If your car battery is causing problems or you have an issue with dim headlights or delayed ignition a multimeter can come to the rescue.
How to check car battery health with multimeter.
This test will reveal whether or not your battery is fully charged.
How to use a multimeter to test a car battery.
How to check a car battery with a multimeter.
On some car models the voltage of the battery can be checked at the dashboard but that won t help you know how good is your battery since the voltage reading in the dashboard actually shows the power coming from the alternator and not the battery.
Testing a car battery using your digital multimeter testing the voltage.
If the initial reading is around 5v then your battery is working but is about to go bad.
The first test with your multimeter will measure dc voltage indicated with a solid line and a dashed line above a letter v.
You think the battery is your problem but you re not sure.
Test the cold cranking amps cca of a car battery with a multimeter in the above image the reading is 14 73 which is also a good number for the cold cranking amps value.
With the headlights on at 80 f there should be a voltage drop of at least 11 8 volts 25 charged and ideally 12 5 volts between the positive and negative terminals.
Before you learn how to test a car battery there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
The first thing to do is make sure you can access the two terminals on the top of the battery.
In order to safely and efficiently test your battery you need a couple of basic tools.
Part 1 of 2.
Set the dial to 20 which will allow you to accurately measure between 0 20 volts.
This product can also be used to check the health of heavy duty car batteries or alternators.
Second you should only test a battery after it s been sitting unused for at least an hour.
How to check car battery with multimeter.
Fortunately you can check the state of charge of your battery using an inexpensive multimeter.
First a multimeter only works on maintenance free batteries the kind without plastic caps on the individual cells the other type must be tested with a hydrometer.
How to test a car battery.
