Originally published by Brake & Front End, August 18, 2025
Though we often picture a cold winter morning as when your customers are most likely to wake up to a dead car battery, the prolonged heat of a North American summer is responsible for more compromised batteries than any winter chill. So, in the dog days of summer, there is no better time than now for your shop to invest in a dedicated battery tool such as the Autel MaxiBAS BT608 and offer your customers a complimentary battery test.
The sheer volume of battery-related service calls demonstrates the opportunity: AAA responded to 1.8 million service calls nationwide last summer and replaced about half a million batteries. That’s a lot of interrupted vacations for your customers and as many missed sales opportunities for your shop.
During a heat wave, underhood temperatures can spike, damaging vehicle batteries in several ways, including accelerating the chemical reactions inside the battery, leading to faster degradation of the battery’s conducting plates.
Excessive heat causes the water in the battery’s electrolyte solution to evaporate quickly, thereby increasing the sulfuric acid concentration, which can lead to overcharging and battery damage. High temperatures also accelerate corrosion, impairing electrical connections and reducing the battery’s reliability.
Also, extreme heat can worsen the buildup of lead sulfate crystals on the battery plates during charging, reducing the battery’s ability to hold a charge. And finally, during those hot summer months, the battery is taxed more, with greater air conditioning and other electrical system use that depletes battery reserve.
Put away the multimeter and grab the Autel MaxiBAS BT608 for a quick and documentable test of your customer’s vehicle battery. (This tool also enables the technician to test the starter and alternator, too, with step-by-step instructions and verifiable results). The BT608 tests the battery’s voltage—its State of Charge (SoC)—and its State of Health (SoH). And SoH testing is key to verifying the actual viability of your customer’s vehicle battery.
The BT608 and all of Autel’s starting and charging testers use adaptive conductance as their testing method, which involves sending a low-frequency alternating current through the battery to determine the remaining plate area. As a battery degrades, its plates and capacity degrade, directly impacting its conductance, and therefore its ability to power the engine’s start and support other electrical loads. This testing technology is superior to a typical load tester in many ways, including the great time-saving ability to test a battery with a low or near-complete discharge state.
The Autel BT608 supports a wide range of battery types and vehicle systems:
Battery Voltage: 6- and 12-volt
CCA Range: 100 – 3000 CCA
Battery Types: Flooded, AGM, AGM Spiral, EFB, and GEL batteries
Cranking/Charging Systems: 12- and 24-volt
Testing Modes: in-vehicle and out-of-vehicle testing
Vehicle Types: Heavy-duty vehicles, motorcycles, lawnmowers, and watercraft
Besides its testing method, the BT608 also shines in its efficiency, guided testing instructions, and its color-coded graphic test results are displayed on screen and ready to print straight from the tool’s built-in thermal printer. The 5.5-inch Android-based touchscreen tablet enables the technician to quickly identify the vehicle via a quick camera scan of the VIN, confirm the battery’s CCA specification and begin testing.
Reports can also be emailed or texted to customers or the front office to attach to other customer documentation. Reports document the tested vehicle with VIN, vehicle make and model and display the SoC and SoH of their vehicle’s battery for your customer. The tool makes it easy to customize reports with your shop’s logo, name, address, website, and phone number.
So, you have tested your customer’s battery and diagnosed a bad cell. The BT608 recommends replacing the battery, but you may still have work to do before sending that customer on his way. Use the BT608 to register the battery, reset the BMS and reset electrical components. Follow the step-by-step instructions to perform every needed task
Battery Registration
What is battery registration, and why is it important? When you register a new battery to your customer’s vehicle, you are informing the Battery Management System (BMS) that a new battery is installed. This will affect how the system charges the battery and how much power it delivers to the vehicle’s electronic components. To register a new battery with the BT608, plug the VCI200 into the OBDII port and select the BMS Reset or Battery Change icons on the BT608 display. Failure to register the new battery will result in the BMS continuing to operate as if the old waning battery is still present, possibly causing the new battery to fail at an alarming rate due to overcharging or undercharging. It could also be the reason for electrical problems and more fuel usage due to improper start-stop system functionality.
The BT608 also enables the technician to reset the BMS, and to reset the vehicle’s electric components such as windows and sunroof that may need to be coded after a battery disconnect and replacement.
Offering complimentary battery testing can attract customers, strengthen your relationship with existing customers, and increase battery sales. With tools designed with efficiency in mind, providing that quality service is easy.
