Battery testing device

[wbmkk]

I am thinking of buying a battery tester device, to keep an eye on my van battery as well as the leisure battery.

I recently bought a battery charger, a CTEK 7000, which has several commendations here and other forums. I see there is an attachment, also by CTEK which shows a battery charge at a glance, with a traffic light type display. Here is an example of it, but this may not be the best price. I would get the one with clips, rather than the rings shown on this one.

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Produ...oogle&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Motorsport

Another battery test machine can be found here

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HANDS-FREE-BATTERY-ALTERNATOR-TESTER/dp/B001MFQYUW/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

What are the readers thoughts on this idea ?

Which one .. or maybe there's another option should I opt for ?

Many thanks

 

[71Westy]

I have a traffic light arrangement that came for free on my 4 way adapter for 12V sockets, and I'm not a fan. Admittedly, it's a cheapo version of what CTEK would do, but it's always orange, never green unless the engine is running.

It depends on what you are needing it for - if it's a garage check, then a voltmeter will give a better idea. If it's for camping, then you can get a caravan/motorhome style gauge and mounti it somewhere in the van. Generally, I would prefer an analogue gauge or a digital readout of voltage, to get a better idea of how far the battery has gone down, rather than just red/amber/green.

 

[BJ1]

These so-called battery checkers simply measure the voltage, giving no info on how the battery behaves under load. Some of the instructions are laughable eg. "check the battery with the engine running" - this just measures the generator output in volts

If you really want to know your battery condition then take it to a trustworthy garage (there are some around) and ask them to check it out using a load tester. That will tell you if the battery is up to starting the engine.

 

[the_troupster]

This is something i've been playing/learning with the past few days. You can get a fairly good idea of a batteries state from a volt meter. I can't link to the one I got off ebay at mo (work network), but it was only a fiver and i've hard wired it in (mounted in my fridges switch panel). Two days ago I wired in a CTEK 7000 which charges at 14.4v in its bulk mode. This morning I checked after leaving a new battery on charge all night and it was in it's float(monitoring) mode at 13.2v.

My last shitty charger and old battery combo charged at up to 15.5v! I found I could let the voltage drop to around 12.6v and still start the van. 12.4v was a no go. Then needing a mere 2 mins on the old battery charger to boost it to start.

Old battery is 320CCA and 40AH. New is 950CCA and 100AH.

Just thought I'd throw this info out there. Maybe of use.

Oh, and with engine running, the genny/regulator put out 14.3v to 14.5v with a couple of thou RPM on.

Jim

PS. I'll link to that volt meter later...

 

[the_troupster]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blue-LCD-...aultDomain_3&hash=item35b5d36a43#ht_536wt_689

Jim

 

[naskeet]

As a quick check of battery condition, observe the dashboard-mounted voltmeter (assuming one has been fitted!) reading, whilst cranking the starter motor. A healthy, well charged battery, should normally give a reading of > 10V, unless the weather is exceptionally cold.

 

[wbmkk]

Thank you for your replies.