A Lidll cheaper is always nice

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Ultimate Speed’ Battery & Alternator Tester UAWSB 2 C2, from Lidl … with 3years warranty … on sale today [in Prestatyn, at least] for £1.19 each.

MichaelG.

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[mgnbukParticipant @mgnbuk]

They work quite well, Michael.

Mrs B’s BMW motorcycle had intermittent charging issues that took a while to track down & I had one of these hard wired in to the switched side of the ignition switch & strapped to a screen mount as a check on how the electrical system was performing. Apart for the Leds being a bit dim for easy visiblity in direct sunlight, it worked fine.

A check with a Fluke meter showed that the Led changeover voltage points were accurate enough for the designed purpose.

Are you sure the price is £1.19 & not £1.99 ?

Nigel B.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Yes, Nigel … that’s why I wrote it

A notional 70% discount from the previous ‘sticker-price’

… but hang the expense, let’s have photographic evidence:

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MichaelG.

[mgnbukParticipant @mgnbuk]

Thanks for the clarification Michael. Unusual in this day & age to find that prices have dropped – I am pretty certain I paid £1.99 each for mine several years ago.

Nigel B.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

So what does it measure? Just volts?

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

For this job, though slightly dearer are the small digital display volt meters at about £5 even wire in permanently – blue digits are nice ! Or plan B put it on a faglighter plug and plug in when needed ?

To get a good idea of a batterys  state, fully charge then put a discharge tester on and see how the voltage holds up ! 9v or 10v is good. If it drops rapidly it’s time to think about a new one. Noel

[mgnbukParticipant @mgnbuk]

So what does it measure? Just volts?

Yes – basically a bar graph type voltage display with the Leds colour coded (green = optimum, amber = marginal & red = iffy).

Just a little micro controller inside using an analogue – digital input & having the Leds connected as outputs.

Simple to use for someone without a multimeter (or maybe the knowledge to use one) – just clip the leads on the battery & watch the lights. With the engine running it shows if the battery voltage rises when the alternator is working, but indicates overvoltage as well as low voltage.

I fitted one to the bike after it had to be pushed aboard a ferry in Holland having boiled the battery dry due to a faulty volage regulator, just as a simple & inexpensive indication of what the bike voltage was. Came in useful later on when it was intermittently undercharging – eventually tracked down to a duff diode in the rectifier.

Nigel B.

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