Tips on testing your car battery

In Brisbane, a mobile vehicle inspection will pick up any potential problems with your battery, but it is always a good idea to keep an eye on the battery yourself. A flat, dead battery is a real pain, particularly if it happens when you are heading off somewhere important, because you either need your car towed, a jump start or a new battery.

If you have a good mechanic in Brisbane, you can ask him or her to check your battery regularly for you, catching it before it fails completely. At Premium Mechanical Services, we automatically test your battery during a mobile vehicle inspection in Brisbane, but if you want to do this yourself, here a few tips to check the voltage and load of your battery.

Checking the voltage of your battery

You really need to use a multimeter to check a battery’s voltage, but if you don’t have one, you can also do a spot check by turning the engine on and then the lights. If the lights are bright and stay bright when you rev the engine, then your battery sounds good. However, a good mechanic in Brisbane will know that if your lights are dim that there could be a problem with the alternator, which is not producing enough current to keep the battery fully charged. On the other hand, if you use a multimeter, then you should be OK if it reads between 13.7 and 14.7 volts.

Checking the load of your battery

A load test is where the battery is tested when the vehicle is under a heavy discharge load and we use a special load testing device to do this when we perform a mobile vehicle inspection in Brisbane. Testing the load of your battery is fairly complicated, so it is best left to your mechanic. However, if you want to do it yourself, your battery needs to maintain 9.6 volts for 15 seconds at one-half the CCA rating at 21C. If the voltage drops below 9.6 volts, then you might need to replace it with new.

If you are having any problems with your electrical system or your battery, book a mobile vehicle inspection in Brisbane and we will come to your home or work and find the source of your problem for you.