Why You Should Load Test Small Batteries.
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Published 2023-11-02
In this video I talk about how misleading it can be to test small batteries with a multimeter, and the importance of putting a small load across a battery when testing it.
All Comments (21)
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Radio shack was a treasure trove of useful tools
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I never would have thought to load test a small battery. Thank you for sharing!
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Omg i grew up with that exact radio shack tester. That was so long ago.
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Thank you!
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First! Thank you Dave. Battery ESR is like capacitor ESR, very important.
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Car batteries can act this way. A multimeter measures 10.5 to 12VDC, but under load testing shows a bad cell, with way low voltage. A bad cell means it's kaput.
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Thanks, Dave. I use my VOM to test 1.5 and 9V batteries. It puts a load on the batteries. But yeah, you have to test batteries under a load.
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Excellent video. Thank You. Man, I sure miss Radio Shack.
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Yes, this is the right way how to test the Battery, it should be tested through a resistors, thanks for that important information 👍
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YOU are the man Dave. The education you give is KING. Have yourself a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year too. Hope we both can enjoy a many more to come Sir. Peace vf
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I had a fault like this that kept me scratching my head for a few days on a real time clock module. It had a 3.3 volt coin cell on it and when I check it, sure enough it was around 3.2 volts but when it was on load (i.e to keep the time in the chip when the main power is off) it dropped to 0.6 of a volt. After a few tests I calculated that it had an internal resistance of around 45K!
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Very interesting, I picked up an old Simpson battery tester at an estate sale thinking it would just be a neat display piece but it sounds like it might even be usefull!
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I miss radio shack, I still have a few different testers they made.
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Great stuff..I'm going to make a veroboard setup with those specific resistors to test watch batteries and, 1.5v, 3v and 9v batteries.
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Thanks Dave Good Tip!
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Always love your vids sir
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Wonder if after checking multiple batteries you find the nominal voltage being higher than rated on the bad batteries being an indicator that there is a possible issue.the ones over 9v were faulty where the one a tick under was a good battery z
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Voltage drop testing baby we do the exact same thing in the automotive diagnostics, but instead of using a resistor we use, a current bearing load like a light or a high amperage bulb
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Thank you for a useful video. I do question your handwritten table of resistances: It seems your table shows a current of 10 amperes son a twelve volt battery - this would be 120 watts dissipation inside the meter when testing a 12 V battery on the 12V scale: Is this correct?
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very good info Dave.so I have a fluke meter like in your video, how can I use that to load test my aa,aaa,9v batteries? thanks John
