What Are The Three Basic Battery Tests?
A battery is a chemical mechanism designed to provide standby power to critical equipment. It is comprised of an array of cells with a series connection.
One common trait of batteries is that a failure in any of the components can result in the failure of the entire system. Therefore, it is important to maintain and test your battery to ensure it is in great condition.
However, with the number of tests available to carry out on batteries, it might be difficult to know which tests are crucial to the longevity of your battery.
This blog post discusses the three basic battery tests to perform on your battery and ensure it continues to serve you well. You will also learn how a battery tester works, among other related topics.
What Is Battery Testing?
First, let’s understand what battery testing means.
Battery testing is checking the status of your battery on a few fronts, such as durability and safety. Testing a battery for performance, durability, and safety helps ensure it is ready for optimal performance and that you and your car or devices are safe using it.
Testing a battery is especially important for electric vehicle owners, as the battery’s status has a huge say in the vehicle’s overall performance. For example, the powertrain of an EV greatly depends on the battery that powers it, which stores and supplies energy to the electric motor.
Not only does battery testing optimize performance, but it also enhances the safety of the vehicle, driver, and other road users. Testing batteries helps determine if the battery can withstand the conditions of use and establish a breaking point. For example, subjecting a battery to a test lets you know if it will perform as expected under harsh conditions like extreme temperature and humidity.
Three Basic Battery Tests
Visual Inspection
The first step in battery testing is to visually inspect the battery for defects like battery leaks, corrosion, cracks, loose connections, swellings, or any other physical damage. Visual inspection helps detect potential problems before they degenerate.
Importance of Visual Inspection
Early Problem Detection: Cracks, corrosions, leaks, or swellings are easily detected through visual inspection. This helps to prepare a replacement before total battery failure occurs.
Extended Battery Life: Identifying and tackling minor issues early prolongs the lifespan of a battery.
Cost-Effective Maintenance: Some batteries are expensive to replace. A visual inspection is a more cost-effective alternative to access battery health.
Procedure
Inspect labelling: Ensure the labels, model numbers, and codes are visible and correct.
Look for contaminants: Check for corrosion, dust, or water on the battery’s surface. Ensure the battery is free of contaminants, which could cause short circuits.
Look out for discoloration: Examine the battery for discoloration, which could indicate a loose connection.
Identify copper contamination: Copper contamination usually appears as a pinkish discoloration on the negative terminal. This means the battery should immediately be replaced.
Voltage Test
A voltage test measures the battery’s potential difference, a measure of a battery’s state of charge using a voltage battery voltage tester like our IT battery test system. It is a key determinant in deciding whether a battery should be replaced or charged.
Importance of a Voltage Test
Early Problem Diagnosis: A voltage test can detect sulfation, internal damage, and other issues early. This gives enough time to salvage the battery if necessary.
Battery Health Detection: The easiest way to know a battery’s health status is by measuring its voltage. A low voltage indicates the battery is depleted, while a high voltage indicates a fully charged battery.
Procedure
Connect the probes: Get a battery tester or a digital multimeter and set it to DC voltage. Connect the leads to the battery terminals to be tested. The positive lead should be connected to the positive terminal, while the negative lead is connected to the negative terminal.
Read and Interpret the Results: Take the voltage reading when in the resting stage for a more accurate result. Various manufacturers have expected voltage ranges. You may consult the battery’s manufacturer manual for the acceptable range.
Load Test
When a battery has been used for a long period, it could lose its capacity and performance. This is where a load test comes into play. The principle of load testing is to subject a battery to a controlled load for a specific time and monitor its performance and voltage. With this, it is easy to determine if a battery can maintain voltage under specific conditions.
Key Benefits of Load Tests
Safety: As battery explosions or failures have grave implications, safety is paramount, and load tests are useful in the early detection of potential dangers associated with battery performance. This enables early intervention and prevention of accidents.
Reduced Downtime: At all costs, you want to avoid battery downtime. Regular load tests help to identify non-functional or weak batteries. As a battery owner, it helps make proactive decisions, including battery replacement, sparing the cost of repairs, and preventing downtime.
Procedure
Preparation: Start by gathering all necessary equipment. Ensure the battery is fully charged and kept in a cool environment. Other equipment needed for the procedure should be available and kept in a safe place.
Connect equipment: Follow strictly the manufacturer’s instructions, and connect the load tester, multimeter, or other battery test tool to the battery.
Set Parameters: Configurethe load tester to apply the specified load, based on requirements or standards
Perform load test: Apply the load to the battery and monitor all parameters, such as current and voltage, for the specified time. All data should be recorded in the data logger.
Analyze and monitor: During load testing, monitor and observe the battery’s performance. Take note of voltage fluctuations and other significant abnormalities. Once the test is over, analyze the data collected to accurately interpret the results.
Interpret Results: In interpreting the results, look out for voltage abnormalities or any other abnormalities that indicate the battery’s health is compromised. Compare results with recommended industry standards. The result determines the next line of action, which includes maintenance or replacement of the battery.
Battery Test Equipment
Laboratories and battery owners use different battery test methods to assess the state of their batteries. Here are a few battery test equipment types to consider for effective battery performance and safety tests:
Battery Testers
Battery testers are common battery test equipment thanks to their high efficiency in testing performance metrics. While battery testers are great at determining the battery’s current, resistance, and voltage, they are also handy in calculating the battery’s performance and overall health.
Plus, a battery tester gives you accurate battery charge/discharge cycles.
Battery Cyclers
Battery cyclers are used where testing the battery charge and discharge cycle is necessary. Testing a battery using a battery cycler gives you an accurate performance rating of the battery under different conditions.
Also, a battery cycler can measure cell response over time.
Battery Analyzers
Do you want to pinpoint potential issues with your battery? A battery analyzer is all you need.
As the name implies, a battery analyzer analyzes your battery performance and identifies potential problems that may affect the overall performance of the battery. Values you will get from battery tests using a battery analyzer include ripple current, temperature, and impedance.
Battery Management Systems (BMS)
BMS is a system used to monitor and control the charging and discharging rate of a battery, providing the battery’s overall performance. Plus, battery management systems work similarly to battery analyzers by giving ideas about potential issues with a battery.
Data loggers
Loggers are a battery’s data record keeper. They help store data collected from your battery test so you can compare results recorded over time and identify trends. A deviation in recorded data signals a potential issue with your battery, and you can work on rectifying it.
Environmental Chambers
Testing batteries under different conditions is crucial to safety and efficient battery usage. This is where environmental chambers come in. They help simulate different environmental conditions needed to test a battery.
For example, you can manipulate the temperature and humidity level of the environment to have an idea of how your battery will perform and react when used under those circumstances.
The battery test equipment comes with precise temperature and humidity control and safety features for enhanced safety of the battery and the actual environment.
How a Battery Tester Works
As mentioned earlier, battery testers are a common battery test tool in labs and among battery users. They are designed to give an accurate measure of the remaining capacity of a battery’s charge and the overall performance.
Battery testers work by monitoring the battery’s voltage response when a load is applied to it. This gives a measure of how much power is left in the battery’s cells.
When a battery with a charge is connected to a load, the ink in the battery tester heats up. The battery tester interprets the heat as the presence of charge, and the gauge in the battery tester changes color to indicate the temperature level, which is an indication of the remaining charge in the battery.
However, it is equally important to note that battery testers only measure current, which is not always accurate for lithium batteries. In most cases, a lithium battery will read “fully charged” even when it only has half the charges remaining. Therefore, a tester purposely designed for rechargeable batteries is ideal for testing a lithium battery.
Meaning Of Car Battery Test Results
Depending on your car battery charge status, different results are obtained from a battery’s reading. Understanding what each result stands for lets you know the condition of your battery.
Here is a breakdown of how to interpret your car battery’s readings from a battery tester like our EV battery test system:
Good Battery
If your battery reading is “good battery,” it means that your battery is in excellent condition, and you can continue using it. You get this result when the reading falls within the manufacturer’s specifications.
Good but Recharge
This reading means that your battery is good but only needs to be recharged. This means you only need to recharge your battery to continue using it.
Charge and Retest
A battery tester will give you a “charge and retest” reading when the battery is low, and the tester cannot complete a test. The way forward is to charge your battery and restart the test procedures.
Internal Resistance
Your battery is good if the internal resistance is below 5 while an internal resistance above 10 means that your battery is approaching its lifespan.
Voltage Reading
Before interpreting your battery’s voltage reading, it is important to know its specifications.
A healthy 12V battery should read 12.6V or something close. If the battery reads below 12.6V, you need to recharge the battery as it is low.
Combining these readings, you can arrive at an accurate assessment of your battery.
Are you on the search for a quality device to test your battery? Browse our battery test equipment section today.You can also contact us for your battery solutions.