Batteries rarely fail and so we have very few batteries returned to us for warranty testing. However, about half of the batteries returned to us for testing pass all tests with flying colours, and the problem lies elsewhere.
When you have electrical issues it’s always easy to blame the battery as the ultimate cause of the problem, but in many cases the battery is just fine. In many cases the battery is just flat and needed recharging, or the alternator has failed or a poor earth had led to there being a parasitic drain on the battery. However, in many cases the cause is leaving the lights/radio on or having a switch for the boot-light fail meaning the boot light is on permanently draining the battery!
Another issue that we cross regularly is that the customer allows the battery to drain so low that the voltage drops below a level that a modern charger would recognise as being a 12V battery. For example if a battery were left connected to a car with a parasitic drain and removed when the voltage hits say 7V; when connected to a 12V smart charger, it would guess that a 6V battery has been connected to it and refuse to charge it. There are tricks to bypass this checking that we cam advise on.
As some customers find it hard to believe that the cause of their issue isn’t the battery we have introduced a trial where we film the testing taking place. The technician films thew varous tests being performed and films the readouts from the professional testing equipment. This now makes it easier for the customer to understand that the problem lies elsewhere.
You can see samples of the footage HERE and HERE.
Let us know your thoughts!
You can’t beat video ‘proof’ that a problem lies elsewhere!
I’d recommend anyone getting a cheapo voltmeter. Even the dirt cheap meters that aren’t that accurate are better than assuming there’s a problem. Probably cheaper than returning a battery as well.