Battery Tester

[Mark Oomkes]

OK, I am in need of a decent battery\alternator tester. What is good, what do I need to look for, etc? Money is only a small object as the last handheld one I had was a POS.

Thanks

[Jon Geer]

I have a Midtronics PBT-200. They are about $250 from Interstate Battery on Eastern, or I use my Solus from Snap-On to do a full diagnostic check. JMO

Jon:popcorn2

[towman]

i have a couple of differant ones, midtronics 150 is about 150 dollars and real easy to use it tests batteries without putting a load test on them, i see the old carbon pile ones advertised at differant places for real good prices, or you could buy a cheap voltmeter and and the old fashion tester that you draw acid into

[Pickering Snow]

Well ill probley ruffle feathers here but i have two Midtronics units that i dont really trust ill explain, both even so print outs.

Theres no substite for a Carbon pile tester i have Snap on AVR units and even a small portable that i would recomend mark that Autometer makes .

No Milton testers has there carbon pile only load test 100amps which will pass a junk battery, When using a Carbon pile you load test to half of the cold cranking amps of the battery average being 300 hence the milton testers dont cut it.

Midtronic's was first intoduced to GM dealers then CPD dealers has the two companys wanted the print outs stapled to the warr orders for batterys replaced the probelm i have with Midtronics is it takes a average off the cells and either passes or fails or says recharge , that does not always get troubled batterys Excides being a good example. Last Week Jack tested a Carvan battery with a Midtronics it passed the battery and the lady called me this week saying she was jump starting the car brought it in wensday and ran the avr 600cca battery load tested it to 300 and after getting the surface charge off the battery it would fall below 8 and drop before i could get the carbon pile to 225. So my issue with Midtronics and not loading the battery via carbon its often looking at surface charge and passing you can have all the surface charge in the world will ran a Radio lights Etc but cranking a 180 pull from a starter is another thing.

Mark with your Fleet size look for a small carbon pile unit if you want my help picking one out holler.

[towman]

i am assuming MAC tools sells stuff on line also, got their january flyer the other day and they have the battery testers on sale this month, even a digital one is 99 dollars, it might be crazy but i have three differant testers two on the new style stuff and the old carbon one, if the battery is old and crusty looking i only use the mid tronics one if newer not unusual to test it with all three testers

[Plow Dak]

Well ill probley ruffle feathers here but i have two Midtronics units that i dont really trust ill explain, both even so print outs.

Theres no substite for a Carbon pile tester i have Snap on AVR units and even a small portable that i would recomend mark that Autometer makes .

No Milton testers has there carbon pile only load test 100amps which will pass a junk battery, When using a Carbon pile you load test to half of the cold cranking amps of the battery average being 300 hence the milton testers dont cut it.

Midtronic's was first intoduced to GM dealers then CPD dealers has the two companys wanted the print outs stapled to the warr orders for batterys replaced the probelm i have with Midtronics is it takes a average off the cells and either passes or fails or says recharge , that does not always get troubled batterys Excides being a good example. Last Week Jack tested a Carvan battery with a Midtronics it passed the battery and the lady called me this week saying she was jump starting the car brought it in wensday and ran the avr 600cca battery load tested it to 300 and after getting the surface charge off the battery it would fall below 8 and drop before i could get the carbon pile to 225. So my issue with Midtronics and not loading the battery via carbon its often looking at surface charge and passing you can have all the surface charge in the world will ran a Radio lights Etc but cranking a 180 pull from a starter is another thing.

Mark with your Fleet size look for a small carbon pile unit if you want my help picking one out holler.

I totally agree with Fred on these testers. We also have midtronics and also a super duper POS from the factory that wants your name, address, phone number, and next of kin before it will do anything. Then it goes through a test procedure before it will even begin to try to charge and test. like i know it's dead, get going so i can do something else. lol
Anyway our old VAT 40 still works and is a actual load test. I trust that before these new ones.

[Pickering Snow]

I totally agree with Fred on these testers. We also have midtronics and also a super duper POS from the factory that wants your name, address, phone number, and next of kin before it will do anything. Then it goes through a test procedure before it will even begin to try to charge and test. like i know it's dead, get going so i can do something else. lol
Anyway our old VAT 40 still works and is a actual load test. I trust that before these new ones.

LOL Mike and all that entry of info and Blood sample for .2 hrs warr :D

[MDsnowPRO]

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_384415_384415?cm_ven=Aggregates&cm_cat=Froogle&cm_pla=Froogle&cm_ite=Froogle&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=167976

This is the tester i use. I got it from northern tool. Its a Schumacher Carbon Pile Load tester. Great unit, most likely over-kill for what I use it for.

[Plow Dak]

LOL Mike and all that entry of info and Blood sample for .2 hrs warr :D

How did you get all that time ????????? LOL
I have to do it for free. :headwall

[Pickering Snow]

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_384415_384415?cm_ven=Aggregates&cm_cat=Froogle&cm_pla=Froogle&cm_ite=Froogle&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=167976

This is the tester i use. I got it from northern tool. Its a Schumacher Carbon Pile Load tester. Great unit, most likely over-kill for what I use it for.


MD

Thats perfect for guys with Fleets there ya go Mark that would be a good choice to have in the shop .....MD it not overkill for ya nice machine...

[Mark Oomkes]

Thanks one and all, I'll get one ordered up ASAP. What's even better is I don't have to spend a ton money as I thought I was going to.

Consumer wise, that's me!

[lyd]

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_384415_384415?cm_ven=Aggregates&cm_cat=Froogle&cm_pla=Froogle&cm_ite=Froogle&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=167976

This is the tester i use. I got it from northern tool. Its a Schumacher Carbon Pile Load tester. Great unit, most likely over-kill for what I use it for.

This thread is a little stale at this point, so I'm not sure if anyone cares any longer, but as far as I can tell this is the last unit you want to buy if you have a choice.

This identical unit is sold under about a half-dozen different brand names, with the Schumacher being way above the rest in price. $300 bucks as linked above.

http://www.northerntool.com/images/product/images/167976_lg.gif

The exact same product branded as "Electronic Specialties" is widely available for $100. (Here it is (http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Specialties-710-Carbon-Tester/dp/B000JFJLI8) on Amazon)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4124hJfpKAL._AA280_.jpg

Also about $100 when branded as "Mountain" (http://www.automotive-diagnostic-tools.com/Carbon-Pile-Load-Tester-p/mtn11100.htm).

http://www.automotive-diagnostic-tools.com/v/vspfiles/photos/MTN11100-2T.jpg

Ditto for "Associated (http://www.etoolcart.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=9886)". Picture at the link.

Well, you get the idea. There are several more around $100. Clearly, some factory in China is cranking these things out like gangbusters. The manufacturer is this Taiwan/Mainland China (http://www.dhc.com.tw/product.htm) outfit called DHC (direct link to product page here (http://www.dhc.com.tw/500A2.htm)). Schumacher apparently decided to go for the "it must be better because it costs more" price point, and most everyone else went with the the "it seems like it's worth about a hundred bucks" price point, but the real find is Harbor Freight and their "Chicago Electric" brand (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91129), who went with the "let's just sell the darn things for $50" price point. ;-)

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/91100-91199/91129.gif

Mine was blue rather than red, like the one at the DHC link, but with the Chicago Electric branding. Works nicely.

So there you have it. Hope it saves someone a few bucks.

Thanks to this forum and this thread for putting me on the right track when I was trying to figure out what tool I needed for this job. This is my attempt to give a bit back.

lyd

[SCB]

I don't know diddly about testing batteries with one of these before, but is 500 amps sufficient for the larger batts? Mine are 850 cca and I'm just wondering if this would be an adequate tester.

Also, your statement about this "being the last tester you want to buy if you have a choice", are you saying it's basically a piece of junk? I would assume for $50-100, it probably is.

[GreenQuest Lawn]

Well now if you turn the key and it starts batteries good ;)

THEN......if it starts disconnect the battery, turn everything on. If it stays running, alternators good.:popcorn2:D

I just saved you some dough

[lyd]

I don't know diddly about testing batteries with one of these before, but is 500 amps sufficient for the larger batts? Mine are 850 cca and I'm just wondering if this would be an adequate tester.
You test with a load that is 1/2 the CCA rating (or the mfr. recommended test load, if there is one), so a 500 amp load is good for batteries up to 1000 CCA.

Also, your statement about this "being the last tester you want to buy if you have a choice", are you saying it's basically a piece of junk? I would assume for $50-100, it probably is.
No, that statement is referring to the linked one, with the Schumacher branding, because it so insanely overpriced. Maybe you just skimmed my post, but what I was pointing out is that every one of those I linked above are virtually identical and come from the same manufacturer, the only difference are the name painted on it, the price, and some minor variations in meter graphics and cable layout.

It is not a piece of junk at all, works great. It is still probably overpriced at $50. All that there reall is to this thing is a stack of spring-loaded carbon disks and a couple of meters. I'm sure the whole thing wholesales for about $12 in quantity, FOB China.

In any case, it does the job just fine. It is also a great load for testing charging systems and such.

[lyd]

Well now if you turn the key and it starts batteries good ;)

THEN......if it starts disconnect the battery, turn everything on. If it stays running, alternators good.:popcorn2:D

I just saved you some dough

I don't know how serious you are here, but that's a really bad idea. It used to work back in the day, but in newer vehicles with electronic systems it is asking for trouble. When you pull the battery out of the circuit the voltage is is going to spike for a moment, and hard. You have a really good chance of frying your ECM, among other things.

A better way to test is to pull up in front of a wall or something at night and turn the headlights on. Make sure all the other accessories are turned off, and let it idle for a little bit. Then turn the engine off. If the headlights get dimmer, that's normal. If they get brighter your alternator was not supplying sufficient charging current.

Or, you can use your handy carbon pile load across the battery with the engine running, and turn it up until you see voltage drop below 13.8 as measured on the line from the regulator to the battery. That'll tell you the capacity of your system.

[Pickering Snow]

LYd

Good info for the guys that want to buy one that are serious about the issue.

500amp carbon pile is more than enough for testing... Thanks for taking the time and sharing.

[SkykingHD]

I put battery on a charger desulphater for one week then I let it set for 12+ hrs then do a voltage test. There is a temp - volt chart that tells you if your battery can hold 80% of the designed current. If it is below 80% I replace if above I use it.

The desulphater also takes the sulphate off the plates and can turn a bad battery into a good one.

I paid 160 for this unit but it is for an aviation battery. I think you can get a cheaper one for auto and truck batteries. Also it can prolong the life of the battery too.

[denangme]

Haven't used a load tester since the '80's when I worked in a shop, although it would be nice to have one.
I've just been using my multi-meter. Put the leads on the terminals, then have someone crank it over while watching the meter.

If I can pop the caps on the battery, I'll also put the ground probe to the neg. post on the battery, then dip the positive lead in each individual cell (wipe it off after each one) to see if there's any bad cells.

Not saying it's a perfect substitute for a load tester, but I've been getting by...