Testing battery chargers

[Kscardsfan]

Does anyone have a good way to test the rolling battery charger/jump starters used in garages and shops? We have 3 or 4 around our shop at work and it's a total gamble which ones work and don't and I want to just test them and trash what isn't working anymore but I don't know how to test them accurately. Anyone hints or tricks are greatly appreciated.

 

[toolenthusiast]

There’s an extensive BITOG thread but, I mean, can’t you tell by whether the batteries get charged? Or just ditch the boomer-style wheelie chargers and get something modern? Maybe try the Solar ProLogix PL2310 if you want something with a digital readout that will tell you when the battery is toast.

 

[manac]

Just throw a voltage meter on it. Just like a car, don’t want more than 15V and less than 13.5V or so.

 

[5ubtle]

Just throw a voltage meter on it...

And an Amp clamp meter.

 

[RTM]

Don’t you need a load to see if the system is good? Not just a meter?

 

[Shiftless]

Don’t you need a load to see if the system is good? Not just a meter?

Absolutely!

 

[whateg01]

How concerned are you with how well it works? If you hook it up at the desired amps and the voltage drops below 12.6v it's no good at that amperage. If you just want to see if it will charge a battery, hook it up and see if the voltage stays up near the unloaded voltage.

 

[manac]

Sorry, should have said “throw a meter on it while charging a known good battery”.

 

[Kscardsfan]

Well, all the ones I am looking at in our shop charge batteries fine, but they all have the jump start feature and that's what is a **** shoot whether or not it works on them, and I have no idea how to test one of those.

There’s an extensive BITOG thread but, I mean, can’t you tell by whether the batteries get charged? Or just ditch the boomer-style wheelie chargers and get something modern? Maybe try the Solar ProLogix PL2310 if you want something with a digital readout that will tell you when the battery is toast.

If money were no object, I'd love to modernize everything in our shop. But I work for the state and purchasing is tough during good times, we're feeling a budget crunch like everyone else, and jumper cables are pretty cheap in the eyes of a purchasing agent vs a set it and forget it charger/jumper. We do the best we can with what we've got.

 

[whateg01]

What happens when you try to use the jump start setting, other than the vehicle doesn't start? On the ones I've had over the years, the various setting, from trickle charge to jump start each bump the voltage up a bit. That voltage difference between the battery and the charger is what drives the amps. On old school chargers, it's just a big transformer with different taps inside. What does the voltage do when you go through the different settings? I wonder if the school of engg has the tools to test them.

 

[5ubtle]

... but they all have the jump start feature and that's what is a **** shoot whether or not it works on them, and I have no idea how to test one of those.
...

I think that your battery charger/jumpers will have a claimed Amps in "start mode". To test you just need to see if it will supply the claimed amps during an attempted engine start. Just because the starter/jumper doesn't start the engine doesn't mean that it's broken. Maybe you are asking more from it than it is designed for.

 

[RTM]

Usually in jump mode I let it sit for a minute or two before I try it. Bigger vehicles, or really dead battery will need to sit longer, but my little Craftsman 608.718351 has never failed to turn a vehicle over. OEM List says made by Associated Equipment

 

[chris142]

Will they charge a run down battery? If not toss them

 

[engineer2]

The most common failure is usually one or more of the rectifiers. To test it, you'd have to connect it to a battery and put a scope on it or use an alternator tester that can pinpoint a bad diode. A bad diode will usually show a large AC spike. Other common failures are cable connections, timers, selector switches.

 

[Sumboodie]

There’s an extensive BITOG thread but, I mean, can’t you tell by whether the batteries get charged? Or just ditch the boomer-style wheelie chargers and get something modern? Maybe try the Solar ProLogix PL2310 if you want something with a digital readout that will tell you when the battery is toast.

Boomer style?
What little charge is doing 400amp 12/24v?

 

[blazemaster83]

We had a large one at work they were going to toss. I took it home and the only thing wrong with it was the voltmeter. I found the original for like 18$ new, and also installed a shunt and ammeter into the unit. It seems to work pretty good, those old units are hard to kill.

 

[toolenthusiast]

What little charge is doing 400amp 12/24v?

a jumpbox

 

[Sumboodie]

$$$$ though.

a jumpbox

 

[toolenthusiast]

$$$$ though.

The venerable jnc660 is cheaper than a wheelie charger and it doesn’t require an extension cord

 

[Sumboodie]

The venerable jnc660 is cheaper than a wheelie charger and it doesn’t require an extension cord

Yeah, I wonder which works better?

I have the Schucks model that's supposed to be comparable and it started my CAT 977 with 2 4D batteries that were drained to where it'd barely crank.

 

[pelletman]

I second JNC 660, I have at least two or three of the roll around chargers and I never use them to jump anything ever

 

[Zewnten]

Couple dead batteries and a UNI-T amp clamp will tell you if the jump start is working.