How To Test Your Car Battery?
Your car’s battery is what supplies power to the ignition system so the engine can start. Without it, the car can’t turn on. A battery usually lasts about four years before needing replaced. If you think that time might be coming up, you’ll want to test it out before it stops working.
Before the hot weather arrives, it is a good idea to get a battery test. By purchasing a digital battery tester, you can perform the battery test yourself. This electronic device can easily determine the health of your battery.
The two most common methods to do battery test:
1. Digital multimeter(DMM) testing
While DMM’s do not provide a light-speed reaction to voltage variations based on sample rate, they do provide a stable enough reading to project static voltage, continuous declines in voltage, and charging system voltage output.
2. Conductance testing
Conductance tester manufacturers currently equip their tools with exportable data files or immediate printable results to document battery condition at the time of measurement, and often include summaries of battery design, post arrangement (side/top/stud), voltage output, inferred amperage output, and battery condition based on tool analysis. This type of testing allows technicians to easily document their findings and display evidentiary results upon completing the test.
How to Recharge A Battery
Whether your battery tests GOOD or BAD, make sure the battery is fully recharged before returning it to service. The alternator is designed to maintain a battery charge, not to recharge a dead battery. Overloading the charging system with a dead battery can tax it to the point of where it may damage the alternator.
The time it takes to recharge a battery will depend on the battery's state of charge and the amp output of the battery charger you are using. The lower the battery voltage, the longer it will take to charge it. The higher the amp output of the charger, the faster it will charge the battery.
Recommended Car Battery Testers
The BT608E is a touchscreen Battery & Electrical System analyzer that applies Adaptive Conductance, an advanced battery analysis method that produces a more accurate examination of the battery’s cold-cranking ability and reserve capacity, vital to determining a battery’s true health.
