How to Test a Car Battery Like a Pro?
How to test a car battery
The worst sound you can ever hear when starting the car is silence. The most common reason for this is dead battery. That is why it is important to test a car battery regularly so that you do not hear that sound at all.
But, When it comes to test the battery, you might not want to spend money for it by going to a garage or mechanic. In that case, you should know how to test a car battery. Do you know how to do it? I am sure you do not and that is why you are here reading this article. The good news is that you are in the right place because I am going to tell you some amazing ideas how you can test your car battery. So without any further delay, let’s get started.
Contents
What voltage to have when your battery is fully charged?
In general, the car battery should have 12.6 volts or higher with full charge. And when then engine is running, the battery should have 13.7 to 14.7 volts. Below that is not a good sign for your battery. In that case, you must need to test the battery.
Preparation to test the battery
Before testing the battery, you need to be prepare to do it effectively and safely. You know, safety always comes first. The first thing you need to do is to turn your car off. At the same time makes sure you have turned off the lights as well.
In addition, turn off all the electric device that takes power from the battery without turning on the ignition. Then you need to turn off all the ignitions. But the best practice is disconnecting all the ignition system temporary by uncoupling the ignition coil or removing the fuel pump fuse or relay. It will be safest. Once you have done all of these, you are now ready to test your battery. Also, if you want to test your battery with multi-meter then you should have a multi-meter as preparation as well.
Check for the dead battery terminal
Though you need to know how to test a car battery, when you are dealing with dead battery, the main problem might be the dead terminal. In that case, testing that is most important. To do this, you need to turn off the ignition system first as I told earlier. Then touch the red probe of your multi-meter to the positive terminal of your battery. And touch the black probe to the terminal that connects to the same battery terminal through the cable.
Now ask anyone to crack up the engine. In that time, if your multi-meter registers .5 volts or more, it refers to the problem to the cable or clamp. In that case, you need to clean up the clamp or replace the cable. Repeat the process with the other terminal as well. However, here is a small change in the process. This time, you need to switch the probes to connect the black probe to the terminal of the battery. If you find out any powdery or fluffy greenish-white deposits around the terminal, it means that there is corrosion build up in a certain point that is preventing the battery from receiving the charge or deliver it.
Test your battery with a multi-meter
You can test the battery with the multi-meter as well. To do that, you need to remove the positive battery terminal and then clean it up properly to remove any corrosion. Then set up the voltmeter to the lowest voltage which is above 15. Then connect the positive lead to the positive terminal and negative lead to the negative terminal. Now you know what should be the exact voltage of your battery. If the voltage is not right, you can understand that the battery is not OK at all.
Test battery with load test
If you do not have the multi-meter or voltmeter, you can check the battery as well. And this process is straightforward, you can do it easily. In that case, you need to turn on your headlight without starting the engine and leave them on for 15-20 minutes. After the time passes, start your car engine and check the performance of the headlight. If the headlights dim as the time passes and do not increase as you accelerate the engine, chances are high that your battery cannot hold the charge. So the battery does not pass the load test at all.
Listen to clicks
Listening to click is another good way to check if your battery is dead. Actually, it works when your battery is dead. Other than that, it does not work that much. In this process, you need to turn your key over in the ignition. When doing that, you should hear a lively roar from the car that settles into a purr. However, if you listen to click, click, click instead of the roar, it means that your battery is dead. If you hear only one click that means that you have a bad start.
Final Say About How To Test A Car Battery
These are some common ways to test your battery. Knowing how to test a car battery is really important since it can save you time as well as money. And the best thing it can do is to save from any unwanted situation. Think about a situation where you are sticking at the middle of the road and your car is not getting the start. No cars are nearby as well. You will feel like you are the most helpless person in the world. So it is really important to know how to test a battery of your car.
I have mentioned several ways to test your car battery. All of them are easy and pretty straightforward. Even if you are doing it for the first time, you can do it without any hassle. So make sure you have read the article carefully and understand how to test a car battery. It can save you from a situation that you never want.
