If you have a car, one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to test your battery regularly. Without this, you could end up stranded and need to call for help. There are a few ways to do this, including by using a multimeter or getting professional help from an auto parts store.
A multimeter can be a great tool to use for a variety of tests, such as checking the specific gravity of the battery fluid or determining how much charge is left in a battery. You can buy a multimeter at most auto parts stores or online, and it is inexpensive and relatively easy to use.
Before you start testing your battery, be sure to turn off the vehicle and all accessories. This will prevent any surface charges from being added to the battery, causing false readings on your multimeter and putting you in a potentially dangerous situation.
Once your vehicle is completely shut down, put the multimeter dial on “20 volts” and attach both of its probes to the battery terminals — the red probe goes to the positive and the black probe to the negative. Make sure to press both of the probes down on the terminals, touching negative to negative and positive to positive, to get an accurate reading.
The voltage reading on your multimeter will tell you if the battery is holding a charge and if it needs to be replaced. If it shows that it is below 12.3 volts, the battery likely needs to be replaced. If the battery is between 12.5 and 12.6 volts, it should be fine and can be charged.
Next, you can test the load on your battery by cranking it slowly while monitoring its voltage with your multimeter. This is a great way to find out if your battery has any trouble starting the vehicle and can provide valuable insight into its overall health.
This is a simple, cheap and extremely effective test that should be a part of any shop’s battery wellness checklist. It is a great way to catch potential problems before they become serious, resulting in greater profit and increased customer satisfaction.
To perform this test, you will need a good battery load tester, which can be purchased for about $20. It will also need to be fully charged, so that it can give an accurate reading on its state-of-charge.
If your battery has a removable cap, you can use a hydrometer to measure its specific gravity, which is the weight of the battery fluid in relation to pure water. If the battery has a higher specific gravity than 1.260, it is likely to have a problem and should be refilled and recharged.
You can also do a load test by cranking the engine and monitoring its voltage with your multimeter, which is another way to check whether your battery needs to be replaced. But this test is not as precise as the other two. And you may need to do it a few times before you find out whether your battery is failing or not.
