In 2014, we upgraded our digital tester offering to address two varieties of Start-Stop batteries. The first battery type, the Start-Stop AGM battery, saw widespread use in North America starting in 2012, so it was a natural to be added to our capabilities. The second battery type, the Enhanced Flooded battery (EFB), was projected to see action in the 2017 and 2018 model years, resulting in a fair amount of confusion in the field. Now, vehicles utilizing this battery are making their way into aftermarket service environments.
This TSB from Toyota covers the service issues related to the EFB battery found in 2017-2019 Toyota Highlanders. “The Stop & Start equipped battery is specially designed for deep discharges and it is of a design called enhanced flooded battery (EFB). Characteristics of EFB type batteries are the ability to quickly discharge and recharge… When testing batteries for Stop & Start equipped Highlanders, use the battery type “enhanced flooded” (EFB) when using the battery tester.”
As is the case with each new lead acid battery type, when it comes to digital testing, the EFB battery requires equipment specifically designed to assess it, as noted in the TSB. The good news is that the entire SOLAR digital testing offering (BA6, BA9, BA227, BA327, BA427) is optimized to test this newer battery type.
No matter what lead acid battery type you are testing, it can be properly assessed with SOLAR digital testers. This includes flooded, AGM Flat Plate, AGM Spiral Wound, Start-Stop AGM and EFB batteries. Our models have testing capacities up to 3000 CCA (varies by model), so no matter your application or the size of the battery to be tested, there’s a SOLAR battery for your application.
