Battery Tester Recommendation

[alegerlotz]

I did a search first and found lots of threads about batteries, but nothing about equipment to test them.

 

Rather than replacing my battery every x months/years because the calendar says its time, or worse yet, waiting until it fails, I'd like to get a tester to help determine when it is actually time to change it based on battery condition.  This should save money, resources, and create a bit less toxic waste in the world.

 

I looked on Amazon there are dozens available.  Pretty much all give a voltage they support, most include a CCA range, and some give an amp hour range.

 

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

[Corazon de Pollo]

The good folks at Enersys (Odyssey/Hawker batteries) recommended me this: https://smartercharger.com/collections/professional/products/ctek-battery-analyzer

 

Otherwise there's the one all Honda/Toyota/Yamaha dealerships use: https://www.amazon.com/Yuasa-YUA00BTY01-Battery-Tester/dp/B0027GWRVU

Provided you can still find one: Yuasa has a new one out but it's $300 or so because it has an inbuilt printer for results, not exactly something you really need but it's good for Mitsubishi and Oji who sell you the spare paper rolls.

[dirtrider]

On 2/20/2020 at 1:46 PM, alegerlotz said:

I did a search first and found lots of threads about batteries, but nothing about equipment to test them.

 

Rather than replacing my battery every x months/years because the calendar says its time, or worse yet, waiting until it fails, I'd like to get a tester to help determine when it is actually time to change it based on battery condition.  This should save money, resources, and create a bit less toxic waste in the world.

 

I looked on Amazon there are dozens available.  Pretty much all give a voltage they support, most include a CCA range, and some give an amp hour range.

 

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

 

Morning  alegerlotz

 

None of those little hand held battery testers work reliably to do what you  are asking to do.

 

They are fairly accurate at finding BAD or failed  batteries but don't always work reliably to find a battery that is going to fail in the near future.  (at least a 'lot' of variables in what they can decipher as for impending battery failure)-- Basically sometimes they work & lot of times they don't) 

 

It somewhat depends on battery type as those handheld battery testers seem to work much better on the old technology  lead acid batteries & not very good on the newer GEL batteries, with the AGM battery falling somewhere in between. 

 

If you can get the specs on your battery you would probably get more accurate battery condition data by  using a longer time frame pull-down  load on the battery while measuring battery voltage during the pull-down cycle. 

[alegerlotz]

5 hours ago, dirtrider said:

 

Morning  alegerlotz

 

None of those little hand held battery testers work reliably to do what you  are asking to do.

 

They are fairly accurate at finding BAD or failed  batteries but don't always work reliably to find a battery that is going to fail in the near future.  (at least a 'lot' of variables in what they can decipher as for impending battery failure)-- Basically sometimes they work & lot of times they don't) 

 

It somewhat depends on battery type as those handheld battery testers seem to work much better on the old technology  lead acid batteries & not very good on the newer GEL batteries, with the AGM battery falling somewhere in between. 

 

If you can get the specs on your battery you would probably get more accurate battery condition data by  using a longer time frame pull-down  load on the battery while measuring battery voltage during the pull-down cycle. 

 

Thanks.  I can understand that these aren't going to be professional in terms of quality/functionality, but do you think these offer any benefit over just replacing the battery when the calendar says so, or every so often doing a voltage test during cranking?  Of do you just think they're just a waste of money?

 

You have a history of sound technical advice, so I'm wondering what you do regarding when to change out the battery on your bikes.

 

[M Novack]

37 minutes ago, alegerlotz said:

 

Thanks.  I can understand that these aren't going to be professional in terms of quality/functionality, but do you think these offer any benefit over just replacing the battery when the calendar says so, or every so often doing a voltage test during cranking?  Of do you just think they're just a waste of money?

 

You have a history of sound technical advice, so I'm wondering what you do regarding when to change out the battery on your bikes.

 

With over 30 years in auto repair, I don't think there is any device out there that is going to be able to predict failure with any certainty. We have used Midtronics high end testers, Snap-on testers and still use the tried and true VAT-40 in our shop and I won't say any of these are 100% accurate and fool-proof. We have seen batteries pass a test one day only to fail or test bad a day later. Just like a light bulb or many electrical parts you never can predict if the last flip of the switch might be last one before it fails.  Using the age of a battery, test results and the history of a battery can help you decide the odds of a battery failure in the near future.  If a battery is over a certain age or has experienced a number of traumatic events (fully discharged) the likelihood that is may fail is increased and it may be good insurance to replace the battery even if the test results are OK and especially the test results are marginal or poor. Heck, we have seen brand new batteries fail within days due to internal faults or other issues so there is no guarantee. For me, to have a $50-100 tester at home as well as a multi-meter is a small cost to be able to do testing or troubleshooting of starting/charging issues at home. 

[dirtrider]

1 hour ago, alegerlotz said:

 

Thanks.  I can understand that these aren't going to be professional in terms of quality/functionality, but do you think these offer any benefit over just replacing the battery when the calendar says so, or every so often doing a voltage test during cranking?  Of do you just think they're just a waste of money?

 

You have a history of sound technical advice, so I'm wondering what you do regarding when to change out the battery on your bikes.

 

 

Afternoon alegerlotz

 

I'm not sure handheld battery testers  are  a total waste of money but I wouldn't say they are foolproof  or reliable either.  They are just a another tool to be used when the job requires it (best used to sell new batteries at dealer level) 

 

They work fairly  good at dealer level as they are useful to the dealer in selling new batteries to concerned riders, but they have a rather poor record of predicting  future battery failure.

 

A voltage test during engine cranking is  something to think about  but that is not totally reliable either as it depends on  battery charge, engine oil thickness, ambient temperature, ease of engine starting, etc. Plus, it probably won't predict sudden battery failure. 

 

Personally, I replace my motorcycle batteries in my most-used motorcycles every 3-4 years (or if they die before then) but I have a LOT of old motorcycles & old equipment that I swap  used battery's  into if they seem to have any service life left in them. 

 

If you are using an incorrect battery charger for your specific battery (like older trickle charger) on a newer AGM battery & use it daily or weekly (leaving it connected)  then you will probably have an earlier battery failure than if using the correct battery maintainer for your battery.

 

Storing the motorcycle for longer periods with battery connected & no (proper) charger is another way to ruin a good battery.

 

Even a proper rated charger used during cold winter storage can harm an AGM or GEL battery if it isn't temperature compensated  for the colder ambient temps.  

 

 

 

 

[alegerlotz]

13 minutes ago, dirtrider said:

If you are using an incorrect battery charger for your specific battery (like older trickle charger) on a newer AGM battery & use it daily or weekly (leaving it connected)  then you will probably have an earlier battery failure than if using the correct battery maintainer for your battery.

 

Storing the motorcycle for longer periods with battery connected & no (proper) charger is another way to ruin a good battery.

 

Thanks to a move to Southern California in 2017, I no longer put my motorcycle away for the winter.  Since I work from home (no commute), I sometimes go days without riding it, but it is in the garage and rarely sees anything lower than 55 or 60 degrees.  In the summer, on the other hand, 110+ degrees is not unheard of.  I don't bother with a battery tender, because even the times when I haven't ridden for a couple of weeks because of travel or something, I've put the tender on and seen it go into "fully charged" mode after 2 to 5 minutes.

 

I'll have to think about whether to try one of these testers or not.  I'm just over the 3 year in service date for my bike and so far no indication of battery issues other that my gs911 saying that the voltage went to 12.3V during the ESA calibration a couple of weeks ago (which you do with the ignition on, but the engine not running).  I had done a nice long ride the day before with few stops, so the battery had been well charged fewer than 24 hours before the suspension calibration.

[dirtrider]

4 minutes ago, alegerlotz said:

 

Thanks to a move to Southern California in 2017, I no longer put my motorcycle away for the winter.  Since I work from home (no commute), I sometimes go days without riding it, but it is in the garage and rarely sees anything lower than 55 or 60 degrees.  In the summer, on the other hand, 110+ degrees is not unheard of.  I don't bother with a battery tender, because even the times when I haven't ridden for a couple of weeks because of travel or something, I've put the tender on and seen it go into "fully charged" mode after 2 to 5 minutes.

 

I'll have to think about whether to try one of these testers or not.  I'm just over the 3 year in service date for my bike and so far no indication of battery issues other that my gs911 saying that the voltage went to 12.3V during the ESA calibration a couple of weeks ago (which you do with the ignition on, but the engine not running).  I had done a nice long ride the day before with few stops, so the battery had been well charged fewer than 24 hours before the suspension calibration.

Afternoon alegerlotz

 

That 12.3 volts is not true battery voltage as it is not measured at the battery posts, it is more like system voltage so depending on system loading, wire size, & wire run length it will show lower than the actual battery voltage. 

 

Next time you do an ESA calibration put a quality voltmeter across the battery posts during the calibration (that is true battery voltage).