Battery Tester Recommendation

[AKsuited]

<iframe width="946" height="532" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lh_gleC7SlE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Watching this video reminded me that since I will soon be installing a new battery on my bike, I need to install the CTEK pigtail in order to be able to charge the bike without having to remove the right side battery cover. (I did order the bigger Yuasa from smile.Amazon…)

Harry

 

[36654]

<iframe width="946" height="532" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lh_gleC7SlE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Watching this video reminded me that since I will soon be installing a new battery on my bike, I need to install the CTEK pigtail in order to be able to charge the bike without having to remove the right side battery cover. (I did order the bigger Yuasa from smile.Amazon…)

Harry

Could be worse. I have a SAE and 12V Co-Ax pigtails mounted to mine. SAE for the charger and 12V Co-Ax for the heated gear.

My CTEK charger is attached to the car battery.

 

[lee]

This thread is costing money
I ordered a Topdon BT100 from Amazon.

When it comes time for new batteries I'm thinking the one where you add the acid to make sure I have a fresh one.

 

[skibumwi]

CTEK 0.8A Maintainer - don't call it a trickle charger, it's more than that.

 

[lee]

I received the Topdon BT100 tester a couple of days ago and got it out today.

My bike battery right off of charge passed the "battery test." But it failed miserably the "cranking test." Despite the bike starting in less than one second, the battery voltage dropped below 8 volts - fail. I had read elsewhere that if a battery drops below 10v when cranking, it's bad. According to the Topdon manual, dropping below 9.5v is "Very Bad - Replace ASAP."

The Topdon tester has already paid for itself. My bike battery is five years old and might have been pushed another year, but then again it could very likely have failed in some motel parking lot who knows where. I will now replace it at my leisure without all the hassles and extra expense of having it fail on a road trip.

Harry

I tried my BT100 today on the riding mower both bikes and my car. I'll try Deb's car tonight.

On the mower the battery test was good but it would not do the cranking or charging test.
You need to be over 2,500 RPM for the charging test.
Battery 340 CCA Test showed 395 CCA


Deb's R1200RS 200 CCA battery
Battery Test
Healthy 100% 271 CCA
Charge 13.6 V
Resistance 11.0

Cranking Test
Time 5317 ms
Cranking Low
7.9 V

Charging Test
Charging Normal
Loaded 14.5V
Unloaded 14.5V

I need to recheck the CCA results
I don't know a good number for resistance



My R1200RS 200 CCA battery
Battery Test
Healthy 100% 273 CCA
Charge 13.3 V
Resistance 10.9

Cranking Test
Time 5587 ms
Cranking Low
8.1 V

Charging Test
Charging Normal
Loaded 14.5V
Unloaded 14.5V



My 2018 Chevy Equinox 700 CCA battery
Battery Test
Healthy 97% 686 CCA
Resistance 4.3

Cranking Test
Time 1459 ms
Cranking Low
8.4 V

Charging Test
Charging High
Loaded 14.4V
Unloaded 14.8V

2008 Malibu 600 CCA Battery
Battery Test
Healthy 66% 489 CCA
Resistance 6.1

Cranking Test
Time 3818 ms
Cranking Normal
9.3 V

Charging Test
Charging Normal
Loaded 14.6 V
Unloaded 14.5 V



I had a parts store do a load test on my car and it showed good.

I'll have the Chevy dealership load test my battery tomorrow.

 

[globalrider]

Does anyone have a recommendation on a decent load tester they use for their RT's battery?

One that does an ACTUAL load test, and not one of those handheld units that promise you the world.
Having worked in a battery lab in the government, I can tell you which ones are accurate.
We used all types of testers from the basic to fancy handheld units.

The tests you can do (from a fully charged battery) are:

Load Test: easy to do and done in under a minute.

Capacity Test: a real test takes time and you could not afford the equipment. A quick test that garages use, use a Midtronics, PulseTech or similar tester and the numbers obtained can be quite different from doing a real test using a $$$ Programma Torkel 800 series tester.

I use a carbon pile load tester, the one you can get from any supply shop. Mine is a Harbor Freight. If you doubt the accuracy of the meter, you can always hook up a DMM for voltage readings.

As for the differences that I talked about, I would test Hawker 6TAGM batteries. The fancy smancy handheld unit would say they are OK. The real load test and especially the capacity test using the Programma Torkel told a different and accurate story.

Just make sure all high current battery/starter connections are clean and corrosion-free. That alone makes people think it is a battery issue.

 

[lee]

Makes me wonder is my BT 100 is any good?
Some of the info looks odd to me.
All the batteries were fully charged before testing.

Some of the batteries show more CCA than what the battery is rated.
All the batteries show Healthy but they all show less than 10V on the Cranking test.
On my wife's car Cranking shows Normal but the reading is 9.25V.

 

[36654]

One that does an ACTUAL load test, and not one of those handheld units that promise you the world.
Having worked in a battery lab in the government, I can tell you which ones are accurate.
We used all types of testers from the basic to fancy handheld units.

The tests you can do (from a fully charged battery) are:

Load Test: easy to do and done in under a minute.

Capacity Test: a real test takes time and you could not afford the equipment. A quick test that garages use, use a Midtronics, PulseTech or similar tester and the numbers obtained can be quite different from doing a real test using a $$$ Programma Torkel 800 series tester.

I use a carbon pile load tester, the one you can get from any supply shop. Mine is a Harbor Freight. If you doubt the accuracy of the meter, you can always hook up a DMM for voltage readings.

As for the differences that I talked about, I would test Hawker 6TAGM batteries. The fancy smancy handheld unit would say they are OK. The real load test and especially the capacity test using the Programma Torkel told a different and accurate story.

Just make sure all high current battery/starter connections are clean and corrosion-free. That alone makes people think it is a battery issue.

Do you remove the battery from the bike when you do the load test?

 

[globalrider]

Makes me wonder is my BT 100 is any good?
Some of the info looks odd to me.
All the batteries were fully charged before testing.

I have one like it but from Harbor Freight. My other carbon-pile load tester is adjustable up to 500 amps and of course you need to adjust it based on the CCA of the battery.

Open circuit voltage of the battery should be anywhere from 12.65V to 12.9V (sometimes even as much as 13.1V) depends on the battery chemistry and should be measured at least 6-12 hours after disconnecting the battery charger.

Some of the batteries show more CCA than what the battery is rated.
All the batteries show Healthy but they all show less than 10V on the Cranking test.
On my wife's car Cranking shows Normal but the reading is 9.25V.

That is a bit low but also temperature dependent. As a battery ages, the internal resistance increases. I take it you know how a load test is performed.

Sometimes it may be the battery, other times it could be the starter or high current carrying positive cable and ground cable.

My friend had an issue starting his car, a sluggish ultra slow start or no start especially after the engine warmed up. The battery is in the front and the starter is in the rear of the car and that means a long positive cable that came in sections...that could mean trouble (although it wasn't).

It turned out to be the starter which I rebuilt and it runs like new. Just saying, you need to check what the issue is.

Before:


After: (yes, that is the same armature)

 

[globalrider]

Do you remove the battery from the bike when you do the load test?

I would. The trouble is they are so hard to get to on some of our BMWs. I certainly would if it is near or below freezing during winter layaway. If not removed, I would disconnect the cables.

To be honest, I do load tests on other people's batteries. I never seem to have battery issues and the last two factory fitted have lasted 16 and 15 years (cars) and 9 years (motorcycles). These are regular flooded lead acid batteries, nothing special like an AGM or GEL.

 

[Omega Man]

I’m still a fan of testing a battery disconnected from other circuits- to obtain the the most accurate test results.
OM

 

[pglaves]

I’m still a fan of testing a battery disconnected from other circuits- to obtain the the most accurate test results.
OM

Not to mention the fact that a true carbon core load tester can cause a battery to overheat, if not explode.

 

[lee]

Makes me wonder is my BT 100 is any good?
.

I had the Chevy dealership check my battery today with it's $2,500 tester.
It showed I had a weak battery and a new one was installed under warranty.

Here's my BT 100 test results on the new battery.

2018 Chevy Equinox New battery 3-13-2020 700 CCA battery
Battery Test
Healthy 100% 957 CCA
Charge 100%
Resistance 3.1

Cranking Test
Time 5822 ms
Cranking Normal 9.9 V

Charging Test
Charging Normal
Loaded 14.1V
Unloaded 14.1V

 

[lee]

. I take it you know how a load test is performed.

No I do not.
I'm showing the results of the BT100 tests and I thought the Cranking test was a load test.
I showed the results and asking for comments.

I talked to one of the techs at the shop and he mentioned most of the hand held load tester were not reliable.
His son has a Snap On load tester for his tractors and a lot of times it was not accurate.

 

[Omega Man]

Not to mention the fact that a true carbon core load tester can cause a battery to overheat, if not explode.

I have a number of testers. One is the nichrome wire toaster type that, from experience, I can get a pretty good read no matter how the battery is “set up”. On that tester I can watch a “dip” during the start cycle if I want.
These “new” mini testers that are running via a “chip”, I’m pretty sure, need careful hook up and care to not confuzzle them with added parasitic draw.......the clock is a parasitic draw.
A friend of mine recently complained that his Kubota tractor was not starting well in cold weather.......told me he was going to change the glow-plugs. I asked how old the battery was, he said 9 years. Not much more I could advise
OM

 

[globalrider]

Not to mention the fact that a true carbon core load tester can cause a battery to overheat, if not explode.

Really? I have done countless load tests in the battery lab. Never had one overheat or explode. Its only a 15 second test.

If you are referring to a handheld conductance tester, why bother since they are not accurate.

 

[globalrider]

No I do not.

How Do You Perform A Load Test?

To pass a load test, the battery must maintain 9.6 volts at 15 seconds when tested at one-half the CCA rating and 70°F (or above). This test must be done with a true load (carbon pile) and not one of the hand-held testers that work off a conductance algorithm. The test must be run with the battery in a high state of charge.

Some use a slightly higher voltage which indicates a stronger battery (less internal resistance).

I talked to one of the techs at the shop and he mentioned most of the hand held load tester were not reliable.
His son has a Snap On load tester for his tractors and a lot of times it was not accurate.

They are quick and dirty and give you numbers. I have used and evaluated both. I know what works.

We used to get Hawker 6TAGM batteries used in our military. We would have a cut-off point with respect to Ah (needed for silent watch mode) and the hand-held units were crap. I'd run them on the Programma Torkel and get some accurate numbers. I like toys (tools) but I would not waste my $$$ on a hand-held unit. Its like getting a torque wrench you cannot trust.

 

[pglaves]

Really? I have done countless load tests in the battery lab. Never had one overheat or explode. Its only a 15 second test.

If you are referring to a handheld conductance tester, why bother since they are not accurate.

Sure. But you knew what you were doing and had a real protocol. Not the same thing as the shelf stocker, floor sweeper at your local auto parts store who hooks up the load and walks away to ogle the girl that just walked in looking for a wiper blade.

 

[36654]

Really? I have done countless load tests in the battery lab. Never had one overheat or explode. Its only a 15 second test.

If you are referring to a handheld conductance tester, why bother since they are not accurate.

Trying to catch-up here, Is the Harbor Freight tester a conductance tester or a carbon pile unit? At 100A, the HF unit seems like a decent fit for our 200~240CCA batteries and several sources refer to it or similar units as carbon pile units.

Lee's unit is a Topcon digital unit.

 

[lee]

I'm undecided on sending the BT 100 back.
I guess it doesn't owe me anything since it prompted me to have a proper test on my car battery and ended up with a free battery.
It might be worth keeping to check the charge on my car battery.
It has the start-stop technology and I live in a small town where most of the time I only drive a mile or two at a time.
It's not unusual to not get on the highway for a month or more.
When I first checked the battery it only had around 55% charge.