but the mower isn't powering on with a charged 80V, then it's likely an issue with the ride-on mower itself. Even something as simple as a bad connection with the battery can be costly, so check the warranty of the mower, as well. Per Ryobi, that's also a five-year warranty with the same stipulation regarding residential use. For commercial use, it's 250 hours for decks 42 inches or smaller or 500 hours for 42 inches and bigger.