Starter Battery Condition
Submitted: Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 at 16:44
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Member - garytee
Is it possible to 'measure' the condition of a starter battery?
Mine is showing signs of struggling on these cold
Melbourne mornings?
Reply By: The Bantam - Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 at 22:21
Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 at 22:21
The best way to
test a starter battery is on a carbon pile battery tester...most good battery shops and some auto electricians will have one...it allows
test under a variable heavy load.
The are simpler battery testers that apply a fixed load often refered to tong testers, because the early ones looked like a pair of tongs with a meter at the hinge.
I have one of these that give only a fair indication.
Bottom line if the battery is more than 2 years old and it is failing to crank with vigor on a cold morning...its hardly worth the effort of heaving it onto a bench to
test it....it will be below spec.
cheers
AnswerID:
514418
Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 at 09:40
Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 at 09:40
Sometimes a low tech approach is OK too!
Is your battery a sealed, or unsealed type?
If you have an unsealed battery, you can unscrew the caps and
check each cell with a simple hydrometer. This will display the specific gravity of each cell and if one or more are failing.
AnswerID:
514426