User Review
( votes)
I never thought I could use an automotive battery tester, but a few years ago, I was stranded in a mall parking lot because my 1996 Infiniti G20 would not start. Thinking I needed a new battery, I walked to my local Checker Auto Parts store and replaced the battery. It worked for about two days and the car died again. I needed a new alternator. I wished I had known this before I wasted money on the new battery. Some car problems can behave like a dead battery even when the battery is fine. There have been other times when I was certain I had a problem with a car starter or alternator and all I needed was a new battery. While you can certainly take the battery into your auto parts store and have them test it for you, there are some other reasons you might want your own unit with you at home. A good battery tester will tell you the condition of the battery. Is it charging properly and fully? Will your dead battery take a charge or does it need replaced? Using a battery tester is a proactive way to prevent being stranded somewhere on a cold winter night. My advice is to test the batteries on your cars once a month and avoid the frustration, fear and inconvenience of this experience altogether. I did some research on various battery testers and chargers and learned a few things:
Automotive Battery Tester Reviews
You can pay between $14.95 and $3095.00 for an automotive battery tester or Car Battery Testing and Charging Unit.
For most of our needs, anything over $300.00 would be complete overkill. For most of our needs, $110 is the very most you should have to pay for a decent battery tester and/or charger for your car, boat or motorcycle. I’ve compiled some of the most popular automotive battery testers and was surprised to find very positive reviews in just about every price range.
Equus 3721 Battery and Charging System Monitor
What kind of automotive battery tester can you get for $15.00? A very convenient one, for sure. The Equus 3721 is a little device not much larger than a cell phone charger that fits in your cigarette lighter power receptacle of your car. Essentially, the Equus 3721 tells you if your car is charging properly. What it won’t do is isolate specific battery problems, nor provide much in the way of specific details of your battery’s condition. Also, I doubt this will serve much purpose at all for a battery which renders your car unable to start. Still, it serves the useful, if basic purpose of preventative maintenance that I talked about above. Out of 67 users, the Equus 3721 was rated 4.5 stars out of 5 and is reportedly a well made, useful and reliable portable testing device.
Schumacher SE-4022 Manual Wheel Charger With Tester
Though the Schumacher SE-4022 is more of a battery charger than a tester, though it does have a simple, rudimentary voltmeter and is worth mentioning here, due to the high satisfaction, 4.5-star rating by users. A couple of drawbacks is the the battery charger will not shut-off automatically when your battery is fully charged. The other complaint is that the Voltmeter is rather crude, only goes to 12.7 volts and has no numbers on it. Otherwise, users were very satisfied with the SE-4022’s car battery charging performance. And for around $100, you can hardly beat the price!
Schumacher SC-8000A Speedcharge Charger/Maintainer
The Schumacher SC-8000A is compatible with virtually every kind of auto battery. This one is also a charger as well as a battery tester. Users have been very satisfied with the battery charging capabilities of this unit. If you’re looking for just an automotive battery tester, you won’t have to pay much more for getting one that not only charges, but will provide you immediate 80-AMP Startup if you need it. Easy to use according to users and no danger of overcharging the battery. Punch in your battery type and size and let the SC-8000A Do the rest.
Actron-CP7612-Battery-Load-Tester
The Actron-CP7612 is a battery load tester. Essentially, this means you can test both the battery and the charging your system of your car. A dozen users have rated the CP7612 an average of 4-Stars. It won’t charge your battery, but it will test it under a load and let you know what condition it is in before you waste time going to a store to buy another battery. Hook up the CP7612 battery tester to your car battery and know within 10 seconds the heath of your car’s battery.