Garage Support 5 June 2020

Every 3rd vehicle entering the workshop could require a new battery By testing every battery, you are keeping your customers moving! It’s recommended that workshops should be performing a battery test on all vehicles coming in for any kind of maintenance. Due to lockdown many vehicles will not have visited a workshop for a long period of time, so it is important for a technician to perform a battery test as part of a service on the vehicle whilst it’s with you. 40% of national breakdowns occur from a direct result of battery failure. Accurate testing can identify batteries in a poor condition and could result in a new battery being fitted, keeping your customers happy and on the road. When you look at the power a battery is required to provide on modern vehicles, it is understandable to see why a more robust battery is required. Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) and Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFB) have been designed for the increasing electrical demands placed on the battery and fitting a traditional flooded battery will not provide the output needed for the start-stop function or cope with the additional vehicle starts. In addition, more complex vehicle systems such as infotainment screens, smartphone interface and wi-fi output are all commonplace on the latest vehicles. AGM and EFB batteries are designed for the modern vehicle with complex technology. When replacing a battery, it is vital that the correct type of battery technology is fitted to the vehicle.

Not all testers are created equal The challenge is that all battery testers will give a result when testing – good, bad, recharge & retest. Even a tester that is not capable or designed to work with stop start batteries will falsely give a ‘good’ result. When a tester is used that doesn’t have a separate search for battery type AGM and EFB it basically passes it as “good” because the algorithm in the tester is incapable of reading the different battery technology of stop start vehicles. It then tests the battery within its own pre-set parameters for standard batteries. The vehicle now has a “healthy test report”, leaves the workshop only to breakdown shortly afterwards because of the report produced was false due to the battery tester incompatibility.

5 Step best practice

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Offer a Battery Test-Check to all customers coming into the workshop.

The test only takes a few minutes. All you need is a battery tester with a printer.

KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS MOVING If the diagnoses detects a weak battery, recommend an immediate replacement. It’s proven that 70% of customers follow the workshops recommendation.

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Inform your customer of the Battery Test Check results.

Satisfied customers: Your customer feels well-advised and can rely on a fully functioning battery.