Review on 🔋 Innova 3721 Battery and Charging System Monitoring Device by Garon Tafolla

I bought this battery voltage meter in 2013 when I was having trouble with my car battery. Now I have another car that I bought a few years ago and last year the dealer replaced the battery under warranty but this winter I had battery problems again so I dusted off the meter and hooked it up to trying to get a better picture of what's going on with this battery. First let me say that all that matters is the voltage reading and the green, yellow and red LEDs on it are useless and meaningless. Now let me say that the bar graph to the right of the voltage value and the symbols above it are also useless and meaningless. Once you understand the voltage readings that are displayed you will find that this is a very useful tool and if you wish to read on I will try to explain the voltage readings that you are getting. If you don't want me to bore you with the details, all you have to do is plug it in and get 12-13V when the car is not running and get 13.5V or more when the car is running. Checking Battery Health: A lead-acid car battery is typically 12V, but a healthy, fully charged 12V battery with no load connected will give a reading of 13V or slightly more. A car battery should not go below 12V under normal load (engine not cranking but ignition key on and car not running). B, the battery will need charging soon. Most cars will not "happily" start if the battery voltage is below 12 volts before starting. On this basis, if you want to see how the condition of your battery is, you should get into the car after the car has been stationary for more than 12 hours, switch on the ignition (without starting the car) and take a measurement. . The reading should not be less than 12V, and the higher it is, the better the battery is performing. Don't expect to see a 13V "fully charged, no load" reading because unless you have antiques, your car is using battery power for many things even when the ignition is off, including waiting to press buttons on your car. Key fob or turn on the light when approaching a car door with keyless entry. The truth is that the best indicator of your battery's health is how quickly the battery is draining under load, but you won't know how "charged" your battery is while taking voltage readings, so it's difficult to tell to explain in a review . .Check the status of your charging system (alternator): When your vehicle is running, the alternator is charging the battery. To do this, it must provide a higher voltage level than the battery itself so that it can be charged. A typical alternator will provide 14V to 15V while the vehicle is moving, but alternators are not like generators and must constantly regulate the output voltage with a circuit called a regulator because engine speed is seldom constant. Because of this, when measuring the voltage while driving, you may find that the voltage fluctuates up and down and appears unstable. However, you shouldn't be seeing spikes up and down by more than a few tenths of a volt all the time. So to check if your car's charging system is working well, connect this gauge and start your car. You should be getting readings near or just above 14 volts, but typically readings between 13.5 volts and 15.0 volts are good with the car running, which means your car is charging the battery. However, modern charging systems can control the amount of current the battery draws and stop charging the battery when it is fully charged. In this case, you will see readings of less than 13 volts while driving, but this is short-lived because the battery will not be fully charged for a long time and the voltage will have to jump again to start charging again. It's a useful tool and I don't like having it plugged in all the time, but if you're in doubt about the health of your battery, plug it in and get some readings. Don't let LED lights make you dizzy because they mean nothing. In order to get meaningful LED and bar graph readings, this device needs to be calibrated for your specific vehicle. You can get the same readings with a DMM, or even with this inexpensive voltmeter (digital display voltmeter with DC 4.0-30V green LED panel), but it's worth every penny to have a voltmeter in the package that attaches to your Machine is connected and rotates. As for my battery, I got readings of 11.6v every morning and if I leave the car alone for more than 24 hours it drops below 11v. So I replaced it myself and didn't trust the dealer batteries for the Northeast temperatures I have Bought a battery designed for colder climates.