2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42
Every car owner wonders what kind of device is needed to measure battery capacity. This value is often measured during scheduled maintenance, but it will be useful to learn how to determine it yourself.
Battery Capacity Meter
Battery capacity is a parameter that determines the amount of energy given off by the battery at a certain voltage in one hour. It is measured in A / h (Amps per hour), and depends on the density of the electrolyte, which is determined by a special device - a hydrometer. When buying a new battery, the manufacturer indicates all the technical parameters on the case. But this value can be determined by yourself. There are special devices and methods for this.
The easiest way is to take a special tester, for example "Pendant". This is a modern device for measuring the capacity of a car battery, as well as its voltage. In this case, you will spend the minimum amount of time and get a reliable result. To check, it is necessary to connect the device to the battery terminals and inwithin a few seconds, it will determine not only the capacity, but also the voltage of the battery and the condition of the plates. However, there are other methods for determining battery capacity.
First method (classic)
For example, a multimeter can be used as a device for measuring the capacity of a car battery, but you will not get accurate readings with it. A prerequisite for this method (called the test discharge method) is that the battery is fully charged. First you need to connect a powerful consumer to the battery (a regular 60W light bulb is quite suitable).
After you need to assemble the circuit, which consists of a multimeter, battery, consumer, and apply the load. If the light bulb does not change its brightness within 2 minutes (otherwise the battery cannot be restored), we take the readings of the device at certain time intervals. As soon as the indicator falls below the standard battery voltage (under load it is 12V), its discharge will begin. Now, knowing the period of time that it took for the complete depletion of the energy reserve and the load current of the consumer, it is necessary to multiply these values. The product of these values is the actual capacity of the battery. If the obtained values differ from the passport data downwards, the battery needs to be replaced. This method makes it possible to determine the capacity of any battery. The disadvantage of this method is that it takes a lot of time.
Second method
You can also use the method, whenin which the battery is discharged through a resistor using a special circuit. Using a stopwatch, we determine the time spent on the discharge. Since energy will be lost at a voltage within 1 Volt, we can easily determine the current strength using the formula I \u003d UR, where I is the current strength, U is the voltage, R is the resistance. In this case, it is necessary to avoid the complete discharge of the battery, using, for example, a special relay.
How to make a device yourself
If it is not possible to purchase a ready-made device, you can always assemble a device for measuring battery capacity with your own hands.
To determine the degree of charge and capacity of the battery, you can use the load plug. There are many models of ready-made forks on sale, but you can assemble it yourself. The following is one of the options.
This model uses an extended scale to achieve high measurement accuracy. There is a built-in load resistor. The scale is divided into two ranges (0-10 V and 10-15 V), which further reduces the measurement error. The device also has a 3 volt scale and a different measuring device lead, making it possible to test individual batteries. The 15V scale is achieved by reducing the voltage on the diode and zener diode. The current value of the device increases if the voltage value exceeds the opening level of the zener diode. When a voltage of the wrong polarity is applied, the protective function is performed by the diode.
Onscheme: R1- transfers the required current to the zener diode; R2 and R3 - resistors selected for the M3240 microammeter; R4 - determines the width of the narrow range of the scale; R5 - load resistance, switched on by toggle switch SB1.
The load current is determined by Ohm's law. The load resistance is taken into account.
AA battery capacity measuring device
AA batteries are measured in mAh (milliamps per hour). To measure such batteries, you can use special chargers that determine the current, voltage and capacity of the battery. An example of such a device is the AccuPower IQ3 battery capacity meter, which has a power supply with a voltage range of 100 to 240 volts. To measure, you will need to insert batteries into the device, and all the necessary parameters will appear on the display.
Determination of capacity using charger
Also, the capacity can be determined using a conventional charger. Having determined the magnitude of the charge current (it is indicated in the characteristics of the device), it is necessary to fully charge the battery and record the time spent on this. After multiplying these two values, we get the approximate capacity.
More accurate readings can be obtained using another method, for which you will need a fully charged battery, a stopwatch, a multimeter and a consumer (you can use, for example, a flashlight). We connect the consumer to the battery, and with the help of a multimeter we determine the current consumption (the smaller it is, the more reliable the results). We note the time during which the flashlight shone, and multiply the result by the current consumption.
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