new d3100 only shows 11.95?

[Lil Poot 5,000+ posts]

i bought a used powermaster d3100 from a forum member here, he says it was lightly used for 2 or 3 months. shouldnt it be showing low to mid 12s at least? my multimeter says 11.95... could it just be that it sat for a while and needs a charge?

what sort of charger do i need to use for an agm battery? i dont want to strain my charging system or other batteries hooking it up as is. is there any place that could do this service for me so i dont have to buy some expensive *** charger?

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[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

Should be higher.... my 2 year old kinetik that I just sold:

My Batcaps also sit 13-13.2 volts.

 

[bones22 5,000+ posts]

you should be seeing high 12's

mine 2000's were between 12.8-12.9 after sitting for 6+ months

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

i think autozone or cheker can charge it. they should know how to charge it. if they mess it up, you might get a new one.

 

[dbeez 5,000+ posts]

I must say i feel something is wrong with it take it and have it tested asap

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

If you don't have a charger you can always sit it on the ground and jump it to your car lol

 

[NewAgeKing 5,000+ posts]

I bought a 6+ month old deka that was resting at 12.8 when i got it.

 

[Scoobydoo 5,000+ posts]

i have two batteries here that have sat in the garage for 6 months in sub freezing temps and still read 12.5 on a DMM, but once you introduce a load they drop to 7, which is not enough to start a car

what a battery reads on a standard DMM means nothing. never buy a battery thinking a picture of it showing 12+ volts on a standard DMM good battery, only buy it if the seller proves it does 12+ on load

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

i have two batteries here that have sat in the garage for 6 months in sub freezing temps and still read 12.5 on a DMM, but once you introduce a load they drop to 7, which is not enough to start a car
what a battery reads on a standard DMM means nothing. never buy a battery thinking a picture of it showing 12+ volts on a standard DMM good battery, only buy it if the seller proves it does 12+ on load

The truth. My buddy shorted out some cells on a Kinetik 2400 and the battery caught on fire. However, the battery still sits @ 13V.

 

[x2o 10+ year member]

The truth. My buddy shorted out some cells on a Kinetik 2400 and the battery caught on fire. However, the battery still sits @ 13V.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

I had never considered that... That is a good point though, with no load the resting battery voltage may not mean much. Great info guys! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

I love when I actually learn from a CA thread //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[MmatsDude 10+ year member]

You could damage those powermasters giving them the wrong charge rate. I bought my new d3100 sitting @ 12.4 volts, but in the caution instructions said that you should charge the battery before installing it or charge it if it was sitting without used for a long time. I bought my power master intelli charger to charge it and it now sits @ 13.7 volts.

 

[Rashaddd 5,000+ posts]

have it load tested, or try at home just run a solid load off it and see if voltage plummits or stays decently stable

(charge it first)

 

[Fiercetimbo17 10+ year member]

Could also be your meter being off if its a crappy meter

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

OP should simply take the battery to Autozone and have them charge and load test it. It will take about an hour or so to charge and then a short time to load test it. You should know after that if it is dead or not. The resting voltage of a battery is a good indication of whether it is good or not, but it is not everything. The load test is the holy grail. I would never think of buying an AGM battery that rests below 12.5v. That is just because I know the person who owned it did not take enough care to keep it charged. Even if it was in storage, they should have a maintainer on it. But just because it is above 12.5v does not mean it is for sure a good battery.

 

[Skip01 5,000+ posts]

Bring it too Autozone they'll load test it. As said, one of my nsb125 rested at 12.9, but it was bad and causing my voltage to drop badly.

But my other D3100s rest at 12.8 , I don't charge em that much

Just buy a 2/10 amp charger from autozone, its all I use for mine

You can train them to rest higher if you want too