Electrical wizard, I'm not, so bear with me when I ask:

Don asked if there is a way to tell what shape a battery is in, beyond the
voltage.  IIRC, I was told that a battery could very well have 13 volts, but
minimal Cold Cranking Amps.  Matter of fact, I've owned such a battery.  I
looked at voltage drop when load was applied (starter motor, in my case).

Is there a tool (or test method) that would accurately replicate this
seemingly inaccurate test?

Hope this made sense,

Karl Wolz

|-----Original Message-----
|From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
|Tom Buese
|Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 3:50 PM
|To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
|Subject: Re: How do you tell how much juice a battery has/?
|
|Nice!
|
|Do you need 2?  1 for the aux. & 1 for the starting battery?
|
|YMMV,
|
|Mr. BZ
|
|
|On Jan 26, 2010, at 3:42 PM, Harold Teer wrote:
|
|> Don,
|>
|> I am using the Volt~Minder in my Westy to monitor my auxiliary
|> battery and
|> have been pleased with its performance.
|>
|> Volt~Minder site:  "http://www.voltminder.com/"
|>
|> Pics of my installation:  "http://picasaweb.google.com/teerhb/VoltMinder#
|> "
|>
|> Let me know if you have questions,
|>
|> Harold
|> ___
|> Harold Teer
|> 1991 Westy (Vangaux)
|> Harrisonburg, VA
|>
|>
|>
|>
|> On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 2:49 PM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com>
|> wrote:
|>
|>> Is there a way to tell about the auxilliary battery condition in a
|>> VW (or
|>> any rig, for that matter)?  I've been working with all kinds of
|>> batteries
|>> over the years and I always have been puzzled about how to find out
|>> what I
|>> might expect from the battery.  I have a digital multimeter and I get
|>> voltage readings but I'm told that is no real indicator of how good
|>> the
|>> battery is charged or is capabale of being charged...
|>> Is there an instrument that I could wire into my systems (I have a
|>> few
|>> different vehicles with multiple battery systems) where I might get
|>> an
|>> actual meaningful readout that would tell me..."Hey, don't expect
|>> much more
|>> from this battery till you charge it more" or "this battery is
|>> shot" or
|>> "all
|>> your batteries are in fine shape with 100% charge"?
|>> I have seen battery condition indicator gauges in yachts..I've seen
|>> voltage indicators on some rigs.  My travel trailer has an LED
|>> readout and
|>> for that matter, so does my semi-westie van...but those things seem
|>> pretty
|>> much a joke...
|>>  What should I wire into my systems to give me a better handle on
|>> how much
|>> juice I have in the batteries?  Is there anything that works..or do
|>> I just
|>> have to keep guesstimating as I have been doing all these years?
|>> Thanks, Don Hanson
|>>