Top 9 Best Car Battery Testers

    It is better to keep the health of your car battery in check if you want to avoid the idea of your car’s battery dying unexpectedly and leave you stranded in the middle of a road.

    Car battery testers are simple, cost-efficient tools that test your battery and make sure that your car’s battery is in good shape, & you are good to hit the road.

    Checking your car’s battery is more of a safety habit than maintenance, and thus one should make it a habit along with checking other electrical parts of the car.

    In this article, we will discuss the best car testers available in the market with their best features.

    You will find a variety of car battery testers each one offering different features at a different prices; so that you can buy depending on your car’s battery.

    What is a Car Battery Tester?

    Car Battery Testers are devices specially designed to check the state or health status of your battery.

    There are different types of car battery testers some will give you basic information while the others will provide you more elaborate data on your car’s battery state.

    You can choose and buy one as per want to, but as recommended by man manufacturer’s as well as the sellers it is better to buy one which is handy so you can efficiently replace your battery before it is entirely dead.

    Why Do I Need a Car Battery Tester?

    The purpose of having a car battery tester is to routinely check the state of your car’s battery so that you can replace your battery before it dies and is not capable of holding a charge.

    They are affordable devices that help you to check your car’s battery status routinely. By using a car battery tester, you will able to keep a tab and know when your car’s battery is about to die and replace it beforehand.

    How to Check Your Car’s Battery?

    After successfully purchasing a car battery tester the first thing to do is check the condition of your car’s battery.

    The maximum number of car battery testers come with an instruction manual with detailed steps on how to operate it, but here is a list of common steps and tips you can follow:

    Step 1: First things first, always remember to wear a pair of rubber gloves and goggles while working with your car’s battery. They protect eyes and hands against acid.

    Step 2: Make sure that the ignition and all the lights of your car are turned off.

    Step 3:  Connect the terminals of the car’s battery with terminals of the battery tester, by joining the negative terminals of both to each other and do the same with positive terminals.

    Step 4: Next, check the voltage of your car if it falls above 12.6 Volts, then your battery is in great condition i.e., 100 percent.

    If it is around 12.4 then your battery is around 75% in good condition, if it is around 12.2 then it is 50% in good condition.

    However, if the voltage of your car’s battery is below 12.2 then you will have to get your car’s battery checked.

    Step 5: Once, you are done checking your battery state, remember to remove the negative terminal first. In case clams don’t pull off easily then you may have to use a battery terminal puller to remove them.

    Types of Car Battery Testers

    1. Digital Battery Testers: these are electronic devices designed specifically to test the remaining capacity of a battery’s overall charge.

    It works by applying a load on the battery’s current & then monitoring the voltage response of the battery. It enables the device to identify how much power is left in the battery.

    2. Traditional Load Tester: Unlike digital battery testers, traditional load battery testers require your battery to be fully charged.

    Or nearly fully charged in order to provide an accurate voltage percentage of your battery and its overall condition.

    9 Best Car Battery Testers

    1. INNOVA Battery and Charging System Monitor (3721)

    This is one of the popular and most rated products available on Amazon. It is an easy-to-use device that is designed to plug it straight into a cigarette lighter to monitor the battery & its voltage.

    INNOVA Battery & Charging System Monitor is equipped with an LCD display & a bar graph to indicate the charge level of the battery.

    IT is specifically designed for 12-volt negative ground systems and comes with color-coded LEDs, for convenience so that you can quickly identify your battery’s charge status.

    It is an affordable device popular among owners & users for its accuracy, little fuss working, and because of the fact it has a four-digit display, unlike others that comes with a three-digit display.

    Pros :

    • Easy-to-use,
    • Budget-friendly,
    • Four-digit meter display,
    • LCD Display with bar graph,
    • Different color-coded LEDs.

    Cons :

    • Might have some possible quality issues.

    2. TT TOPDON Car Battery Tester (AB101)

    This is one of the traditional battery tester wide test range that falls between 100-2000 CCA and you can choose either from a battery test or charging test or a cranking test.

    It is a versatile product which means it can be used for different types of batteries whether it’s acid, gel, AGM flat plate, or spiral ones.

    The product comes with a large easy-to-read digital display with an adjustable backlight & contrast for a better experience and view.

    Important feature to note is that the product comes with multiple language support which includes English, Russian, Spanish, German, Italian, and French.

    Testing can be done within seconds which proves the product’s efficiency and allows you to check your car’s battery condition.

    TT TOPDON Battery Tester is equipped with a number of features, it is easy-to-use, compact, and is ideal if you own an average car and don’t need any bells or whistles.

    Pros :

    • Versatile & compatible,
    • Fairly compact,
    • Efficient and easy-to-use,
    • Multi-language support,
    • Contrast adjustable display for better view.

    Cons :

    • Can be a bit difficult to use because of poorly written instructions.

    3. Cartman Car Battery and Alternator Tester

    One of the best yet affordable products offered by Cartman works in 2 ways i.e., a battery & alternator tester as its name suggests.

    This product is compact and quite easy to read as well as use, all you need to do is connect its clamps with battery terminals, and its LED display will blink & indicate the condition of a 12-volt battery.

    Simply, connect the red clamp of the tester to the positive terminal of the battery and the black clamp with the negative terminal of the battery, make sure your car is off.

    However, if you want to check the state of your car’s alternator then you will have to turn on your car before connecting the clamps with battery terminals.

    Depending on your car’s battery charge & state it will display as Low, Medium & High. Apart from the above-mentioned features, this product also lets you check your battery’s condition prior to charging.

    If the light is steady then it means the battery can be charged if it shows otherwise then it means that the battery’s voltage is low and could be dead.

    Pros :

    • Affordable,
    • LED Display,
    • Dual functioning (battery & alternator tester),
    • Easy to read & use,
    • Compact design.

    Cons :

    • Clamps may be small for some battery models.

    4. Clore Automotive Solar Digital Battery and System Tester

    Clore Automotive is a digital battery and system checker, even though it is one of the expensive products on the list but with the number of features that it offers, I will say it is worth it.

    It is a 12-volt battery & system tester with 40-1200 CCA testing capacity but, can be used for batteries with volt capacity ranging between 7V-15V.

    It is a versatile product and is compatible with different types of batteries including Conventional Flooded Acid, AGM Flat Plate, AGM Spiral Wound, and Gel Cell.

    This device is a quick & easy solution to check your battery and for system analysis, plus it can be used against a wide range of rating systems.

    Which includes CCA, DIN, JIS, EN, and IEC. IT is equipped with a LED Display that offers optimal viewing in all lighting conditions.

    The device is quite easy-to-use but some might say that the instructions guide is confusing so it might get a bit tensive to use.

    Pros :

    • Compact,
    • Efficient results,
    • Versatile & Compatible with multiple types of batteries,
    • LCD Display,
    • Wide range of volt.

    Cons :

    • Expensive, Poorly written instructions, Faulty Clips.

    5. Motopower Digital Battery Tester

    Motopower Digital Battery Tester controlled by a microprocessor and specially designed to allow its uses to have a quick reading about car’s battery status.

    It is equipped with reverse-hookup & over-voltage protection which makes it super easy & safe to use.

    The device has a four-character lighted display on its front which allows you to read your battery’s state with accuracy.

    It is equipped with colored LEDs which helps in indicating the status of your car’s battery as well as alternator and it is manufactured with black rubber painted body which accounts for its durability & easy handling.

    Motopower Digital Battery Tester uses 30-amp Alligator clamps which you will need to connect with battery terminals.

    Its testing range falls between 4-20 volts and is compatible with all types of 12-volt batteries.

    Despite all its amazing features, some of the users have complained about the cable not being long enough; so, you may or may not experience issues with connecting.

    Pros :

    • Affordable,
    • Easy to use & handle,
    • Four-character LED display,
    • Colored LEDs, Rubber painted body, Durable.

    Cons :

    • Short clamps cable.

    6. Ancel Automotive Load Battery Tester (BA101)

    So, this next product is specially designed to give you an easy, quick & accurate measure of your battery’s amp capability and its health as well.

    The product is packed with a number of features which include its wide compatibility with 12-volt batteries and it easy use compact design which also offers easy handling.

    Ancel Automotive Load Battery Tester meets major battery standards namely JIS, SAE, EN, DIN & IEC.

    Its conductance is proportional to your battery’s capacity and its every reading efficiently displays the battery’s CCA or AH value, its charge percentage, voltage, internal resistance, and battery health percentage as well.

    Distinctive feature of this product is that can be used to test even the discharged battery with its safe passive testing method.

    It powers up automatically when it is connected to posts on your car’s battery (once you are testing) so, no internal or extra batteries will be needed.

    And in case you want to show your battery result to someone, you can also print the results by connecting this device to any printer.

    Overall, this device is compact, nice, easy-to-use, and gives comprehensive data. However, some users have raised an issue about the screen being too small, which makes the reading of test results a bit difficult.

    Also, it is a bit expensive to buy and some users have complained that its display gets scratched easily.

    Pros :

    • Wide range compatibility,
    • Efficient,
    • Comprehensive,
    • Easy-to-use,
    • Compact,
    • Can be connected to a printer,
    • Doesn’t need internal batteries to charge.

    Cons :

    • Expensive,
    • Easily scratchable screen,
    • Small screen.

    7. Performance Tool Cigarette Lighter Car Battery and Alternator Tester (W2989)

    Next, we have a compact, easy-to-use cigarette lighter tester, which can be used for both, your car’s battery & its alternator as well.

    It is easy to handle all you got to do is plug the tester into the cigarette lighter of your car and its 6 LED indicators will show the status of the battery/ or alternator whichever you want to test.

    It is equipped with 6 LED indicators in total, out of which 3 are for battery state and they indicate whether the battery is dead.

    Or it needs to be recharged or it is already fully charged. The other 3 LEDs are used to show the alternator’s status as low, normal, or high.

    As we mentioned it is a compact device, which you can easily put inside your glove compartment or center console and use it whenever or wherever required. It doesn’t cost much i.e., quite affordable.

    However, some users have complained about cigarette lighter being small and have short-range compatibility.

    Pros :

    • Affordable,
    • Easy-to-use & handle,
    • Plugs into your car’s cigarette lighter,
    • Compact & can be stored conveniently.

    Cons :

    • Short compatibility.

    8. Foxwell Battery Tester (BT-705)

    This one is the most comprehensive tester that shows accurate results regarding your car’s battery health/status and is compatible with a wide range of batteries including regularly.

    Flooded, AGM Flat Plate, AGM Spiral, and Gel Batteries. It comes with multiple rating systems.

    This tester is compatible with batteries with 12-24 volt charging systems and it makes sure that out voltage of your car’s generator is normal & helps your rectifier diode works correctly and the charging current is normal.

    It also has a comprehensive cracking test feature which helps you to test the starter system, cranking voltage, and cranking time as well in milliseconds.

    With Foxwell Battery tester you can get results in 3-5 seconds and its premium quality copper clip helps to maintain a stable connection throughout the testing process.

    The cable is quite long i.e., 7.8 feet, which can be used from the inside the vehicle as well with all-metal spray gold clamps at the end of the cable.

    These all-metal clamps are more solid & durable compared to normal clamps. The tester comes with a large backlight LCD display.

    Which all the information regarding your battery’s health and supports multiple languages which include English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Dutch, and Italian.

    At last, it comes with protection against short circuits and spark.

    Pros :

    • Wide compatibility with batteries & rating systems,
    • Multi-language support,
    • Safety protection against spark & short circuit,
    • Long cable with metal clamps,
    • Works with 12v & 24v batteries,

    Cons :

    • Expensive,
    • The menu can be a bit confusing.

    9. Suner Power Car Battery Tester (AE300)

    Finally, we have Suner Power Car Battery Tester, specially designed to test & analyze your car’s battery system and show its health status accordingly.

    It is an affordable product to purchase and is highly compatible with 12Volt battery load system. You can use this device to test your battery’s life percentage, CCA, its voltage and resistance.

    It offers reverse polarity and over voltage protection safety feature, so you can continually test your car’s battery without worrying about any damage.

    Its operating range covers CCA (100-9999), SAE (100-2000), EN (100-2000), IEC (100-1300), and DIN (100-1500).

    The tester is compatible with number of batteries including Flood, AGM, Deep Cycle, and GEL and it is equipped with a large LED screen to show results, plus heavy duty, fully insulated clamps to connect with battery terminals.

    Though this tester is last on our list but it is filled with features worth trying. However, some users may have complained about the instruction manual as confusing & poorly written and terminals are of cheap quality.

    Pros :

    • Wide range compatibility,
    • Broad operating ranges,
    • Straightforward & large LED display,
    • Handy

    Cons :

    • Poorly written instruction guide,
    • Terminals may feel cheap.

    Conclusion

    So, this was all about car battery testers and as we have come to an end of this article, let us take a quick summary.

    Battery testers are devices specially designed to test the health status of your car’s battery such as if it charged enough or is it dead or does it need to be recharged.

    Battery testers save you from the situations where your car’s battery die in the middle of the road, by keeping you updated about your battery’s condition and that is why they are an important automobile accessory.

    It comes in variants depending on your car’s battery type, its voltage capacity, operating system and etc. So, you can look and choose the one that suits your car’ battery perfectly.