In this video I review the CEN-TECH Digital Automotive Battery Analyzer to see how well it performs in measuring the condition of various batteries in various states of degradation.
very informative Video's on the battery tester and de sulfating process. thanks a lot for taking the time to educate us. I got my self the Solar BA-09 cleared up the confusion I had with the CCA rating
I love your WYSIWYG attitude & the fact that you don't speak as though English was your 4th language ! Your allusions to the technicalities of lead acid batteries, & your description of how to interpret the instrument without a crash course in battery chemistry addresses the needs of your viewers, rather than a tutorial on starting batteries. EXCELLENT video !
Hi, you talk the most sense on lead acid batteries etc. of anyone on You Tube.Some people talk utter rubbish, like these 'magic' desulfator boxes making 10 yr old AGM batteries as good as new overnight, because they ''now read over 12 volts & are fixed'' No discharge tests on load needed then !!I have the Cen -Tech tester. I like it. I did find one of the switches went faulty, but they're not that difficult to replace. I used good quality (Philips) switch cleaner on the remaining switches. Switch cleaner alone might have worked, but I happened to have a suitable switch in stock.(I fixed electronics for a living.) I do find that any make of conductance tester (I have several) can sometimes give a good CCA / milliohm reading on a battery that is well down in AH capacity when an actual C/20 load test is done. I got the Chinese FDY1O discharge tester. I'ts only an inexpensive thing, but actually has worked very well for me. I checked the current draw with a D.C. clamp meter for instance & it's accurate enough for my needs. (The voltmeter on it is O.1v out at 10A checked against fluke multimeters, but again near enough.) Keep up the good work & kind regard.
Really enjoy your videos, you got a new suscriber. Btw any chance on testing higher end testers? really would love your pov into what they do better than cheaper or what makes them worth it.
Hello Knurlgnar24, thx for the vids, always enjoy how thorough you are. Anyway, just picked up one of the Cen-Tech testers. I am getting quite a bit higher milliohm readings on pretty much every battery I test than what I see from your batteries. I have a relatively new 60 amph AGM and the reading is above 5. Am I focusing on the wrong numbers here, kinda assume the lower the milliohms the better. Is this a quality of battery issue, plates, acid, etc? Thx for your help.
At 32F you should get somewhere near the CCA rating of your battery (because most batteries do not provide their rated output. CCA is supposed to be rated at 0F but almost no battery will achieve the rated performance). Once this falls to 70% or so of the rated value I would suggest replacement. At 'summer' temperatures use the cranking amp rating of the battery to determine replacement.
What’s your opinion on a AGM 680 A starter battery that reads 350A (26% SOH) on a similar tester? It started my diesel car no problem at -7 degrees C. The tester failed my battery and said replace.
What was the temperature of the battery during the test? Testers generally assume room temperature so when tested cold your battery may 'fail' a conductance test but still be good.
@@knurlgnar24 Thanks for the reply. i got those readings with outside temps of approx 5 degrees C. When it was warmer 15 degrees C plus it would be higher 390-400A but it would still report“ replace”. However if i test with the same tester on my friends newer battery at the same low temps it reports it’s full rated amps and 100% SOH. “ good battery” However there are signs. My battery monitor often reports “ low cranking voltage” and on cold mornings the dash sometimes flashes glitches/errors warnings after a crank. However it’s been doing that for the last 1/2 years. The car never fails to start. It also has a start/stop system and seems to have plenty of reserve capacity to operate it when stuck in traffic. In colder weather below 1-2 degrees C the start stop system doesn’t work as well as it did last year though. The engine will stay running or there are limited start/stops. The car is coming up on 6 years( original battery) and still starts right up on any cold morning. My conclusion with this battery is that it has plenty of reserve capacity left but has issues delivering high current hence the low voltage warnings. Battery resistance is between 7-8 mohms.
I'm looking for something that will read Low Impedance Load readings. Something that will read, for example, a 12V 8Ah battery Low Impedance Load. From 100% down to 10%. Is this machine would do that? Thank you. Well, after reading the comments here, I do not expect a response from this guy.
I think it will be a 1500W pure sine wave inverter comparison/shootout with two competing products. I should be able to get it released soon. Thanks for watching!
I know this video is pushing 4 years old now, but my question is: Can this tester be used while a battery is still connected to the cars electrical system? I think the price has come down some. I may look into buying one. Thanks again!
I still prefer the spark test when buying batteries from the scrap metal dealer If it can throw a good spark and still have a decent voltage then that's good enough for me to buy it and do a detailed diagnostic on it when I get home
very informative Video's on the battery tester and de sulfating process. thanks a lot for taking the time to educate us. I got my self the Solar BA-09 cleared up the confusion I had with the CCA rating
I love your WYSIWYG attitude & the fact that you don't speak as though English was your 4th language ! Your allusions to the technicalities of lead acid batteries, & your description of how to interpret the instrument without a crash course in battery chemistry addresses the needs of your viewers, rather than a tutorial on starting batteries. EXCELLENT video !
Hi, you talk the most sense on lead acid batteries etc. of anyone on You Tube.Some people talk utter rubbish, like these 'magic' desulfator boxes making 10 yr old AGM batteries as good as new overnight, because they ''now read over 12 volts & are fixed'' No discharge tests on load needed then !!I have the Cen -Tech tester. I like it. I did find one of the switches went faulty, but they're not that difficult to replace. I used good quality (Philips) switch cleaner on the remaining switches. Switch cleaner alone might have worked, but I happened to have a suitable switch in stock.(I fixed electronics for a living.) I do find that any make of conductance tester (I have several) can sometimes give a good CCA / milliohm reading on a battery that is well down in AH capacity when an actual C/20 load test is done. I got the Chinese FDY1O discharge tester. I'ts only an inexpensive thing, but actually has worked very well for me. I checked the current draw with a D.C. clamp meter for instance & it's accurate enough for my needs. (The voltmeter on it is O.1v out at 10A checked against fluke multimeters, but again near enough.) Keep up the good work & kind regard.
very helpful video... thanks
Bought one of those testers years ago works great
Great job on video I enjoyed watching it you gave out a lot of good information thank you for uploading it
Very interesting video... How do you know the CCA of a 100AH deep cycle ?
Really enjoy your videos, you got a new suscriber.
Btw any chance on testing higher end testers? really would love your pov into what they do better than cheaper or what makes them worth it.
I WANT ONE!
Which u prefer
Launch BST 860 ,
foxwell BT 705 or Topdon BT 200 as quality and accuracy?
Hello Knurlgnar24, thx for the vids, always enjoy how thorough you are. Anyway, just picked up one of the Cen-Tech testers. I am getting quite a bit higher milliohm readings on pretty much every battery I test than what I see from your batteries. I have a relatively new 60 amph AGM and the reading is above 5. Am I focusing on the wrong numbers here, kinda assume the lower the milliohms the better. Is this a quality of battery issue, plates, acid, etc? Thx for your help.
Does your meter still work? It's over 3 years old now. I just picked one up and l like it so far.
Thanks,very interesting video!
So basically the colder the battery the more accurate the results? Is a reading of 330 amps acceptable for a battery at approx 32 degrees F
At 32F you should get somewhere near the CCA rating of your battery (because most batteries do not provide their rated output. CCA is supposed to be rated at 0F but almost no battery will achieve the rated performance). Once this falls to 70% or so of the rated value I would suggest replacement. At 'summer' temperatures use the cranking amp rating of the battery to determine replacement.
would this work just as well with small motorcycle batteries?
What’s your opinion on a AGM 680 A starter battery that reads 350A (26% SOH) on a similar tester? It started my diesel car no problem at -7 degrees C. The tester failed my battery and said replace.
What was the temperature of the battery during the test? Testers generally assume room temperature so when tested cold your battery may 'fail' a conductance test but still be good.
@@knurlgnar24 Thanks for the reply.
i got those readings with outside temps of approx 5 degrees C. When it was warmer 15 degrees C plus it would be higher 390-400A but it would still report“ replace”. However if i test with the same tester on my friends newer battery at the same low temps it reports it’s full rated amps and 100% SOH. “ good battery”
However there are signs. My battery monitor often reports “ low cranking voltage” and on cold mornings the dash sometimes flashes glitches/errors warnings after a crank. However it’s been doing that for the last 1/2 years. The car never fails to start. It also has a start/stop system and seems to have plenty of reserve capacity to operate it when stuck in traffic. In colder weather below 1-2 degrees C the start stop system doesn’t work as well as it did last year though. The engine will stay running or there are limited start/stops.
The car is coming up on 6 years( original battery) and still starts right up on any cold morning. My conclusion with this battery is that it has plenty of reserve capacity left but has issues delivering high current hence the low voltage warnings. Battery resistance is between 7-8 mohms.
I like it
I'm looking for something that will read Low Impedance Load readings. Something that will read, for example, a 12V 8Ah battery Low Impedance Load. From 100% down to 10%. Is this machine would do that? Thank you. Well, after reading the comments here, I do not expect a response from this guy.
I like mine
What next vedio is going to be about, still waiting for next one
I think it will be a 1500W pure sine wave inverter comparison/shootout with two competing products. I should be able to get it released soon. Thanks for watching!
nice to have for monitoring batteries but 60 bucks ouch.
I know this video is pushing 4 years old now, but my question is: Can this tester be used while a battery is still connected to the cars electrical system? I think the price has come down some. I may look into buying one. Thanks again!
I still prefer the spark test when buying batteries from the scrap metal dealer
If it can throw a good spark and still have a decent voltage then that's good enough for me to buy it and do a detailed diagnostic on it when I get home