Now is the time for battery maintenance. Your car battery is only going to live for so long. You want to get in as many years as possible before its time is up. Age is just one of battery's enemies, but it is the one we can't do much about, some of the others we can. Extreme heat and extreme cold can abuse your batteries, as can overcharging and undercharging. Electrical connections not doing their job, can make it difficult for the battery to do its job.
When it comes to battery maintenance, start with a battery tester and check the open-cell voltage. Before doing this test, make sure the battery is fully charged and all electrical drains are turned off. When checking the voltage, the reading between terminals should be 12.5 to 12.6 volts. Even if the battery is not fully charged, but still has the ability to start the car, the voltage reading will still be close to 12.0.
If the voltage reading shows less than 12.0 or it won't take a charge, you might want to run another test. The hydrometer can run a specific gravity, which is the proportions of sulfuric acid and water in the electrolyte and give a sign to the level of charge. Pull up the battery fill caps if possible, and add distilled water to the cells that are low. The fluid in the battery should reach the bottom of the fill port. Always use distilled water, because the minerals in tap water can cause corrosion in the battery. If the fluid level is low, a charging system could be producing voltage, which is too high. The voltage maximum with a fully charged battery and the engine revved slightly should be 14.6 volts. Extreme heat can also cause the loss of electrolyte.
If you have to charge the battery, always recharge the battery on a low setting for 4 to 6 hours or overnight. A quick charge on a battery using a high setting will warp the plates inside the battery. Make sure the battery charger is showing 13.5 volts while charging your battery. Your battery may have a high resistance, but if you just put it on the charger and just be patient and wait, the charging current will rise to normal levels. Be careful not to overcharge the battery, as this can cause the electrolyte to boil, and never let a completely discharged battery stay that way for too long or sulfation will set in.
As far as the testing goes, you should use a to perform a voltage test and a load test. You want to use a tester you can rely on and you want to be sure the job is done right the first time. You want to know, right away, if you have a good battery or a bad one needing replacement. A voltmeter or multimeter is not even close to accurate unless you are precisely loading the battery you are testing while simultaneously reading voltage drop. You also have to compensate for temperature. Try a SOC tester it will give you results to equal to a full 20-hour discharge test, and that's pretty hard to beat.
Battery Tester With Load
In the world of car battery testers, Midtronics stands out as the manufacturer of unique and cutting edge technology for the automotive industry. Midtronics has been producing car battery testers for 20 years and continually leads the market in innovation. Their products are even required for battery warranty decisions across the nation at automotive dealers, auto shops and car battery dealers. What makes a Midtronics battery tester unique in the market is the conductance based technology that it uses in its car battery testers.
Conventional car battery testers employ the BCI adjustable load test to measure if a car's battery is usable. They measure the voltage drop when an applied load of ? the CCA rating of the battery is used. In order for BCI load testing to be accurate, the battery must be at room temperature and cannot be discharged. If the battery to be tested is in a discharged state, a car battery charger must used and this adds considerable time to the testing process. However, Midtronics battery testers employs conductance technology that makes the process of battery testing much faster and a lot easier.
What is conductance and why is it so great? This is a common question we receive about Midtronics battery testers. Conductance measures a batteries ability to move electrical current through the internal structure. This method produces a direct relationship to a battery and its power. A tiny AC charge is sent through the battery that produces a voltage response. This is what the battery tester measures. One of the chief advantages to this method is that as a battery ages and corrodes, conductance can determine if a battery can still be used. Basically, what this means is an automotive technician can test a battery without waiting for the battery to cool down to room temperature or have to wait 6 ? 24 hours to recharge the battery. With a Midtronics battery tester, the battery can be tested immediately and accurately because of the conductance technology.
Ease of use is another great advantage to the Midtronics battery tester. A manual load test requires a trained operator than judge if the battery is even testable. Also, the test must be performed accurately within the proper time and then the data needs to be referenced in complex charts. This data needs to be interpreted as well. By comparison, a Midtronics battery tester does all the work. Just input some simple data into the unit, hook it up and press the start button. Anyone can use and accurately measure batteries with Midtronics battery testers and it takes the guesswork out of using load testing charts and complex testing.
Another great advantage of a Midtronics battery tester is the car battery can be safely tested while it is still in the vehicle. All it requires is the engine must not be running and the battery terminals should be reasonably clean. A few conditions may make it necessary to actually remove the battery. If the terminals are located remotely away from the battery being tested, the battery can read weak on the instrument or if the battery is installed in such a way that you cannot correctly connect the Midtronics battery tester to it. In most vehicles and fleet trucks this is not the case and the tester can be easily hooked up to the battery without having to remove it.
Both Elliott Turner & Cooper Miller are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Elliott Turner has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Scooter and Real Estate. For more info on choosing a battery tester, make sure to check out the Battery Research Center. For info on recommended methods referred to in this article. Elliott Turner's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
Cooper Miller has sinced written about articles on various topics from Foreclosure Help, Guns and Air Filters. Jason has been in the construction equipment and industrial sales business for over 10 years. He owns and operates Red Hill Supply to better serve the automotive and industrial industries. -. Cooper Miller's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.
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