Does a voltmeter (using the cigarette lighter plug) help us determine the health of the car battery?

[attyallanlatras]

There was a time when the car battery of my Innova would just die without some prior symptoms (or I might have not have noticed them) and since my ride has automatic transmission so talagang mahirap. Now does a voltmeter (using the cigarette lighter plug) help us determine the health of the car battery?

[reddik2017]

Per my experience,Yes,malaking tulong talaga ang may voltmeter on knowing the health of our cars battery and/or alternator. Ever since i had one, never ko na na-experience ang di makapag start due to low battery...or yung tipong di mo alam bakit biglang humina ang radyo,ilaw at aircon.

Magandang indicator at warning on battery/alternator health talaga ang voltmeter and hindi naman siya ganun ka expensive.I think,all motorist should have one of these.

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[oj88]

Short answer, no.

Long answer: Battery health is a function of a lot of different parameters, a few of which are as follows:

Internal resistance
Ability to take a charge
Capacity
Voltage
etc.

Voltage is probably the last parameter to 'give' when it comes to battery health. A bad battery could have good open-terminal voltage but as soon as you put a load (ie. start the vehicle), a battery with a relatively high internal resistance will cause the voltage to drop and by extension, reduce the current to below what is required to start the engine.

Voltmeters can probably give you an idea of the state of charge (SoC) if you know for a fact that the battery is healthy. Otherwise, voltage alone won't give you a clear indication of its state of health (SoH)

Battery analyzers can give you a better insight as to the battery's actual SoC and SoH than just relying on an on-dash voltmeter.

I have one (on-dash voltmeter), but it's really more for aesthetics than anything. Though, I also have a battery analyzer.

[papi smith]

Sir OJ, won't the volt meter dip also during starting? If it does, then maybe we can have an idea of the health of the battery

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[oj88]

Sir OJ, won't the volt meter dip also during starting? If it does, then maybe we can have an idea of the health of the battery

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Two problems with that...

First major flaw with that approach is that on most cars, the Accessory line (ACC) where your head unit and other accessories are connected, gets disconnected from the battery when you turn the ignition key to "Start". The idea is, this cuts off power to non-essential electronics and routes the full battery power to the starter and ignition system. The cigarette lighter socket is wired to the ACC line. In other words, when you turn the key to start the engine and while it is cranking, the display on these voltmeters go blank.

For the 2nd problem... in the off chance that your car does not disconnect the ACC when starting, these voltmeters are too slow to get a proper average reading. Before it can give you a stable result, the engine would've started by then.

[Vodka]

OJ is right, useless yan. your casa uses an expensive gadget like Midtronic to check battery health. then they give you a printout. you could achieve pretty much the same thing w/ a much cheaper gadget. i use this Autool which connects via bluetooth. pretty much the same results. so yes that P100,000 midtronic is a scam

[papi smith]

I had a battery analyzer but it was malfunctioning so I had to return it, never gambled to have a replacement. It's nice to have one at home coz it beats going to a nearby battery store to have a free check up [emoji1]

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[kisshmet]

^P100,000 din ba halaga ng battery analyzer mo?

i dont waste my money on voltage analyzer, my brain can analyze it for free, i just need a voltmeter

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[WallyWest]

Kung ang problema lang naman is the battery dying at the worst possible time, why not just invest in a jumpstarter powerbank or a pair of jumper cables? Or, as some like to do it, replace the battery (working or not) after a certain number of months/years.

It's a hell of a lot cheaper than any battery analyzer. Unless merong plano na pagkakitaan ang analyzer. No need to get all scientific about it, imo.

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[oj88]

...
It's a hell of a lot cheaper than any battery analyzer. Unless merong plano na pagkakitaan ang analyzer. No need to get all scientific about it, imo.

Changing the battery long before they're actually due for replacement is much more wasteful.

You don't need a 'Pro' battery analyzer. There are battery analyzers on Lazada for under 2k. They're good enough at determining your battery's general condition.

Run the analyzer every PMS. Once the SoH gets below 50%, it's time to save up for a replacement as the battery could die within the next 6-12 months. When it's down to 30% or lower, replace it ASAP.

[benchph1]

Not really useless. I have one installed on my car. One morning it read 11.8 volts. And true enough, may hesitation sa pag start.

Was supposed to go straight to a motolite dealer to buy a battery, dunno why i stupidly detoured to fillup with gas. Ayun ayaw na magstart after ko magpa karga. Good thing the gas station had a battery booster device of some sort.


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[papi smith]

^P100,000 din ba halaga ng battery analyzer mo?

i dont waste my money on voltage analyzer, my brain can analyze it for free, i just need a voltmeter

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I agree with the volt meter, it's actually what the battery shops use to test starting current.

Di ko kaya bumili Ng 100k na analyzer bro, what I got was the same unit as OJs, nagloloko lang to the point na dinala ko pa sa casa kahit bago Ang battery to have the electrical system checked which they would gladly accommodate for 1.5k plus pumila ka at mag antay ng 1 whole day. So I did the next best thing, brought it to an electrical shop and a battery shop, both found nothing wrong.

Fast forward 7 months later, battery is fine. [emoji3]

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[Vodka]

Kung ang problema lang naman is the battery dying at the worst possible time, why not just invest in a jumpstarter powerbank or a pair of jumper cables? Or, as some like to do it, replace the battery (working or not) after a certain number of months/years.

It's a hell of a lot cheaper than any battery analyzer. Unless merong plano na pagkakitaan ang analyzer. No need to get all scientific about it, imo.

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mura lang batt analyzer. it's not rocket science. i'm still wondering how Midtronics can get away w/ selling their super expensive analyzers

what if i told you that my smartphone-connected analyzer costs less than a jump starter "powerbank" gadget (but costs more than jump cables). but i do get your point. not all people are geeks (so i do have multiple jump powerbanks, multiple jumper cables, and an analyzer)

[Athrunzala]

Digital Voltmeter (testing the car battery itself) = mura lang ito mga less than 500pesos sa Robinsons Handyman
= can test the state of charge of battery (ideal is 12.6 volts and above)
= this is the most important, can see the cranking volts when starting the car, like for example showing a below 8.5volts mean malapit na palitan ang battery
= can also test the alternator if it is charging the battery (should be showing 13.6 volts and above) (below 12.6volts means there might be something wrong with the alternator) (over 15 volts means the alternator is overcharging the battery and the regulator needs to be fixed)

Cigarette Voltmeter = can see the state of charge
= can see the alternator charging
= But does not show the cranking volts
= mga 990 pesos nakita ko sa Concorde

Battery Analyzer = mga 5,900 pesos meron sa Blade Autoshop. Mas makakamura ka pa sa Lazada mga 2,500 lang siguro makakakita ka na doon.
= can see the number of functioning Amperes (CCA)
= can show the State of Charge, SoHealth
= shows a more accurate cranking volts for the Cranking Amps
= shows the Internal Resistance
= can perform a ripple test if there is too much A/C current that can destroy the electrical system.


You are better off buying the battery analyzer or digital voltmeter than the cigarette voltmeter

[Athrunzala]

Short answer, no.

Long answer: Battery health is a function of a lot of different parameters, a few of which are as follows:

Internal resistance

Voltage is probably the last parameter to 'give' when it comes to battery health. A bad battery could have good open-terminal voltage but as soon as you put a load (ie. start the vehicle), a battery with a relatively high internal resistance will cause the voltage to drop and by extension, reduce the current to below what is required to start the engine.

Ano po yung magandang range ng Internal Resistance? Nakikita ko sa Car ko around 5 Internal Resistance niya. Ano yung maximum and minimum na range dapat? Thanks!

[oj88]

Ano po yung magandang range ng Internal Resistance? Nakikita ko sa Car ko around 5 Internal Resistance niya. Ano yung maximum and minimum na range dapat? Thanks!

The lower the better. I don't know the magic number but as the battery ages, the internal resistance goes up. I suggest that you just get a battery analyzer to remove the guesswork.

https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/n...QGzD5&search=1

[Athrunzala]

nabasa ko lang sa internet "High resistance causes the battery to heat up and the voltage to drop under load, triggering an early shutdown"

[Athrunzala]

Ok, basta an internal resistance of 4 and 5 is normal

[12vdc]

Health of battery: no

Health of alternator: yes

There are 12.5V terminal voltage battery that won't crank the starter simply because it has the Voltage but not enough juice/Current.

[oj88]

Health of battery: no

True.

Health of alternator: yes

Which is not quite of value to the driver as there's already a dedicated go or no-go idiot lamp for the state of the charging system.

There are 12.5V terminal voltage battery that won't crank the starter simply because it has the Voltage but not enough juice/Current.

In other words, a worn battery's CCA have dropped significantly.

The reason being, when there's a demand for current, a high internal resistance battery will cause its voltage to drop well below what is necessary to start the vehicle. This is even though the battery may still have enough capacity. Once the internal resistance gets to a certain point, you can only relegate it to run low current accessories.

That's why some old batteries can still be re-purposed for use to power emergency lights.