Most of the Ultra-heroes have a light on their chests that start blinking after a period of exertion. These are known as the ColorTimers, also known in English translations as the "warning lights." These ColorTimers are the main focus of energy for the Ultra-warrior. When the light begins to blink (usually accompanied by a color change to red), the Ultra-warrior must finish the battle, or else find a way to recharge, or dire consequences will result. Some Ultra-heroes will merely revert to their human forms. Others "will never rise again."
A few Ultra-heroes, such as Ultraseven, Ultraman Scott, Ultrawoman Beth, and Ultraman Chuck, do not have ColorTimers on their chests, but on their heads instead. Ultraseven rarely gets into trouble with lack of energy, but on one occasion aliens managed to drain him enough to cause his Emellium Beam emitter to start blinking, and eventually fade out altogether; on another occasion, when Ultraseven fought an alien virus, the general strain of battle caused his beam emitter to blink.
Most Americans believe an Ultra-hero can only survive on Earth for 3 minutes (or, in some cases, less). This is normally the case, but the ColorTimer does not measure time, but energy levels. An Ultra-hero can drain himself of energy by executing a feat that requires a large amount of energy; for example, Ultraman Tiga once teleported and grew from human to "ultra" size in one action. This drained him sufficiently that, when he rematerialized, his ColorTimer began blinking almost immediately. In general, though, just being around will cause a drain of energy. For Ultraman Great, Earth's polluted atmosphere caused his drain of energy.
An Ultra-hero can, on rare occasion, recharge his ColorTimer. In episode 49 of Ultraman Tiga, Tiga was drained of energy by the monster he fought. Ultraman appeared and loaned some of his ColorTimer energy to Tiga, causing Tiga's light to burn a steady healthy blue. In one story, Ultraman Dyna recharged himself by bouncing a particular beam attack off of a spaceship. On another occasion, Dyna's ColorTimer shut down altogether, and his eyes went dark. When Ultraman Tiga was remanifested, he freed Dyna's body and recharged him in much the same way Ultraman recharged him. On one occasion, the other Ultra-Brothers loaned Ultraman Taro their ColorTimer energy so he could finish off a monster. Ultramen Scott & Chuck, and Ultrawoman Beth, were recharged several times simply by exposure to the sun's rays. There were other rare devices and situations where a ColorTimer could be temporarily recharged.
The ColorTimer is a vital part of the Ultra-hero's life. In the final episode
of the original series, Ultraman's ColorTimer was damaged; this caused him to
collapse. In a cameo appearance, during a battle between Taro and a monster, Ultraman
Jack had his ColorTimer ripped from his chest, causing Jack's body to
collapse like an empty costume (which, of course, it was in real life