ELECTRICAL LOAD FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER AND ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER INCLUDING SUCH ELECTRICAL LOAD

摘要

An apparatus (10) for testing a storage battery (12) in an automotive vehicle (300) includes a controllable electrical load (70) configured to electrically couple to the storage battery (12) of the vehicle (300). A current sensor is configured (304) to electrically connect to a terminal (22) of the battery (12) and measure flow of current through the battery (12). A controller (56) is arranged to apply an electrical load (RE) to the battery (12) using the controllable load (70) and adjust the electrical load (RE) while monitoring the electrical current sensed by the current sensor (70) to determine a charge current applied to the battery (12) by an alternator of the vehicle (300) and further configured to perform a test on the battery (12). A method for testing a storage battery (12) in an automotive vehicle (300) includes connecting a controllable electrical load (70) to the storage battery (12), connecting a current sensor (304) to a connection to a terminal (22) of the battery (12), applying an electrical load (RE) to the battery (12) using the controllable electrical load (70), adjusting the electrical load (RE) while monitoring an output from the current sensor (304) to determine a charge current applied to the battery (12) by an alternator of the vehicle (304), and performing a test on the battery (12).