Home >> News >> Battery Knowledge

Test Lithium Battery Multimeter Explanation

Sep. 22, 2022
Share

Test Lithium Battery Multimeter Explanation

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Lithium-ion batteries were originally designed in the 1970s and have since become the battery of choice for a variety of electronic devices, primarily cell phones and laptop computers. A life expectancy of about two to three years is a drawback of rechargeable lithium batteries, as lithium-ion batteries lose their carrying capacity over time.

In many cases, the battery is connected to a charging unit. It is usually located in the rear panel, for example, in a cell phone, and can be reached by sliding out the screen. You may need to remove a few screws to access the battery in other phones. You must check the user's system manual or test the battery being used.

This article contains detailed instructions on multimeter lithium batteries and the steps to test lithium batteries using a multimeter, which is very helpful for testing batteries containing lithium ions.


What is a test lithium battery multimeter?

To understand the lithium battery multimeter, first you should know what it multimeter is and what its applications are.


Multimeter

Multimeter is an electronic instrument or test equipment commonly used by every electronic technician and engineer. Multimeter is mainly used to measure three basic electrical characteristics: voltage, current and resistance. It can also be used to check the continuity of a circuit between two points.


Multimeter has many functions such as ammeter, voltmeter and ohmmeter. It is a handheld device that sits on an electronic digital LCD display with positive and negative indicator pins. The multimeter can also be used to test batteries, household plumbing, power supplies and electric motors.


Applications

Multimeter applications are mainly concerned with component testing in various electrical and electronic projects and are also used in various measurement applications, the main application of which is to test good or bad battery performance.


Lithium Battery Multimeter

A lithium battery multimeter is a device used to test a battery containing lithium by measuring its voltage or current to check if the battery is in good condition or has reached its end point.


Can multimeters be used for accurate battery testing?

Yes, multimeters can be used for accurate battery testing because one of the applications of multimeters is to test batteries.


As the name suggests, a multimeter means that it can perform multiple tasks, so if you are testing a battery, you can check its voltage or current while performing the tasks of a voltmeter and an ammeter.

In the market, there are multimeters that can approximate the battery test load. You can add these multimeters to your kit significantly and can check the performance of the device when it is slightly different from the actual situation to understand its performance, i.e. its voltage and current.


How do I test a lithium battery with a multimeter?

The basic idea is to test whether the battery can supply enough current to the load. For this purpose, let's assume that the load in our case is a TV remote control (RC). We will check the voltage and current of the nine volt battery.


How to use a multimeter to check the battery voltage

Set up a multimeter in the table with the battery to be measured. For this route, we will use a 9 volt lithium battery.


Step 1.

We will measure the battery voltage. To do this, use the dial switch to select the DC voltage calculation. When the battery produces DC power, we must measure the DC voltage.


Step 2.

We already know that the battery voltage is 9V peak, so we will point the dial to 20V, the higher range.


Step 3.

Connect the battery test sample - black with negative, red with positive - and monitor the display.


Step 4.

The monitor should read a short circuit value of 9V. Since the battery has been in use for some time, it shows 8.74V, which is still sufficient to power the load.


Step 5.

For the other (depleted) battery, the reading looks like this.

In most cases, this calculation of battery voltage is very important to know that it is working properly.

Nevertheless, let's also calculate the amperage (milliamp hours) to make sure it can supply enough current to the load.


How to check the battery current using a multimeter

Now, by using a multimeter, we will measure the current of the battery.


Step 1.

Using the dial, select the current DC function and leave it at 200mA, since we know the battery's amperage will be around 100mAh.


Step 2.

Link the test sample in the same way as the measured voltage and check the screen.


It should fluctuate around 98.3, which means an amperage of 100mA, enough to power the miniature PCB of the TV remote. Obviously, one of its best uses is to test batteries with a multimeter.

So if your TV or AC remote starts to get silly, you can quickly remove the multimeter and get an answer.


Conclusion

Therefore, it can be concluded that multimeters have many advantages and checking the batteries of devices containing lithium ions can also save you time, so it is best to buy a multimeter and keep it at home where you can sit and check it whenever your device behaves differently. In addition, when diagnosing battery performance, it is best to buy new batteries if their voltage rate is half of their original fraction. This is because, when they reach the midpoint, the battery will drain faster and will soon lose its life.

You can also use an analog multimeter to test your batteries. This meter gives you an accurate, direct reading of the scale instead of a digital display.

Testing batteries, whether they are car batteries or AA batteries, is very easy and quick. The key is to try to understand the different charging locations of the different batteries that may be located around (in your house or lab).

We hope this guide has been helpful in checking your multimeter batteries.