There’s no need to explain the criticality of routine car battery testing, but the point of owning a car battery tester deserves some attention. It eliminates the need to pay someone else to do what you can do yourself. Car battery testers vary considerably in terms of features, cost, applicability, and vehicle type. Here are some reliable ones we recommend to make sure your car battery is good to go!
What to Look for in a Car Battery Tester
When shopping for a car battery tester, consider the following:
- Battery Specs: To get the right battery for you, it’s necessary to know what kind of battery you have. If you don’t know, look it up in your owner’s manual, or call your regular servicer.
- Function: While many battery tester brand names offer similar functions, there are differences, and the differences matter. Some battery testers work only with 12-volt batteries; others can service 24-volt batteries. There are wireless testers and simple battery capacity indicators for smaller vehicles.
- Cost: If you purchase the right battery tester for your vehicle, you successfully circumvent having to pay for service. But battery testers do cost money, and some are much less expensive than others.
Most Versatile: TOPDON BT100 Car Battery Tester
This 12-volt battery tester by TOPDONT simplifies the must-do task of checking the health of your mower, truck, car battery, or yacht battery. The tool gives you an overall reading of your battery’s health. It’s easy to use, quick, and easy to read. The three LED indicators ensure you don’t misread your battery’s status.
Best Budget: CARTMAN 12V Car Battery Tester
Sometimes simple is best. The Cartman 12-volt car battery tester is just that—simple and affordable. Without a bunch of gadgetry to confuse things, you can test the alternator and battery. The hand-held device lights up green when charging is complete.
Best Wireless: TOPDON BT Mobile Lite Car Battery Tester 12V
Clamp the TOPDON BT Mobile Lite 12-volt battery tester in place, open the app on your phone, and follow the prompts. That’s all it takes to run a cranking, charging, and battery test. The tester is compatible with iOS 8.0 or later, Android 4.3 or later, and Bluetooth.
Best Premium: FOXWELL BT705 Car Battery Tester
This is one heavy-duty battery tester. The FOXWELL BT705 works for 12V regular flooded, AGM flat plate and spiral, as well as gel batteries. It reads battery health, car cranking voltage and time, and charging status. FOXWELL designed the easy-to-read tester to report passenger cars and heavy-duty truck battery health in only three seconds.
Battery Indicator: DROK Battery Tester
DROK made battery capacity testing easy breezy. The tester is applicable for lithium, lead-acid, and iron phosphate batteries. It features a large and simple-to-read LCD display. It’s great for small vehicles, golf carts, medical devices, and more.
