How To Test Car Battery Cheap Way

[@prattropper]

Peter, you are showing how much you care about people and your customers!!! Preventative maintenance at its best!!!! Please move to North Eastern Pennsylvania so you can take care of my wife's 4 runner!!!! You really are the best!

[@hiucollo2402]

Same here in Pike County, PA. I have a Highlander for Peter to take care of.

[@maddydog]

You just did all that other work on this vehicle and saved the customer money from what another shop would have charged them and now they think you’re trying to get away with selling them a battery just to make a quick few bucks!! That’s INSANITY! I wish you were close to me Peter because I would bring both my Toyota’s to you for service, you are very knowledgeable you’re honest and a great guy.

[@Dac54]

Here in the heat of Southern Nevada, it's my experience that once a vehicle's battery reaches the 3 year mark, the countdown to replacement starts. One way to tell that the battery is on its way out is when accessories such as power trunk release, power door locks, or hvac controls start to behave in a weird way.

[@Shododaan]

Same for south Florida.

[@ForTehNguyen]

same experience here in texas, once a battery hits 3 years and its summer time, running the risk of sudden battery death

[@johnraetz6748]

My wife's car had a Toyota Battery in her Avalon for 13 yeas....the dealership was amazed, the replacement did not last as long, but still longer than other brands...thanks for the great videos!!!

[@billsimpson604]

I have never heard of a battery lasting anywhere near that long. I would have thought that was impossible for a lead acid battery. I have a 6 year old one in my Expedition, and am keeping it as an experiment to see how long it will last. I carry a lithium battery jumper so I can't get stranded.

[@letmethinkv]

I still use 10 year old battery in my corolla......going strong in canada winter.....i hope this winter also it will survive😂...its a costco brand

[@FantaLaStrada]

Mine is 14 years old in my toyota pickup, but most of my other batteries never last more than 6 years.

[@pritambissonauth2181]

My brother had an original battery in an Honda which lasted 13 years in the UK.

[@Mycouponman]

Going on 9 in the Tundra and just replaced the Camry after 8. I will check the Tundra. Northern MS

[@normalizedaudio2481]

I use old batteries all the time. They work if you take care of them. Bring it out of the cold, trickle charge and disconnect in storage.

[@michaelbrennan7148]

Thank you Peter. Thank you for reminder. I'll test my 2 vehicles batteries next few weeks better yet I'll do it this weekend. I purchased the metal box battery tester. Good stuff. Safe travels

[@rharris7635]

After 3 years in the cold Colorado mountains I start watching for battery sales. Most places that I park have no phone, no wi-fi, and most of the time ...no-one else around.

[@travissheehan6082]

I had a topDon tester. It was very inconsistent. It actually told me my 5 year old battery was bad. Ok. Cool. Brand new battery and charged it overnight. Tested bad. Replace. Now I use the $20 load style and sent topDon back immediately

[@FantaLaStrada]

thanks for the info. I'm thinking about just getting the load style one too.

[@hokie9910]

An old timer told me years ago, replace your batteries every 3 years and you should never have any issues. Ever since I’ve done that I have not had any problems. I live in the south and the heat takes its toll. Up north you might be able to get 4 years. And yes, I’m sure someone’s brothers aunt had a battery for 12 years, but that’s just luck.

[@02markcal]

Living in the Northeast, I think replacing batteries every 4 years makes sense, rather than trying to squeeze every electron out of a battery, especially before winter.

[@dquad]

I had to retire a battery from my Starlet after 5 years due to low capacity. A year later I put it into my Hilux and it has been serving well for the last 3 years. I presume the Hilux has decent control of the voltage regulation in the alternator.

[@hokie9910]

@@02markcal Agreed!

[@LAactor]

I had one that lasted 10 or so years back when Autozone was still good and prices were reasonable. The gold top was actually yellow on top. That was a long time ago. Luch has been poor lately with leaving a door open and the door light draining batteries, etc. Otherwise I always get over the guarantee amount. Most batteries are garbage now anyways. The max guarantees went down from 5 to 3. Built for failure.

[@LAactor]

I had one that lasted 10 or so years back when Autozone was still good and prices were reasonable. The gold top was actually yellow on top. That was a long time ago. Luch has been poor lately with leaving a door open and the door light draining batteries, etc. Otherwise I always get over the guarantee amount. Most batteries are garbage now anyways. The max guarantees went down from 5 to 3. Built for failure.

[@cwilczak8706]

Hey that TOPDON really works. I bought one and checked all the batteries in the families cars. It found a bad one in my truck that I’m sure would have left me stranded this coming cold winter. I had it tested at my buddies shop and sure enough the battery was trash.

[@sleibson]

Thanks for this video, Peter. I have a 2012 Highlander that I bought used last year. Battery age unknown because there's no visible sticker. I have that Topdon battery tester and your video gave me the extra oomph I needed to go use it. I'd been worried about the state of the 12V battery. The tester came up with "good battery" with 715 CCA and about 4 milliohms of internal resistance. Now I don't need to wonder. Can't understand why I haven't done this before, but your video put me over the top.

[@neilfrasersmith]

Great video Petre. I just bought one, only $38.

[@SW-Video]

A good battery tester or two is a great addition to any toolbox. Like you said, it's not always obvious.

[@Thankyou_3]

Thanks brother Peter! God bless you. Appreciate this video.

[@MarzNet256]

I have that Topdon tester and it is excellent for monitoring battery condition and charging system. It even helped me diagnose a low charge condition at 209k miles so I replaced alternator (check that all connections are clean and tight first). It's a 2006 Matrix 4WD with over 215k miles.

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

Especially on a diesel vehicle a load tester can give misleading results if the load it puts on the battery is too small to effectively load a large battery. This caught me out a few years back when a load tester I had been using for years failed to show up a dead cell on a BMW diesel.

[@davinp]

The battery in my 2018 Corolla is nearly 6 years old as the car was manufactured in 10/17. Yes, it is the battery that came with the car. The car still starts up quickly and shows no signs of being bad

[@donaldallison]

A weak battery is hard on the alternator.

[@LAactor]

A weak alternator is hard on the battery

[@vvogt4252]

Excellent Video Brother! Have a Great Weekend.

[@agostinodibella9939]

If you were in a more northern climate that gets cold that car would get stranded for sure, also the alternator has to work harder and could fail sooner.

[@stumpy7777]

Great training video. Thanks

[@billsmith2212]

The best test is directly on the posts . If going through the cable ends , there may be corrosion . Sometimes the corrosion doesn't look bad but it will cause a voltage drop and effect the test . If you touch the center of the posts it should read 12.6 volts or higher with the car off if fully charged . You can also reduce a " surface charge " if the car was just run or on a charger by putting the brights on for a few minutes . The test will be more accurate . That tester , " The Toaster " has been around for decades .

[@briantimberlake3114]

I have a Topdon 6000 and it's great!

[@leor838]

Another disadvantage of an old weak battery is it prematurely wears the alternator.😮

[@markstevens1729]

If they ever do “Hogan’s Heroes” at your local dinner theatre, you should audition for “General Berkhalter.”

[@emehlhar]

My Camry has a 2015 Toyota battery and it tested at SOH of 80% . I still carry a battery pack with the car none the less. Hoping to make it to ten years.

[@aymanbensaad4453]

Good job 👏

[@markreynolds3850]

Great job,

[@canalroadadventures5079]

Use a trickle charger and hook it up nightly.

[@johndesaavedra1040]

When a battery gets to that condition, all it takes is forgetting a light or running the radio for a short time, and you will not start. This happened to my wife last year. I could have prevented making a rescue run an hour before a meeting.

[@TheDeadMan3848]

I would have liked to see the battery cleaned up, top off water level, charge and retest. I frequently make 5 year batteries last 7 years, before l start to worry about getting stranded… 🤷‍♂️

[@LAactor]

Who still makes 5 year batteries?

[@TheDeadMan3848]

@@LAactor l guess no one anymore 🤷‍♂️. I do remember them in the past, 1 year free replacement and 5 year prorated. I even had an energizer 7 year prorated, l kept it 9 years before replacing it.

[@LAactor]

@@TheDeadMan3848 exactly. They build them to fail now. I had a 5 Duralast Gold I babied for 10 years. Until a string of bad luck of bad alternators on used new cars and leaving doors open and the courtesy light killing the cells. Tried the distilled water and charge trick and the cell never regained itself. All my batteries last longer than the rated but with no more prorates and dealer batteries encroaching above $200, I'd rather buy a $100 3 year battery than pay over $200 for a 3 year battery with still paying over $100 during the 84 month prorate. Same difference. Just higher start coat and less convenience. Dealers parts close at 5 or 6.

[@BakedRBeans]

I have an Interstate battery in my Tacoma. I just checked the date on it-- 2014-- still starts! I can't believe it's almost 9 years old!

[@TheDeadMan3848]

@@BakedRBeans Right on! I drive a 04 Tacoma

[@Esteban_Herrera]

That battery tester is the best way to check a battery. If you take your car in suspecting a bad battery Demand a load test. If your car starts funny forget your plans and head straight to buy a new one. The battery speaks to you when it gives a slow start, listen to it!

[@KendrasEdge757]

Well once he starts havin weird electrical issues and warning lights comin on and off I hope he comes back to you all nervous wondering what’s wrong and you tell him well, your battery is bad you need a new battery and he’s floored with his low repair charge of a new battery.

[@dalephillips8250]

Factory battery on my 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 lasted 9.5 years before dead. Maybe they don't make them like they used to.

[@speakfreely.1776]

A weak battery damages the alternator.

[@LAactor]

A weak alternator damages the battery.

[@JulietHotelFoxtrot]

That battery might still have been under warranty. Customer could take it in for a partial or full credit towards a new battery if they had acted quickly.

[@toycoma98]

I had an old battery dated 2019, It seemed like its still good until i parked it for 3 weeks and it wont hold a charge anymore. Got a new battery.

[@p.r.6220]

what's up with Toyota, do they have high amp draw when off? my tundra and neighbors Tacoma. need new battery every year..

[@LAactor]

NObody can tell you exactly without seeing your car knowing what year and aftermarket equipment you have and what conditions they go through. But if you both have anecdotal stories, you need to check the voltage at shutdown and in the morning before starting and that will tell you something is eating your current and you need to find out what. But that's anecdotal or else everyone would be talking about it. Don't buy bad or used batteries too.

[@transformer889]

The price of the battery tester in this video is $63, I think you bought yours a long time ago

[@azdronepix8692]

Where did you see that price? Amazon has the Topdon AB101 listed for $30.99. Is that different than the one in the video?

[@transformer889]

@@azdronepix8692 I was referring to the analog meter's price listed in the Autozone.

[@ianbutler1983]

I bought at jump box and keep it charged and with me. Then I run batteries until they die. No big deal.

[@charlespratt8663]

Modern battery's often work fine until they don't. Little to no warning when they fail.

[@rightlanehog3151]

Petr, I hope the owner watches this video.

[@letmethinkv]

Why you will get stranded???.....you can always jump start your car......keep power pack.

[@liveny]

I am 509 thumbs up

[@dasfahrer8187]

huh huh huh... you said "big load".

[@alext8828]

Listen. If you really care about your customers, you can suggest they carry a battery jumper of some kind in the car with them. That way they can safely wait until the battery is really gone and still be safe. They're cheap and they work. Do not let customers drive around with questionable equipment if you can help it.

[@condor5635]

Peter my motto is change my battery every 4 years - regardless!

[@billsimpson604]

"The result is, GET RID OF IT" I laughed out loud for real. It would be funny if that appeared on the actual little screen! In the AI machine learning future, the screen will read, 'Get rid of it, fool, or you could die.' Artificial Intelligence will know how to make people listen. At least you are not in the Hurricane Hillary flood zone like down in LA.