Testing D1 battery

[lowie4157]

Hi all

does anyone know how to test whether a car battery is still good? Can you put a multi-meter on it? what should the reading be?

Thanks in advance.

[adonuff]

Hi
a description of the symptoms would help? But you can try the following!

Put it on a long low trickle charge, at least overnight, longer wont hurt. Take it to your nearest Auto electrician and ask him to do a load test on the battery.

Get a Hydrometer from your local auto shop cheap and easy to use (check after charging the battery). The float inside should be in the green. You will see what I mean if you go have a look at one

See if you can find a date on it, if its more than a few years old might be on the way out. Depending on how well its been treated.

Check the volts with your meter (engine stopped) should show 12v. Start vehicle, should now show 12.8v to 14v. While engine is still running turn on headlights should still show about the same (13.8v or better). This will tell you if your charging system is working.

Check your fan belt is tight enough. If its not the pulley on the altenator will slip under load (lights on or other high use accessories) and not charge the battery enough.

Clean the terminals and check the main earths.

If your charging system is working correctly and the battery you charged over night soon goes flat again this will most likley indicate a dead or dying battery.

Unless! You have something draining the battery while the vehicle is parked. ie a short or simular.

Hope this helps Andrew

[Blknight.aus]

yep you can just multimeter it...

I just happen to know what Im getting for my birthday and it rhymes with

Electronic battery tester.


you're welcome to come out and I'll test it for nix. of course most reputable battery shops will do this as well though they tend to be a little heavy handed with the amps load which tends to really test your battery and usually show signs of early failure. (Im not suggesting all battery shops do this but I have caught a few out)

I'm of two minds on it. 1. its a bit dishonest 2. If your prepping for a trip its probabley a good thing and Almost dying battery can goto dead without too much warning.

[alien]

If you can't get it tested by an apropriate person this method I use.

Warning, this method is deamed unsafe by some:eek:

Have the car in a well ventilated area.
Remove the ventilation caps.
Conect a multimeter to the battery posts with jumper leads.
Note reading..
At full length of the jumper leads join them together,HOLD do not "clip".
..This can create sparks that can ignite the battery acid hence distance and ventalation needed..
Hold for MAX of 5 seconds..
Note voltage reading.. It shouldn't be falling but stable, also no bubbleing in the cells.

[Blknight.aus]

urmmm no, dont try that with decent jumper leads, Kmart/super cheap cheapies maybe but if youve got a decent set you can kiss your battery terminals goodbye..

and DONT try that if you have sensitive electronics on board and the battery is still hooked up.

[**Discovery300Tdi**]

If you can't get it tested by an apropriate person this method I use.

Warning, this method is deamed unsafe by some:eek:

Have the car in a well ventilated area.
Remove the ventilation caps.
Conect a multimeter to the battery posts with jumper leads.
Note reading..
At full length of the jumper leads join them together,HOLD do not "clip".
..This can create sparks that can ignite the battery acid hence distance and ventalation needed..
Hold for MAX of 5 seconds..
Note voltage reading.. It shouldn't be falling but stable, also no bubbleing in the cells.


You bloody old men with your BUSH MECHANIC'S!!!!!! :p;)

[alien]

urmmm no, dont try that with decent jumper leads, Kmart/super cheap cheapies maybe but if youve got a decent set you can kiss your battery terminals goodbye..

and DONT try that if you have sensitive electronics on board and the battery is still hooked up.

Hence the warning..:eek:

[lowie4157]

Hey thanks for the replies. I've had the D1 for about 2 years and have not replaced the battery yet. Who knows how long before I bought it when it was last replaced. Only reason I asked to test is I don't want to jump to conclusions if the battery is still ok.

Andrew, the symptom is starting the car this morning, it struggled to kick over first go, like a flat battery. But was ok second time round. No other problems for the rest of the day.

Will see how it goes tomorrow morning, but will give the load test a go to see what the meter reads.

cheers.
Lowie.