How to get Your Battery Tested

[Merian]

Many failures are caused by batteries that are in a poor state of charge ("run-down").


You will need to find a battery shop or an electrical shop to properly test your battery. The guy will have a big heavy thing mounted on a cart or hand truck NOT a small hand-held tester. You will want a "load test." The hand-held testers cannot put a true load on the battery (no matter what the kid at Autozoned-out tells you) - they use a capacitive based computer model to simulate the real test, and the simulation is not very worthwhile.

The guy should have something that looks like this:
http://buy1.snapon.com/products/diagnostics/MT3750KRBC.asp

A test every year or so is a GOOD idea. Around here, they do it for free.

If you put a voltmeter on your battery and it reads fine, that does NOT mean it is fine. google "surface charge" to find out more.

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Batteries suffer permanent damage when they get run down, i.e. below a certain voltage. Use a battery tender to keep your battery charged up whenever the vehicle sits for a week or more without driving.

[Zeitgeist 13]

I think anyone who travels any significant mileage in these vehicles should maintain a small handheld battery load tester. They can be had for less than $50, and read both surface voltage and load capacity. It's pretty common for DIY types to just read the former and not the latter...inevitably missing critical information. Don't leave home without one.
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[djkeev]

What?!?!?! ^^^^ MORE crap to carry?!?!?!?
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Zeitgeist 13]

Yes.
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[Ahwahnee]

[djkeev]

Outside of my tools..... I've not needed ANYTHING that I carried on a journey.....

Just saying.......

Dave
_________________
Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Merian]

a small handheld battery tester is not a load tester - read the OP

not a bad idea to carry one however

[Terry Kay]

[Sodo]

The little handheld load testers from Harbor Freight are somewhat useful in telling you whether a battery that's sitting on the ground might be worth hefting it into a car.

If the battery is already in the car, use a multimeter and have someone run "starter" and watch the voltage.

I wouldn't carry a battery load tester. If you are wondering about battery condition, consider that for not much more than $50, you can just buy a new battery and be more certain. Plus,,,,,,

- you don't have to find a place to put it.
- with luck you have deferred this concern for several years.

I carry a multimeter though.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[Zeitgeist 13]

If you remove both cables and directly attach the load tester to the battery, you eliminate lots of variables in the starting system. I honestly don't understand why anyone would not want to use such a basic and fundamental diagnostic tool that establishes baseline information about the key electrical power source on a vehicle. This tool is a top tier item in my toolkit.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[Sodo]

Well maybe I have a lot to learn about them. My normal M.O. is to milk an aging battery to the bitter end, and upon finally replacing it, wonder what was gained from that last bit of pitiful, labor intensive, possibly risky usage. Other than "the challenge".

And then I pledge that NEXT time I'll just replace it rather than go all thrillseeker. Thats the stage I'm at right now (replace mode).
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[Terry Kay]

Allow me to fill your minds with some old school thoughts of what else you can do with a hand held Milton type battery tester.

Got problems with an "iffy" battery?
Charge it up, it will load test fine, but yet in 8-10 hours it's low on voltage, or dead?

Take the negative cable on the tester, hook it up to the battery, take the positive clamp - cable and slowly slide it back and forth lengthwise over the top of the battery.
If you see voltage showing in one or a couple of area's, stop.

You just located a cell, or a couple that are shorted out.
The shorted cells will bleed through the case of the top of the battery to the positive cable of the tester.

The good cells won't bleed through the case.

I know this really sounds off the wall, but it works quite well with this Milton tester I use.
I don't know if it will work with a multimeter, or anything other battery tool.
I use a Battery Tester only on batteries for finding out battery problems.

You may experiment with any other type of tool you'd like.

I'm just reporting on what works for locating cell shorts for me.
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T.K.

[Sodo]

Thats interesting. If "voltage" leaks thru the case the battery can't possibly hold a charge it's all gonna run out. Can you poke a multimeter probe into the acid, and touch one of the plates (or the other) to see the contribution of that cell? Going across the holes it seems the voltage should increment 2-4-6-8-10-12

If any cell is dead the battery's dead. I've seen a few vids on reviving batteries but I don't believe they are reliable revivals.
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[Merian]

[Terry Kay]

This battery tester I've had since 1968.
It's a Milton.
I have no idea of how much reliability you want or should expect out of a $50.00 tool.

It does everything that diode cabinet will do, and has for 47 years.

It's direct drive, no diodes, transistor's or whatever your talking about, no LCD screen to fry, or go blank--a simple dial face & needle on this unit.

It does have a heating element in it which offer's the load test to the battery--kinda direct drive--no screwing around with electronic garbage.

Go and look for parts for this Snap On battery test thing your mentioning in 40 some years--
I can't get my Snap On tack dwell meter fixed--go figure.

And ya know what?

The same tool is still available today---must be one of them good tools that are still available in this disposable world.

How you plan on taking this cabinet battery testing thing along with you when you go somewhere?

Tow it?

Yea Baby--real handy--

I can toss mine in the closet, or under the rear seat.
Practical.
_________________
T.K.

[Zeitgeist 13]

Mine is a US-made Solar brand, manufactured in 1996. Works great and takes up very little space. I can't recommend these highly enough.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[Merian]

Take the Milton apart and see what's inside it. The large, cart-based units are big and heavy because of the components in there to dissipate a lot of power from the battery.

Anyone can do a search on the Milton and read about the failures - quite possibly they were bought out and the quality has declined. Glad you like yours TK.

Unless a lead acid battery is abused, there is no need to test it except once a year or so. That's why you drive to a battery shop.

[Terry Kay]

Why drive to a battery shop when they are going to pitch you for a new battery?
You can do all of the testing right where you are , and know exactly what's going on not only with your battery, but your entire charging system.

You obviously have some sort of obsession and have talked yourself into the bigger is better theory--it isn't that way at all.

Like I said, the tester I bought eons ago has been on; motorcycles, ATV's, snowmobiles, cars, vans, trucks, semi's, farm tractors, & heavy equipment, and operates just fine.

Tell me how in the heck you'd get into an excavating job to test the batteries on a Cat or Case tracked excavator with that monster roll around cabinet that doesn't or won't do one more thing that my hand carried Milton would do--and at probably 10 times the price.
I used the Milton on broken down Mack Trucks with charging issues for 30 some years.

Buy one of them Snap On testing cabinets, & lay a hands on detailed report on it for the folks reading here.

I did on what I have and gave a detailed report of what the Milton is capable of.

I'm mentioning this from practical experience--what have you got to expound upon and can share with us all, besides it is a roll around tester and much bigger, therefore it must in your mind be better.

I'll tell you again--it isn't.

Don't let the name tag, price, and it's size dazzle you.
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T.K.

[Ahwahnee]

[Terry Kay]

You can probe if you'd want, and use a piece of wire if you'd like.
It isn't necessary though.
Just a wipe over the top of the battery with the positive cable will tell you the same.

To verify I'd would usually use a hydrometer--now your getting positive testing results on that suspected dead cell (s)

Right tools for the right job.
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T.K.