How To Test a Battery

A battery is a voltage-storage device. Being that it holds voltage across its terminal and that's its only use, the only test we must do to check a battery is a voltage test.

And we perform a voltage test by using a voltmeter of a multimeter.

We set the dial of the multimeter to the DC Voltage meter. This will have the following symbol, .

Testing the Battery with a Voltmeter

To set up for the voltage check, we take the multimeter and place the probes of it across the leads of the battery. The orientation does, so connect the positive probe to the positive side of the battery and the negative probe to the negative side of the battery. If not, you will read the value but with a negative sign in front of it.

If the battery is new and still alive and full of life, the multimeter should read a voltage near the voltage rating of the battery. For example, if the battery is a 9-volt battery, such as what is shown above, it should read near 9V. that the ohmmeter reads should be close to the rated resistance of the resistor. Depending on the type of battery, it can be a little higher or lower, but regardless, it should be near the rated voltage.

If the voltmeter is reading much lower than this, then the battery has lost much of its life. Therefore, it should be replaced with a new battery.

A voltage test is the only test that is needed to determine whether a battery is good. If you want to examine more advanced features of a battery, then additional tests may be necessary, but for all basic purposes, this test is sufficient for checking batteries.

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