Thanks Paul.  That's what we were looking for.

Karl

|-----Original Message-----
|From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
|Paul Guzyk
|Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 9:45 PM
|To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
|Subject: Re: How do you tell how much juice a battery has/?
|
|This is an adequate HF load testing unit for testing strength of "starter"
|batteries.
|
|http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90636
|
|Also useful for spot checking your camping battery.
|I got mine on sale for between $15-$20 if I remember correctly.
|
|Testing your start battery with a voltmeter at rest without a load doesn't
|tell you too much...a "dead" battery could still read close to 12V.
|
|You should at least measure voltage when cranking or headlights and blowers
|on etc ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
|From:         Alan Felder <dieseldoofus@GMAIL.COM>
|Reply-To:     Alan Felder <dieseldoofus@GMAIL.COM>
|Date:          Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:53:15 -0600
|
|>Here is a device that will test your battery:
|>
|>*http://tinyurl.com/352k4l*
|>**
|>It's not portable, but you should use a load around half your battery's
|CCA
|>rating, and since I have a diesel and 800 AmpsI needed this larger one.
|You
|>may get by with a smaller one which HF also has a variety of.  It puts
|your
|>battery under a known load (inside the box) and following directions, will
|>let you know what shape your battery is in, in static mode that is.
|>
|>Alan Felder
|>
|>
|>On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 1:49 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
|>>
|>
|>
|>
|>--
|>Alan Felder
|>Austin TX
|>82 Diesel Westy
|>