What is Battery Impedance Testing and Why is it Important?

As one of Meath’s most established car garages, the question we have been asked a lot lately is what a battery impedance test is and why it’s important.

With the rise of fully electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, the battery has quickly become one of the most important parts of a vehicle. Therefore battery testing and battery maintenance are more important than ever.

Still, some of the tests a hybrid vehicle requires aren’t as well known as the servicing that diesel or petrol-powered car engines require. Therefore terms like battery Impedance testing still sound a little foreign when we discuss car maintenance. However, we’d argue that these terms are easy to understand and their importance is almost self-evident once their meanings are revealed.

What is Battery Impedance Testing?

To put it in the broadest strokes possible, a battery impedance test is a method of predicting future battery failure. While a car battery for a hybrid or an electric car is long-lasting and robust these batteries will eventually fail and need to be replaced. An unexpected battery failure can be incredible inconvenient especially if you use your vehicle for work. Therefore using a test to predict when a car battery is going to fail can help avoid any unscheduled vehicle downtime.

An impedance test is conducted by passing a current through the battery to measure the battery's internal impedance. This data is converted to a draft which allows our experts to make a loose prediction on when the battery is likely to fail.

Why is a Battery Impedance Test Important?

This test is vital for many reasons. As mentioned, it helps predict when the battery in a vehicle is likely to fail. Allowing the vehicle owner to work around this future issue. Also replacing a battery in a vehicle is expensive. With a rough timeline in place as to when the battery is likely to fail a vehicle owner can prepare for the expense of replacing the battery or begin seeking a new vehicle.

Do you still have questions on Battery Impedance Testing? Not sure if your vehicle requires an impedance test? Call our Meath Garage today. Our friendly and expert mechanics will be happy to answer any questions you may have.