How to Check Battery Amps with a Multimeter – Cranking Amps and Amp Hours
It is essential to have a working battery for our cars. Malfunction of your car headlights or inability to turn on your engine may be an indication that the battery has been damaged. Regular battery checks are the key to making sure it stays in good condition – a Multimeter is one of the best tools for testing amp-hours, car batteries, etc. Learn more about how you can use the Multimeter here.
How to Check Car Battery Amps with a Multimeter?
Test your car batteries with a multimeter once you have perfected the measuring process.
The best way to improve your reading is to practice with different types of cells. For example, you can practice with batteries from remote controls, video games, torches, and lamps.
1.By setting the Multimeter’s functions to ohms, you should be able to see that when you connect the test leads, they should read zero, and when the connection is severed, they should read one. In case the battery does not follow the pattern mentioned above, then something is wrong with it.
2.A multimeter can be either analog or digital. The former displays readings using a micrometer and a moving pointer. The latter uses a numerical display.
3.With a 20V range, the multimeter will measure between 0V and 20V.
4.The car radio and ignition should be turned off.
5.You will have to locate the car battery next. The car battery can be found in the engine room. You will need to open the engine room and look for the battery. The Multimeter should be connected to both the positive and negative terminals of the car batteries. The red probe of the multimeter should be connected to the positive terminal. As for the black probe, it must be connected to the negative terminal.
6.The Multimeter can be used to measure the battery voltage. A car battery produces 12.6V Direct Current via six cells, each producing 2.1V.
Having a car battery that reads 12.6 volts means the battery is fully charged. Having a battery that reads 12.4 volts means the battery is 75% charged.
The battery is completely discharged if the reading is 11.9 V or lower.
What is the best way to test automotive batteries and cranking amps with a multimeter?
Multimeter tests are used by car mechanics and at home all over the world because they are fast and reliable. If you want to take care of all your house batteries without the help of a car mechanic, you can easily buy one from the internet.
Follow these steps to check a car battery’s Cold Cranking Amps or CCA effectively.
1.You’ll need an extra pair of hands for this task since one person will control the ignition, and the other will monitor the fluctuations while the engine is running. Attach the multimeter to the battery terminals and start the car’s ignition.
2.If the Multimeter reading stays the same after the first value drop, it indicates good condition. If the reading drops to 10V and then rises to 12V, it indicates a good condition.
3.It is time to replace your car’s batteries if the initial reading on the Multimeter is below 5 V, otherwise your battery won’t last long.
How to Check Battery Amp Hours with a Multimeter?
mAh, or Milliamp-hours, is used by technicians to estimate the operating life of a car battery. Here’s how to check the mAh using a multimeter:
1.Replace the meter’s internal battery if it is completely depleted by setting the tool’s control knob to the battery check position.
2.For 9-volt batteries, you will need a snap-on battery clip and wire leads.
3.Attach the alligator clips to the probe tips of the meter.
4.Choose a resistor that matches the battery voltage and drain current.
5.Stopwatch should be reset.
6.The positive terminal of the car battery should be connected to one of the resistor leads
7.Adjust the control knob to read DC or direct current at 2200 milliamps.
8.You will see a positive current reading on the meter when you clip the positive probe to the unconnected resistor lead and the negative probe to the unconnected battery terminal.
9.Let’s start the stopwatch
10.Check the current reading every hour and stop the stopwatch when the current reaches 70% of its original value.
11.By multiplying the current reading on the meter and the hours recorded on the stopwatch, you can calculate the milliamp-hour of the battery.