Photo courtesy of K. Brown/Midtronics Inc.
After examining the photo, what do you think? Is it time to replace this customer’s battery?
Battery testing basics Regular testing prevents problems for your customers and increases battery sales By Bob Weber Weber is president of Virginia-based Write Stuff. He is an award-winning freelance automotive and technical writer and photographer with over two decades of journalism experience. He is a National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE)-certifed Master Automobile Technician, and has worked on automobiles, trucks and small engines. Weber is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and numerous other automotive trade associations. He has worked as an automotive service technician, a shop manager and a regional manager for an automotive service franchise operation.
T
he cold snap that recently swept through most of the nation caught many folks unprepared as roads closed, pipes burst and batteries failed. Many technicians began their career because they marveled at things mechanical. We like to watch things going ‘round and ‘round, and up and down. We understand the mechanical stuff, but when it comes to electricity, some techs tend to stumble. Electrical system diagnosis seems to be the bane of many technicians. You can neither see electrons fowing through a wire nor the chemical’s ions moving in the battery. This is an area of auto service resulting in far too many
13 | January/February 2014
