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Arduino Uno R3 Battery Tester

by azabonik on April 19, 2014

Table of Contents
Arduino Uno R3 Battery Tester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Intro: Arduino Uno R3 Battery Tester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 1: Hardware required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 2: The Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 3: The Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 4: Finishing up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Uno-R3-Battery-Tester/

Intro: Arduino Uno R3 Battery Tester

This simple project is intended to help you in answering the lifelong question of, "Does this battery have any juice left?". Although popularity of single cell batteries (such
as AA, AAA, C and D cell), there are still many small devices like TV remotes, flashlights, and other small portable electronics that run on these forms of power.
This instructable is a work in progress and will be updated with pictures of the actual device at a later time.

Step 1: Hardware required

In order to make a battery tester, there are a few things you will need:
-Three 560 ohm resistors
-One 2.2k ohm resistor
-One green LED
-One yellow LED
-One red LED
-a breadboard
-various jumpers (connecting wires)
-One Arduino Uno R3 Microcontroller with usb cable
This project will cost somewhere in the $30-$40 range, however the most expensive part is the Microcontoller (~$30), which is of course re programmable so this cost
can be displaced over future projects.
*This is still in rough draft form, in the final draft I will add links to websites where these products can be ordered.*

Step 2: The Wiring

A little wiring is required to get this circuit operating, thankfully the Arduino is supply the power so there is no need for an external power supply. The Schematic is also
slightly open ended to allow the user to connect the probing wires to various battery sizes. Attached is an electrical schematic drawn up for the project, courtesy of John
Boxall at the Arduino Workshop.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Uno-R3-Battery-Tester/

Step 3: The Code

The attached photo contains the code you will upload to the Arduino. There are a few ways this can be uploaded from your computer, personally I have a custom-made
bootloader courtesy if Purdue University that will load the .hex file from a project folder in Atmel Studio 6. The bootloader is attached but you will need to visit the Atmel
site to download Atmel Studio, which is free upon giving them your email address. An alternative that is more catered to Arduino-only use, is downloading the Arduino
IDE from Arduino's website (http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software).
*This is in rough draft form, the bootloader file and developement pictures will be attached at a later time*

Step 4: Finishing up
Once everything is wired and the code is uploaded, simply hook the battery positive and negative ends of the battery up to the positive and negative leads of the wires.
If a battery such as a AA cell is fully charged is will be near 1.6 Volts, if the voltage measured is greater than or equal to 1.6V then the green LED will briefly turn on,
indicating the battery is fully charged, if the voltage is greater than 1.4 Volts and less than 1.6 Volts then the yellow LED will turn on, indicating the battery has some
charge, and if the voltage is less than or equal to 1.4 volts then a red LED will briefly turn on, indicating the battery no longer has a charge. This process can be
conducted indefinitely as long as there is power supplied to the Arduino from either a wall-jack or a computer.
*this is still a rough draft, the final draft will have pictures of each LED turning on*

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Uno-R3-Battery-Tester/

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Comments
5 comments

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francisroan says:

Apr 19, 2014. 9:51 PM REPLY

Just be careful not to use a battery with high voltage or high amps

domints says:

Apr 19, 2014. 1:56 PM REPLY

I would add one zener diode after the A0 resistor just to be sure, that if some genius connects 12V battery (car or little from flashlight) it won't burn your arduino
;)
But despite this it's simple and great project ;) Hope there will be more like this on i'bles.

carlos66ba says:

Apr 19, 2014. 8:41 PM REPLY

Excellent idea!

carlos66ba says:

Apr 19, 2014. 12:47 PM REPLY

This is a nice project. If you want to make it even less expensive, this project can be made with a single chip (plus rwsistors and leds) like the attiny85, which
costs under $1 (you will need some way of programming it, though)

domints says:

Apr 19, 2014. 1:58 PM REPLY

Arduino can be easily used for programming ;) But if someone doesn't have one, STK200 is veery cheap option, and USBasp is quite cheaper than Arduino,
and can be widely used ;)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Uno-R3-Battery-Tester/