Bought a 'universal' laptop battery tester for $80 and it's basically a paperweight

I saw it online and thought it would save me time diagnosing all the different battery models we get in the shop. It promised to test voltage and health for any connector. Turns out the adapters are flimsy junk that don't make a solid connection half the time, and the readings are all over the place. I've gone back to my old multimeter and checking each pin manually, which is slower but actually works. Anyone have a battery tester they actually trust, or is this just a fool's errand?

3 comments

3 Comments

susan_adams24d ago

That universal tester sounds like a classic case of over-promising. Honestly, for eighty bucks you just need it to give you a stable reading, not be a science project. Maybe the whole category is just a bit of a scam.

park.miles24d agoTop Commenter

I mean, I just gave up and stuck with my multimeter too.

aaron74024d ago

So you think the whole category is a scam? I get that, but my old B&K tester has been solid for years. It's not universal, but the pin adapters are metal and actually lock in. The problem is all the cheap clones now, like the one you got. They use plastic adapters that wiggle, just like @park.miles probably found. You pay for a tool but end up fighting the connectors more than testing the battery.