Autel MaxiBAS BT506 Battery and Electrical System Tester

Description

The MaxiBAS BT506 is the compact end of Autel’s battery range: a pocketable tester that does the three tests that decide a job, without the cost of a full analyser.

What it tests

It covers 6V and 12V batteries from 100 to 2000 CCA, including flooded, AGM, AGM Spiral, EFB and GEL, and reads the common rating standards: CCA, CA, SAE, EN, IEC, DIN, JIS and MCA. The start/stop battery types matter more than the headline figure, because a tester that reads an AGM as a tired flooded battery will have you fitting batteries that did not need fitting.

In the vehicle it runs a battery test, a starter test and a generator test, so you can separate a failing battery from a failing alternator or starter before you quote. Out of the vehicle it tests a standalone battery and gives the result and a maintenance tip on screen.

Adaptive Conductance, and why it matters on a cold morning

The BT506 uses Adaptive Conductance, which Autel rate at over 95 per cent accuracy. It tests without draining the battery and it will read a battery that is low or nearly completely discharged. The batteries you get called to in winter are exactly the ones a basic conductance tester struggles with, so this is the specification that decides whether the tool is useful in the work you are actually doing.

It also analyses cranking ability, giving you starting voltage and starting time, which tells you how close to the edge a battery is running before it strands somebody.

How you read it

The BT506 pairs with a free app on an iOS or Android phone, or with an Autel tablet if you already run one. That keeps the tool itself small enough to live in a jacket pocket rather than a toolbox, which you will appreciate when the car is parked three doors down from where you can get the van.

If you need a printed result handed over on the driveway, look at the BT608 instead. That is the tester with the built-in printer, and a printed report is what ends the argument about whether a battery really needed replacing.

Specification

Downloads

• Autel MaxiBAS BT506 user manual (PDF)

Buying it from us

Supplied through the UK distribution hub with a UK serial number and a valid UK support tag, which entitles you to Autel UK’s technical support for the tool and its software. That does not apply to grey or parallel imports.

We do not hold stock on a shelf. It ships direct from the UK warehouse, usually two to three working days from order.

For orders and anything commercial, ring us on 0121 751 0075.