Patent ID: 7235977

Claim:
A hand-held, portable tester for testing a starter/charger system of an internal combustion engine, comprising a processor in circuit communication with an electronic test circuit and a display, said test circuit being capable of performing at least one test on the starting/charging system and said processor is programmed to execute code implementing a user menu providing a user with at least the following selectable test options: (a) a battery test option, which if selected causes the tester to: i. perform a plurality of battery tests on a starter/charger system battery connected to the tester, the plurality of tests including at least one test for a first type of battery and at least one test for a second type of battery; and ii. display a plurality of different battery test results for the battery, including displaying at least one test result for the first type of battery and at least one test result for the second type of battery; (b) a starter test option, which if selected causes the tester to prompt the user to start the internal combustion engine and further causes the tester to measure and display an output relating to a voltage across the battery while the internal combustion engine is started; and (c) a charger test option, which if selected causes the tester to perform a plurality of tests on a charging circuit of the starter/charger system by: i. prompting the user to put the vehicle in a Fast-Idle, No-Load state and then measuring and displaying an output relating to a voltage across the battery in the Fast-Idle, No Load state; ii. prompting the user to put the vehicle in a Fast-Idle, High-Load state and then measuring and displaying an output relating to a voltage across the battery in the Fast-Idle, High Load state; and iii. prompting the user to put the vehicle in a Fast-Idle state and then performing and displaying an output relating to a ripple test across the battery in the Fast-Idle state.