Ancel BA101: The Battery Tester You Should Own

As you walk away, you ask yourself, silently: are you getting your money’s worth or about to make someone else richer at your expense?

Used cars have since got a solution that takes out a great deal of the uncertainty by means of a simple VIN check like CarFax.

Starter batteries? Not until recently.

This is where the Ancel BA101 review comes in. You see, starter batteries (or batteries generally), have a short shelf life (especially if you’re using the older and better-known flooded battery type), which according to Interstate Batteries, start to degrade just six (6) weeks after their production – even if they still appear to start your vehicle effortlessly.

So, why waste your money when you’re NOT going to get the value you deserve or are paying for?

With a battery tester like the Ancel BA101, like a used car VIN report, you’re able to take a close glimpse, in seconds, into the health of the battery you’re about to buy – or test the one you’re already using – with an impressive degree of accuracy.

But, why Ancel? Why the BA 101? Many good reasons:

1. The BA101 battery tester comes powered with a quick test function that gives users the ability to assess the health of their batteries in mere seconds – and this is quite detailed: Cold Cranking Amps (CCA), electronic resistance, rated CCA, health value, state of charge, and an overall test result/advice, delivered with precision and in a flash.
2. Ability to test other special purpose-built batteries using its Ampere Hour (AH) function to ascertain the long-term performance of such batteries, examples being deep cycle and electric car batteries. If you’re used to the Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) metric, this is an addition that adds versatility to the offering.
3. A fair and reasonable price that is difficult to resist, given what it offers.

Before I delve into that, first things first: let’s meet the BA101 from Ancel.

Ancel BA101 Battery Tester Review: First Impressions & What’s in the Box

When I first opened the pack containing the battery tester in preparation for this review, the first thing that came to my attention was the portable size of the unit and how easily it fitted into the palm of my hand.

At a mere 5 ounces, the BA101 is light – and super ergonomic, making it easy to conveniently grasp with one hand while the other attaches the clamps or does whatever a user wishes.

Granted, the scanner isn’t the most beautiful – if you’re a visually inspired person but what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in color, portability, size, ease of use, and importantly, functionality.

Being small (and likely to be misplaced in a work environment), the bright red color immediately drew my attention too. Offering the scanner in that color is a most thoughtful, safety-related action as it will be easy to see and difficult to lose (the only other color that remotely would have compared is yellow).

Content-wise, the small bio-friendly pack that the BA101 came in contained the following:

• The battery tester.
• A user manual and
• A cable for connecting the tester to a printer, if need be.

Ancel BA101 Review: Why Do You Need a Battery Tester (In the First Place?)

As a DIY auto mechanic, I select the tools and devices I buy carefully; if something isn’t worth it in my estimation I ignore it.

If I determine that it is worth it but I’ll be using it less frequently or generally, under-utilizing it, I opt for the lease route, so that I don’t throw money away (it’s hard to come by, by the way).

So, why do you need a battery tester around your car/home? Why should you consider investing in one to start with?

Simple: three (3) major reasons:

1. To Ensure You Buy the Freshest Battery Possible

As mentioned already and linked to in the introduction above, starter batteries are ‘perishables’ of sorts: the ‘fresher they are, the better.

Like milk or apples, they ‘lose value/life’ just sitting on the shelves, waiting for you to buy them.

Now, this is where it gets interesting: if a new, never-used starter battery from the factory sits on the shelves long enough and manages to lose more than 75% of its charge, its internal chemistry starts to corrode in a process called sulfation.

The twist? Such a battery may still be able to start your car and with a shiny new look, you’d be thoroughly excited that you finally sorted that battery challenge of yours, only to have the whole (battery failure) scene play out again, shortly after.

A battery tester like the Ancel BA101 will expose the health of such a battery and you’ll be able to smartly avoid it, saving both time and money with one masterstroke.

2. To Adequately Predict When Your Starter Battery Will Likely Go Kaput

The game of using and changing starter batteries is like the lottery; filled with guesswork and little substance to hold onto.

With engine oil, for instance, you know when it will be due; same with the cleaning of the MAF, and throttle body, or when you need to change your brake pads or replace your tranny fluid.

With a starter battery?

You simply hope for five (5) plus years while open to the possibility of a change happening after the third year. Or, even sooner.

This is part of the reason why this Ancel BA101 review gave me so much excitement: you can finally, as a car owner, predict when you positively need to start working towards a starter battery replacement to avoid the embarrassment of having one go flat on you, in the middle of nowhere.

Now, here’s the tricky part that only a good battery tester can handle: impressive voltage or the ability of a battery to hold power and start your car when due isn’t an indication of a lengthy service life ahead of it.

An otherwise great battery that worked just fine (or appeared to work fine) the previous night might deplete overnight so badly that it won’t even be able to start the car in the morning again.

This is especially true when there’s a steep weather drop, for example, when winter first strikes.

With a battery tester like the BA101 on the other hand? You’ll easily be forewarned way before that ’emergency’ actually comes.

3. To Figure Out When/if Another Issue Besides the Battery Is Cropping Up

Curiously, a no-start condition may implicate other components of the charging system, minus the starter battery itself.

For instance, a bad starter won’t turn the motor over in the first place so no matter how ‘great’ the battery is, it won’t be able to start the vehicle on its own.

Besides the starter, there’s also the alternator that continuously provides power when the engine is running to both support the electricals of the car and recharge the car’s battery at the same time.

A challenge with any of the above could easily leave you stranded – even if you have a great, properly functioning starter battery.

This is where owning and keeping close a battery tester like the Ancel BA101 (and periodically using it) will help you keep your vehicle in great working condition and also ensure that you aren’t left stranded when you should ordinarily not be.

Functions & Abilities of the BA101

It’s no news that Ancel makes great auto products – but, what exactly is the forte of the BA101?

It turns out that being simple doesn’t stop the scanner from packing a serious punch.

Here:

Basic Battery Health Check

Plugged to the terminals of the battery to be tested (either on the bench or in the car), a quick, basic battery health check can be done in a matter of mere seconds.

The bottom line and what makes the unit exceptional in this regard?

There’s a summary for the user which indicates exactly what’s happening to your battery and the action you need to take (if any, at all).

This summary is inspired by many factors like voltage, charge level, and temperature, all working together to present an easy-to-understand summary.

For instance, ‘GOOD BATTERY’ indicates a battery that is perfectly fine while ‘BAD CELL, REPLACE‘, indicates a battery that has its internals damaged and must be replaced.

Further, ‘GOOD, RECHARGE’ connotes a battery that though great, needs to be recharged to offer its full potential. ‘REPLACE’ is as straightforward as it sounds – you need to replace the battery or at least, begin to plan for its eventual replacement while the ‘CHARGE, RETEST‘ summary happens when the results are inconclusive and a repeat test is needed – with the battery needing a boost, charge wise before then.

Charging Test

The charging test focuses on the alternator of the vehicle. Using the voltage drawn at around 2500 RPM determines if it’s doing what it ought to, i.e. supplying power to the vehicle and charging the battery.

Remember, a battery, especially the common flooded lead acid types are as good as their alternators since they don’t usually hold power/longevity well, beyond a certain level of depletion.

Crank Test

The crank test tests the starter – focusing on how long it takes the unit to power the vehicle from the moment the key is turned to when the car starts.

Remember, if a starter motor begins to go bad, one of its symptoms remains long crank times. This is what this test effectively measures, making sure that the trio of the battery, alternator, and now, the starter are all working in sync to start and power your vehicle as they should.

Other Exciting Functions

Besides the three (3) basic functions above, there are other exciting functions that the BA101 sports, making it an excellent companion for both the home mechanic and the professional alike.

No Ancel BA101 review would be complete without an express mention of these:

• The quick test option summarizes the health of a battery in mere seconds. The speed and accuracy of this function leave this tester in a class of its own.
• The option to test a battery either in the vehicle or on the bench.
• Many battery standards around the world are covered and the array of over seven (7) of such standards including the IEC, SAE, MCA, and BCI ensures that you always have a reference to make the tester useful to you, irrespective of the battery you’re using or the standard it adheres to.
• Finally, the battery tester supports many languages, making it a perfect option for anyone, irrespective of the language(s) spoken or preferred. English, French, Dutch, and Spanish are classic examples of the numerous language options represented by the tester.

There is a whole lot to love with this basic battery tester.

Battery Compatibility

Starter batteries (or batteries generally) come in various forms, designs, and technology – with the regular flooded battery type being the most common for auto applications and the oldest.

This variety is a nice thing; however, when it comes to testing for battery health, the technology powering the battery is as essential as the quality of the tester used.

Why?

Because, flooded batteries react differently under certain circumstances from AGM Flat Plates which also react differently from EFBs, etc.

The net implication?

For consistent and valid results, any good battery tester needs to know the battery type it is testing unless the unit was designed specifically for that battery type.

The BA101 battery tester from Ancel excels here, easily. The small handheld unit can easily test:

• Regular Flooded Batteries,
• Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) Flat Plate Batteries,
• Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) Spiral Batteries,
• Gel Batteries and
• Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFBs).

The best part? These battery types represent just about all the popular battery technologies that you’d need testing from time to time.

The Ancel BA101 got you covered, essentially, as far as battery compatibility is concerned.

Limitations

Not everything is rosy though: the BA101 has its limitations; limitations it is important to note when considering buying it or when about to use it.

Three (3) such limitations worthy of mention are:

1. First, the battery tester is limited to batteries that run on the 12V spectrum. If, for any reason, you have a battery designed to work outside this spectrum, you may have challenges testing it accurately with this battery tester.
2. The battery tester works through a spectrum of ranges only. For instance, using the Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) metric, your battery needs to be within the ranges of 100 and 2000; for Amp Hour (AH), 30 through 220 is the range. If you have a battery out of these specs, you’d be out of luck.
3. The battery tester relies on manual input from the user to do its thing (it doesn’t detect things automatically). If these values aren’t available, say on an old or defaced starter battery, then, you may have a little challenge getting the scanner to work in the manner it was designed to.
4. Finally, the tester has no inbuilt battery and thus, no memory to save readings for future reference. This is both a good and bad thing – depending on outlook. Personally, this is a plus for me as it makes the unit much lighter, cheaper, and maintenance-free.

These limitations, it must be noted, aren’t deal breakers in themselves as they’re insignificant in over 95% of applications and use case scenarios.

For instance, most starter batteries have a Cold Crank Amp range averaging between 400 and 600 – which the tester will work on just fine.

Again, 60-100 AH is the range for auto starter batteries today – which is perfect for this unit to show its brilliance through.

So, in the true sense, these aren’t limitations/turn-offs, just points you should be aware of before buying or using the tester.

Alternative to Consider

If you’d love to look at something else, especially one offering professional-level battery testing and the opportunity to test batteries outside the range of 12V, then, you should look at the Ancel BST600 Car Battery Tester.

The unit offers an advanced battery testing reality (away from the basic reality of the BA101), can test both 12 and 24V batteries, and is designed with an inbuilt printer and temperature testing function that take things up a notch, professionally.

Thanks to a wider application reality, batteries in sedans, semis, marine batteries, RVs, golf carts etc can be tested – and the battery type is usually no hindrance as the unit works across GEL, EFB, AGM Spiral, AGM Flat Plate, and the Regular Flooded battery types.

It also has an accuracy rate of 99.9%!

Should You Buy The Ancel BA101 Battery Tester?

Ancel, without a shadow of doubt, is a great company that makes awesome auto products, targeted at the home and the professional mechanic alike.

The company’s portable code reader, the Ancel AD410 is one of the best OBD II code readers that I’ve been blessed to use during my auto DIY journey at that price and size point.

The BA101 battery tester also follows the same design and utility philosophy as the AD410 code reader: simple, easy to use, and ‘straight to the point’.

If you’re looking for an affordable, portable, and durable battery tester, it’s hard to find any that beats the Ancel BA101 at what it does and at the price point it’s offered.