4
USE THIS SECTION FOR BATTERY
TESTING IF YOUR 12/24 VOLT SYSTEM
LOOKS SIMILAR TO THIS:
One six volt battery by itself cannot be tested with this unit. It
will not provide enough voltage under load to allow the digital
circuitry to work.
Please note: When two six volt batteries are connected in
series, the voltage of the array is 12. The CCA rating of the
series does not double. It is the same CCA as either of the
individual batteries. (If you have two, 500 CCA, 6 volt batteries
in series, it is equivalent to a 500 CCA, 12 volt battery and
should be tested with a 250 amp load.)
Both the heavy duty and light gauge leads will be used in this
test (see figure 5).
1)
Attach the positive heavy duty lead to the positive terminal
of Battery 1 and the negative heavy duty lead to the
negative terminal of Battery 2. Connect the external
voltage leads; red lead to positive terminal of Battery 2 and
the black lead to the negative terminal of Battery 2.
2)
Proceed with the battery test. After the test evaluate the
results. If the battery group as a whole does not pass then
press the down arrow button to read the minimum voltage
on Battery 2. See the table below for the minimum
voltages of a 6 volt battery.
3)
To determine the battery voltage of Battery 1 just subtract
the external voltage reading from the minimum overall
voltage.
4)
If the battery voltage on Battery 2 looks good but the
overall battery voltage is too low, check the jumper
voltage. This is done by repeating step 1 but connect the
external voltage leads across the jumper, positive lead to
negative terminal of Battery 1 and negative lead to the
positive terminal of Battery 2. After testing read the
external voltage it should be less than 0.2V.
BATTERY TEMPERATURE COMPENSATION 15 SECOND LOAD
TEST
°C
21
↑
10
2
-4
-9
-15
°F
70
↑
50
35
25
15
5
MIN.
VOLT
4.8
4.7
4.6
4.5
4.4
4.3
Please note that the test described above is not the easiest way
to run a test on two batteries in series, but it is the most
accurate. If you were to test the batteries and take only one
voltage reading from the positive terminal of Battery 1 to the
negative terminal of Battery 2, there are problems that could
remain hidden or cause excessive replacement costs.
BLACK
LEAD
BATTERY 4
BATTERY 1
BATTERY 3
6V
6V
+ -
6V
FIGURE 5
+ -
+ -
BATTERY 2
RED
LEAD
6V
+ -
+
-
The voltage reading under load from the positive terminal of
Battery 1 to the negative terminal of Battery 2 is the sum of the
voltage drops across Batteries 1, 2, and the cable jumper.
Total voltage = B1 v B2 v jumper voltage drop
(see figure 6).
If you had two good batteries and a bad jumper connection, the
total voltage may be less than acceptable. If the batteries were
replaced, the new ones may test bad due to the bad
connection. Replacing or cleaning a bad jumper cable is
cheaper and easier than replacing batteries if that is all that is
needed.
In another situation, you may have one good battery, a good
jumper connection, and one bad battery. If the good battery
voltage is high enough to offset the bad battery voltage, you will
have no indication of the potential problem. If the good battery
voltage is not high enough to offset the bad battery voltage, the
group may test bad and both batteries replaced when only one
of the needs to be.
TESTING 24 VOLT SYSTEMS:
24 volt batteries may
not
be load tested with this unit. Most 24 volt
systems are made up of 2 12V batteries. See above for testing.
The unit is capable of testing 24 volt alternator and the starting
systems.
JUMPER
FIGURE 6
B1 VOLTAGE
6V
6V
BATTERY 2
+ -
BATTERY 1
+ -
B2 VOLTAGE
FIGURE 7
LO
AD
T
ES
T
NO
+ -
24 VOLT
