Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 65
 Extremely Useful Diagnostic Tool March 6, 2010
Honest Opinion (Boston, MA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was skeptical that something this inexpensive could be so useful. But once you plug this tester into your cigarette lighter, you'll see this this little device is a lot more intelligent than you might think.
With the car not running, the tester shows your battery voltage and status. A little battery icon tells you that the tester knows the car is not running, and that the LCD is displaying Battery Status. You can see the exact voltage on the LCD screen. Novices can simply look at the red, yellow, or green LEDs to quickly determine the health of your battery. To put your mind at ease, a little bar graph shows you the relative battery voltage.
Once you start the car, the little battery icon goes out and you see a little charging circle icon displayed - this tells you the device knows the car is running and that it is now displaying Charging Status. After you let the engine warm up, hold the engine at about 2500 RPM. The neat little LCD display now shows you the alternator's charging voltage. A green LED will satisfy you that the charging system is healthy, a yellow will caution you that your charging system might need some maintenance, and finally the red LED alerts you that your battery is being either under- or over-charged. The LCD display and graph indicates the exact nature of any problems.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT to note that your cigarette lighter socket must be COMPLETELY CLEAN for this tester to be happy and useful. Clean out the socket good with a plastic (NON-METALLIC!) brush, then blow any debris with a quick blast from a can of compressed air (blowing from your mouth is NOT enough). Proper operation of this tester will display the LCD voltage being stable, or moving either consistently up OR consistently down. If the voltage fluctuates erratically, or if the devices turns itself on and off, clean the cigarette lighter socket, then re-seat the tester firmly in the socket. If the device still behaves erratically, that's a sign that your battery terminals may be loose.
Most garages will charge you $20 a pop for what this wonderful tester does for a few bucks in three minutes. Someone with advanced knowledge of cars can have way too much fun with this tester.
Acqurate Info November 2, 2008
W. Chapin (Maine)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Allows me to check battery condition and charge rate in my boat. Good piece of mind as I really don't want to try to start my motor with the rope pull!
outstanding voltmeter November 4, 2008
Michelle M. Ress (Felton, CA., USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought two of these to monitor the battery system in my motorhome and another to monitor the batteries in my house that I run my computers off of. I can tell at a glance the state of my batteries.
Wish I had bought this a long time ago as it would have prevented both overcharging and undercharging by giving me an active monitor of the battery voltage.
Highly recommend.
Terrific August 26, 2009
CMA (Central NJ)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Terrific little instrument. Worked great straight out of the box & proved to my installer that the battery system in my Van RV that was faulty. He hadn't installed any meters for the battery.
Works well. May 4, 2010
K. Strong (Chicago)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I use this every time we go shopping and I stay in the car with the kids as the wife goes into a store for who knows how long.
With this, I can keep the car off while the DVD player plays a movie and not worry about draining the battery too low to not start (which was a BIG problem before I purchased this). I generally let it get to about 11.8 volts before I decide to either start the car or declare it movie free time.
Showing reviews 11-15 of 65
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