The scope of application of finger elements is so limitless that it is simply impossible to list the electrical appliances in which they are used. Variation in prices can also mislead the buyer - it seems like identical copies differ in price, sometimes by 10 times. As a result, you buy batteries that have a service life that differs several times.

Sooner or later, a certain number of batteries accumulate at home, which are a pity to throw away (what if they are still alive?). At the same time, most electrical appliances no longer work on them.
The issue of recycling is especially relevant when several pieces (2, 4 or even 8) work in one device.

The elements are connected in series, so the discharge of one entails a power failure for the entire “system”.

How to check the battery charge to reject truly faulty cells?

It would seem that the instructions are simple:

1. Set the tester mode to the “DC voltage measurement” position;
2. Select the measurement limit of 20 volts;
3. Connect the contacts of the measuring wires to the element being tested;
4. Take readings.

A voltage of at least 1.35 volts is considered normal. These will work on any device. For undemanding consumers, 1.2 volts is sufficient. If the charge in volts is lower, it must be disposed of.

Important! A few recycling rules:

• Do not store discharged batteries near other objects, especially inside an electrical appliance. Sooner or later it will leak out and ruin everything nearby.
• Do not dispose of batteries in regular trash cans. These devices are harmful to nature, so dispose of them in specially designated areas.
• Do not try to destroy (flatten, pick apart) the battery case. Inside there is an alkali or acid that can burn the skin.

However, checking the batteries with a multimeter will not show the true picture.

You will see EMF value, that is, the potential difference without load. The tester doesn't count, it internal resistance so small that it does not affect the discharge current. It is necessary to load the element with a typical consumer. A regular flashlight bulb will do.

Important! Do not use LEDs for testing.

• Firstly, their resistance is too low for the load;
• Secondly, LED elements must be able to be connected, otherwise you will simply destroy them;
• Thirdly, the voltage at which the diode will glow is more than 2.5 volts. One battery is not enough.

IN modern world It is difficult to imagine the operation of many electrical appliances without the use of finger elements. It is almost impossible to list all such devices. The variety of prices for batteries can easily confuse the average buyer, because at first glance, identical copies have such different prices. In some cases, the price may differ tens of times. When buying a battery that costs 10 times more than a regular one, a person buys an element that also has a service life 10 times longer.

How to check a battery using a multimeter?

After some time, a certain number of batteries involuntarily accumulate in every house. It is even a pity to throw some of them away, since there is still hope that they still have charge, despite the fact that most electrical appliances can no longer work on them. A particularly pressing issue about the release of elements becomes when several pieces are required at once for the operation of a device.

All such elements are connected in series, so if one is discharged, the entire system will fail. How to measure the voltage in them? How check battery charge, in order to cull the discharged ones among them?

At first glance, one might assume that this instruction is quite simple:

1. On the multimeter, turn on the “DC voltage measurement” mode;
2. Set the measurement limit to 20 volts;
3. Connect the contacts of the test leads to the battery being tested;
4. Get a ready reading.

Normal battery voltage is 1.35 volts or more. Such elements are able to work properly in any electrical appliance. If the device is less demanding on voltage (remote control), then a charge of 1.2 volts will be sufficient. If the battery charge is less than 1.2 volts, then you can safely throw it away.

When measuring the battery charge with a multimeter, it is worth keeping in mind that it is not able to show the true picture. The device only shows the potential difference without load. Its internal resistance is so small that it is in no way capable of influencing the discharge, so the multimeter itself is not taken into account. The element must be loaded typical consumer. You can use a simple light bulb from a flashlight. But it is important to note that during testing it is completely unacceptable to use LEDs, since:

• Their resistance is very small for the load;
• LEDs must be connected correctly, otherwise they can simply be damaged;
• The LED voltage is more than 2.5 volts, which means that the charge of one battery is not enough.

Load element must provide current at 100-200 mA. Usually, given value is normal for most average power appliances. Such devices include: players, led lights and others.

How to properly check a battery using a tester?

First, you should use the test without any extraneous load. If the open circuit voltage is less than 1 volt, then it makes no sense to include an external load in the test.

In a similar way, you can check those battery cells that are definitely eligible for recycling. The remaining elements should be sorted, depending on the quantity residual charge.

Before asking the question of how check battery capacity, you need to understand that this is a value that is measured in ampere-hours.

The verification takes place using a calculation method. To do this, a load of 100 to 150 mA is applied and the time until the discharge is measured, which is below 1 volt. After this, it is necessary to multiply the load current by the discharge time. This calculation method yields the capacitance value. But readings about the capacity of the element that was tested are no longer needed, since the battery no longer has a charge. In this case, all that remains is to trust the value indicated on the case by the manufacturer.

Most consumers, of course, are interested in the remaining charge and the amount of load that can be given to an already once used battery.

To do this, connect the battery contacts with multimeter probe. In parallel with this, it is necessary to connect the load. After 40 seconds, you can get the result, which is the remaining voltage in the battery. If the multimeter shows a voltage below 1.1 volts, then the battery is not usable.

Rules for recycling batteries

Before disposing of the battery, you must read the following important rules:

• Do not store non-working batteries near other objects or in the body of the electrical device itself. After some time, the electrolyte leaks out of the battery and damages everything that is near it.
• Do not throw non-working batteries into the general trash bin. Batteries are harmful to nature, so special places or containers are provided for their disposal.
• Do not destroy the battery housing. Inside there is an alkali or acid that can burn human skin.

Today there are quite a lot of devices that use power sources such as batteries. Over time, the charge runs out, and accordingly, at some point the device stops working. Therefore, it will be useful to learn how to determine the state of charge of the batteries. This can also be useful for checking functionality new battery, or one that has been unemployed for a long time.

Contents

How to check battery charge with a multimeter

A multimeter (Tester) is a device that allows you to check the voltage in the network, where the electrical cable breaks, determine the resistance value in the network, as well as the performance of existing electrical appliances. But besides this, you can use it to check the capacity and charge of the power source.

Initially, you need to turn on the device itself and set the indicators to the corresponding parameter - “Constant current Amperes”. After this, you will need to configure the appropriate indicators for the ports:

• the port value for probe number 1 should be COM;
• for probe number 2 you need to set it to 10 ADC;
• the existing handle must certainly be in the DAC or DCA position;
• the limiting result for the verification carried out according to indicators must be at least 6A, but not higher than 10A.

But here it is worth considering that the setting for measuring current should be in Amperes, not Volts. Next, you will need to connect the probes of the tester you are using to the contacts, namely:

• the “+” terminal (with a red wire) is connected accordingly to the “+” on the galvanic element;
• The "-" terminal (with black wire) must be connected to the "-" terminal on the galvanic cell.

As a precaution, it should be said that the recommendation regarding the timing of the inspection should be followed. Maximum time for verification should be no more than 2 seconds. This is due to the fact that exceeding the specified time can damage the battery, regardless of whether it is new or used.

How to check battery capacity

The process for checking the capacity is similar to finding out the residual charge of this power source, but the indicator in Amperes should be at around 10 A. Next, you need to connect the red probe of the multimeter to the positive pole of the battery, and the black one to the minus pole, respectively. The procedure should take no more than 10 seconds, otherwise the designated power source may be completely discharged. Since such a process represents a closure, and this is fraught negative consequences for the power supply.

If the readings on the measuring device show 0.2 amperes, then the battery is not suitable for further use. When the value in amperes shows more than 1.1 (1.74 A), then such a battery can still be used, but in devices that do not require a lot of charge consumption. For example, for a TV remote control, a clock or a small radio.

How to find out battery voltage

You can also use a tester to check the battery voltage. It can show what charge is in the presented power source and find out whether it can be used in devices in the future. To do this, you need to connect the contacts of the battery with the probe of the multimeter itself, and you also need to make a connection with the load. This process should take approximately 40 seconds. After this time, the result will be visible, namely, if the measuring device shows 1.1 Volts, then the battery is no longer suitable, so it must be disposed of.

How to check a battery without instruments

It is worth noting that you can check the performance of the battery without any devices. Initially, I would like to say that this method will not show how much charge is left, but it will tell you whether it is in working condition or not.

Charged battery

To do this, you need to take the battery, lift it to a height of 5-10 centimeters and release it from your hands onto a flat surface, for example, on a table or stool. If it bounces off, then it has a very low charge and is not at all suitable for use. When it is working, the sound from the fall will be more dull, and it will also become vertical, unlike a discharged power source, which after falling will fall to a horizontal position.

Low battery

The indicated criteria are justified by the fact that there is an electrolyte inside the battery, it has a gel-like state, after complete discharge it hardens, so it bounces off the surface when dropped.

How to check a battery with a charge indicator

Regarding the concept of batteries with a charge indicator, they are mainly found in expensive Duracell. The presence of such an indicator makes it possible to check its suitability quite simply. The battery has a special strip with divisions of different colors. These cells (divisions) are filled with thermal paint, which changes color depending on the heating temperature. For example, the red cell is the most sensitive, but the green division is not so much, and accordingly requires a higher temperature.

As a result, when heating occurs, different areas on this indicator light up depending on the temperature achieved. That is, such indicators indicate the presence of charge in the battery. To check the charge, all you need to do is click on the white circles of the Powercheck indicator.

Checking the charge and voltage of the battery has a basis, namely. Studies have shown that mostly used batteries sent for scrap are still charged up to 40%. But since the device or tool does not work, out of ignorance people throw away such batteries. But they can still be used in devices with a less demanding charge indicator. Therefore, it is recommended to check batteries before disposing of them. By using such a battery with less energy consumption, you can save money.

In modern life, no one is surprised that you can use the Internet anywhere and everywhere, regardless of a person’s location. Portable mobile devices in the form of smartphones provide constant communication with the outside world. This happens thanks to numerous base stations and the presence of a small but quite capacious battery inside our gadgets. However, with intensive use, the phone battery sooner or later runs out, and the question arises of how to check the phone battery so that the battery failure does not take you by surprise.

Checking your phone battery yourself

Check the battery yourself using the most in a simple way. Do free call to some number belonging to the service mobile operator, or just call a friend and don’t disconnect for about ten minutes. Then pay attention to the number of bars indicating the quality and duration of the battery on the phone's display. Ideally, there should be no decrease in the number of divisions within ten minutes. If this happened, then, most likely, it is coming to an end.

Checking your phone battery using special apps

Systems of new and modern models tablets and smartphones may already be equipped with similar programs. For example, there is such a program on Android. In order to activate it, you need to enter a certain combination of characters: *#*#4636#*#*. After entering the menu, go to the “Battery Information” section, where you can find all the necessary data about the condition of the battery and its current performance.

There is a BatteryCare app that can be downloaded from the AppStore. It also checks the battery capacity of Androids and smartphones. In addition to it, there is also a good utility, Nova Battery Tester, designed specifically for tablets and smartphones, with the option of determining the actual battery capacity. During the development of this program, battery capacity indicators were tested in laboratory conditions for a long time.

If such a program is not installed on your mobile phone, or, for some reason, it is impossible to download it, .

Checking your phone battery using a multimeter

As you know, many manufacturers, indicating their capacity on the battery case, often exaggerate these indicators. To correctly and find out how to check the battery of a phone or any other gadget, you should use a mini-multimeter or just a tester. Compared to a traditional multimeter that measures the performance of ordinary AA batteries or other larger batteries, the tester looks like a small rectangular box with a USB cord. Such a device can be purchased in any online store, in particular on AliExpress.

At the front end of the tester there is a display that displays all the necessary information:

• voltage;
• current strength;
• smartphone battery capacity ;
• memory cell(switched by one button on the front side).

The USB cable associated with the multimeter should be connected to a power source (for example, Charger from a gadget or computer). The tester has two connectors - USB and micro-USB.

If you want to find out the capacity of a tablet or mobile phone with a micro-USB input, you need to connect the cable supplied with the tester to the USB connector on the tester, and connect the other end of the cable to the phone. You must first completely discharge the gadget.

We connect the tester to the charger, the cable to the tester and to the phone. We select a free memory cell on the tester display, or erase the old one and wait for the phone to be fully charged. At the end of the process, the charging indicator should be 100%, the current should be at zero, and the real indicator of the battery capacity will be visible.

After a simple test by the tester, the user can always be aware of the level of performance of the battery in his mobile phone. If the capacity is small and the battery discharges quickly, do not immediately run to the service center. Before contacting specialists, you can try to restore the battery capacity yourself using a simple method that is always at hand.

A simple method for restoring battery capacity: “boosting”

The phone battery must be checked regularly because it can lose its capacity level not only due to intensive use of the phone for communication in social networks. Do not forget that during storage the battery capacity also becomes smaller. This may apply to new, unused batteries when you initially purchased the phone, as well as those that may have been left unused for a long time.

In such situations, the so-called process of “boosting” the battery helps, thanks to which you can return its previous level of performance:

• Charge your mobile phone or tablet battery completely ;
• then discharge it completely ;
• repeat the same three times .

If after the “buildup” the working time of the battery has become longer, then there is no need to purchase a new one yet, but it is advisable to constantly monitor its performance. It never hurts to master a simple method of “boosting” after a preliminary analysis of the battery condition. Carrying out the simplest actions with the battery yourself is much better than running to the service center, where for every manipulation with the phone they can take money - and sometimes quite a lot.

Thus, any owner of a modern mobile phone can master a number of methods himself. In addition, most of the assistants technical devices you can actually buy them in online stores, they are affordable and easy to use. If the test shows a large loss of battery capacity, and it was also not possible to “boost” it, it is best to immediately replace the old battery with a new one.

What are the ways to check real capacity phone battery

When using a mobile phone, the battery gradually degrades with each charge-discharge cycle. This process is inevitable and, one might say, natural. Moreover, it does not depend on the phone model, its price and functionality. In modern mobile phones lithium-ion (Li-Ion) and lithium-polymer (Li-Pol) batteries are used. Lithium batteries lose up to 50% of their nominal capacity in 500 charge-discharge cycles. We can say that this is the norm. After 2-3 years of constant work, they exhaust their resources. I would like to know how much longer the battery will last and when to prepare to replace it. To do this, you need to be able to determine the battery capacity of your phone. This is what we will talk about today. But first, a little about the concept of capacity itself.

Battery capacity is the ability to store and return energy direct current. The unit of capacity is ampere-hours or watt-hours. Simply put, the capacity of a phone's battery shows how long the battery can provide power to it. For example, 750 mAh means that the battery can supply 1 mA of current for 750 hours.

The battery capacity is calculated as the product of the discharge time and the amount of direct current.

Many different chemical processes occur in a phone battery, resulting in degradation. For example, the volume and composition of the electrolyte, the condition of the electrode material, etc. change. As a result, the capacity decreases, and gradually we come to the conclusion that it is time to replace the battery.

How to know that the battery will soon exhaust its life. Now we will talk about some ways to determine the wear of the battery, and then about a way to measure the battery capacity.

How to check the status of your phone battery?

First you should conduct a visual inspection. If your phone's lithium battery has serious problems, it will be visible to the naked eye. Most often after prolonged use lithium batteries swell, noticeable traces of corrosion appear on the contacts, white and greenish marks appear.

You should also be wary of your phone battery draining too quickly. That is, if previously the battery lasted three days, but now it lasts for one day with the same intensity of use, this is a reason to take a closer look at the condition of the phone’s battery.

In addition, when the battery life is exhausted, its charge on the phone may drop sharply. For example, it shows 25%, and then suddenly after one short call it shows zero charge and turns off.
To prevent your phone from turning off at the wrong time, you need. You can read about it at the given link.

Applications for getting battery information

How can I get information about battery phone without taking it apart. For this there are special programs and OS commands. Let's look at them.

iOS

For owners iPhone smartphones We can recommend using the iBackupBot utility. Information from operating system It’s quite difficult to dig here and it’s better to use a ready-made application. In order to use iBackupBot, you need to install the utility on your computer, connect your iPhone to it and run the program.

Next, you need to select your device from those offered and click More information. The program will provide you with information about the number of completed charge-discharge cycles and the capacity value. If the value is significantly less than the nominal value (less than 50%), then the battery must be replaced. iBackupBot comes in PC and Mac versions.

Android

Digital request

To get information about the status of your phone’s battery directly from the Android OS, you need to send a request *#*#4636#*#* and click “Battery information”. After this, information about the battery will be displayed on the display. Below is an example for Samsung Galaxy Nexus.