Battery Internal Resistance Tester - Need help to operate

[terryt]

For reasons best known to myself I decided that when testing my dry cell batteries for voltage I wanted to know their internal resistance.
I scoured ebay and came across an ad for a “Battery Internal Resistance Tester with ESR Measurement Function” and bought it.  It is a Q-BAIHE XDL-HR530.  eBay item is 202879720342, eBay seller is goldy0903.  Was unable to include the link.

I received the item but my problem is getting the tester to work.

The 3 parts I received from the seller are shown in Pic 1.  No user instructions were included. 
 
I presumed that the male & female pins (#4) in Pic 2 are supposed to fit together.
 
And, going off a photo in the seller’s eBay ad, the alligator clips should be connected as shown in Pic 3:
 
Interface description & related operations (Copied from the seller’s eBay ad):
P1 wiring definition:
No. Symbol Meaning
1 VDD power supply positive (7V~ 2V)
2 GND module power negative
P2 wiring definition:
No. Symbol Meaning
1 TP + connected to measuring element (battery connected to positive electrode)
2 TP - connected to measuring element (battery connected to negative electrode)
________________________

So, none the wiser - and not willing to randomly play with the unit in the hope of stumbling onto the solution before I damaged it - I wrote to the seller with a photo from his eBay ad (Pic 4), and asked: Hi, I have received the item and (because of my limited knowledge) I wanted to confirm that the top red/black wires in the attached photograph are connected to a separate power source 7~12 VDC?  Thank you.

The seller eventually replied, saying: Sorry, the red and black wires are only for measurement.

So, now even less the wiser I have posted here in the hope that someone can explain how this thing works.  At my age I have no problem admitting that I am as dumb as shite when it comes to electronics so please explain very slowly to me how I can get this tester to work.   Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[timenutgoblin]

According to the item description on the eBay listing:

P1 wiring definition:
No.Symbol Meaning
1 VDD power supply positive (7V ~ 12V)
2 GND Module power negative

P2 wiring definition:
No.Symbol Meaning
1 TP + connected to measuring element (battery connected to positive electrode)
2 TP- connected to measuring element (battery connected to negative electrode)

P1 is at the top of the main module and P2 is at the bottom of the main module.

BTW, are you viewing your computer monitor in landscape or portrait mode? I had to view in landscape to get wide view.

P1 looks like the module power connection and P2 looks like the test point connection.

[timenutgoblin]

My suggestion is to disconnect the alligator leads/clips from the P2 connector and connect them to the P1 connector instead. The Red lead/clip should go to VDD and Black lead/clip should go to GND.

You can use a 9V battery to power the ESR checker since it requires 7V to 12V to operate. If you have a 9V battery, check the polarity of the terminals of the 9V battery (positive to Red/VDD and negative to Black/GND). Connect the 9V battery to the leads/clips to power the ESR checker. You may need to press one of the buttons/switches on the main module.

You may need two sets of alligator leads - one set for powering the ESR checker and another set for testing/measuring batteries.

[terryt]

@timenutgoblin.  Thank you for your quick reply, appreciated.  I must admit to not being as attentive as I should have been when I connected the display to the main module because I did not realise that the display obscured the (P1) GND/VDD and (P2) TP-/TP+ markings on the board...so I made things harder for myself in understanding the eBay seller's interface directions. 

After reading your posts I removed the display and used a magnifier (79-y-o eyes) on the main module in good lighting and I easily found the markings.

So, if I have understood you, you suggest I use two sets of red/black alligator leads and...

1. Connect one set of alligator leads to P1 (red to VDD and black to GND) and connect the alligator clips to a 9V battery (+ve batt terminal to red/VDD and -ve batt terminal to black/GND).

2. Connect another set of alligator leads to P2 (red to TP+ and black to TP-) and, if testing a dry cell battery, connect the red alligator clip to batt +ve and the black clip to batt -ve terminal. Yes?

You said: You may need to press one of the buttons/switches on the main module.  That set me looking and after pressing a few bits on the board I found two switches FUN and Mes/Cal, see Pic 5 below, #3 & #4.

Searching other eBay sellers listings I found a mention:  ...the key description FUN: Set the ESR value of the measurement capacitor or the internal resistance and voltage of the battery.  Mes/Cal: Calibration (short-circuit measurement line calibration) . 

So, if I am testing a dry cell battery I should press the FUN switch to get a resistance and voltage measurement?
   
My dual monitors are set to Landscape display orientation.  Display resolution is 2560 x 1440 (Recommended).  Text & apps etc set to 150%.

Again, thank you for your assistance.

[timenutgoblin]

So, if I have understood you, you suggest I use two sets of red/black alligator leads and...

1. Connect one set of alligator leads to P1 (red to VDD and black to GND) and connect the alligator clips to a 9V battery (+ve batt terminal to red/VDD and -ve batt terminal to black/GND).

2. Connect another set of alligator leads to P2 (red to TP+ and black to TP-) and, if testing a dry cell battery, connect the red alligator clip to batt +ve and the black clip to batt -ve terminal. Yes?

Yes, I think that will work for you.

You said: You may need to press one of the buttons/switches on the main module.  That set me looking and after pressing a few bits on the board I found two switches FUN and Mes/Cal, see Pic 5 below, #3 & #4.

Searching other eBay sellers listings I found a mention:  ...the key description FUN: Set the ESR value of the measurement capacitor or the internal resistance and voltage of the battery.  Mes/Cal: Calibration (short-circuit measurement line calibration) . 

So, if I am testing a dry cell battery I should press the FUN switch to get a resistance and voltage measurement?

Yes, that seems logical. Before performing a resistance (ESR) measurement, you may need to calibrate the ESR checker by performing a short-circuit calibration which should nullify the resistance of the test leads/clips. This usually involves clipping the alligator clips to each other and then calibrating the ESR checker.

[terryt]

@timenutgoblin.  Thank you for that confirmation.  When time permits I will make up a set of alligator clips and connect everything up and play...and will post my results.

You said:  ...This usually involves clipping the alligator clips to each other and then calibrating the ESR checker.  I've never calibrated a ESR checker before and I'm presuming that this calibration is done by pressing the Mes/Cal switch?  Unless the process after pressing the Mes/Cal switch is blindingly obvious to follow on the display, I may be returning here for more advice.

[timenutgoblin]

You said:  ...This usually involves clipping the alligator clips to each other and then calibrating the ESR checker.  I've never calibrated a ESR checker before and I'm presuming that this calibration is done by pressing the Mes/Cal switch?

That makes sense to me. I think that is what you need to do for calibration.

[terryt]

@ timenutgoblin.  I finally cobbled together a simple testing rig and had some success though I'm at the crawl stage of the crawl/walk/run process in understanding how all of this stuff works.

Just in case some other newbie is in the same predicament as I was before your advice and finds this thread, I have outlined my steps and attached some photos, all of which should be read in conjunction with our posts above:

1. Connected the tester's P1 clips to a 9V DC battery power source.
2. The tester's main module's POW (power) light lit up red and the display was back lit.
3. Touched the tester's two P2 clips together.
4. Display showed clips had R = 0.054 ohms.
5. Pressed the Mes/Cal switch.
6. Screen briefly flashed "CAL".
7. Display then showed clips had R = 0.000 ohms.
8. Connected the tester's P2 leads to a "1.5V" battery for testing.
9. Display showed battery had R = 0.172 ohms and 1.15V.  (My Brymen showed battery was 1.149V).

It's likely some roughness in my testing process may cast some doubt as to the true accuracy of my results.  I will refine my technique and tools.

Thank you for sticking with me while I sorted this out (to some degree, anyway ).

Regards,

Terry



 




 

[timenutgoblin]

I'm glad that your ESR checker appears to be working. Have you tried measuring a resistor and then comparing the measurement with your Brymen DMM? You may need to perform a short circuit test by touching the tips of the Brymen multimeter test leads together to determine the short circuit resistance.

If you have a low value resistor such as 1 ohm it should be suitable for a test and compare. If you have an incandescent lamp maybe 12V 5W could be used. The cold filament resistance should be relatively low, less than 1 ohm.

[terryt]

@ timenutgoblin.  I will try your suggestion when time allows me back into the garage and will get back to you. 

BTW, I hope me saying I have a Brymen DMM has not mislead you about my abilities.  My brain simply refuses to absorb and learn anything I see/hear/read/experience with electrical/electronic subjects.  I am a tool snob and buy quality tools as a matter of principle even when far cheaper alternatives would do the job.

[terryt]

@ timenutgoblin.  Sorry, it took me a while to sort out some family issues before I was able to test resistors.

FYI, the Tester's resistance measurement range is 0.001~120 ohm (resolution 1 milliohm).

Before measuring the resistors on the Tester and my Brymen BM869S, I short-circuited the leads to nullify their resistance.

I used 1 ohm and 100 ohm resistors.

The Tester read 0.950 ohm and 95.60 ohm, respectively.

My Brymen BM869S read 1.00 ohm and 99.82 ohm, respectively.

It is unlikely that I will ever use the Tester for anything other than battery resistance testing so I'm not concerned about any inaccuracy in the higher resistor ranges (<120 ohms) but it was interesting to see the results.

Later, I will play more with battery resistance testing and also refine my testing rig.

Thank you very much for your help.  I have learnt a little more about the 'black art' of electrical/electronics.