Vehicle batteries used to be quite simple. As recently as the late 1990s, there was essentially just one main battery type in the North American carpark, the flooded acid battery. Sure, there were variations, such as deep cycle and marine types, but the essential underlying technology was fairly standardized and the means of service for these batteries were reasonably straightforward. Jump to today and we literally have an alphabet soup of battery types found in North American vehicles, seemingly with new ones coming into use every year or two. One of the more recent entrants is the Enhanced Flooded (EFB) battery.
Before we address the service implications of this battery, we should discuss what it is and why it is has become a popular option for many vehicle OEMs. EFB batteries, also known as Advanced Flooded Batteries, are a new type of flooded battery that has several differences in their design and construction that allow them to be used in new vehicle applications. Per the battery manufacturer Yuasa, some of these construction changes include “increased dynamic charge current acceptance over standard wet-flooded batteries (+170%), due to improved design including special Carbon additives and high charge acceptance envelope type separators.”
These changes allow EFB batteries to survive deeper discharge events than traditional flooded batteries as well as allow for as much as 100% increase in the number of charge/discharge cycles that the battery can perform. This allows them to be effective in vehicle Start-Stop systems, which place a far higher demand on the vehicle’s starting battery than traditional system designs. Plus, they are less expensive than AGM batteries, making them a popular choice for low price and middle tier price vehicles with Start-Stop.
Of course, new battery types create new demands when it comes to managing them in the real world, particularly when it comes to testing these batteries. The good news is that, with SOLAR BA Series battery testers, we’ve got EFB batteries covered. For digital/electronic battery testing, it comes down to the quality and comprehensiveness of the specific judgement maps built into a tester – the more specific, the better. All BA Series models (from the BA9 to the BA427) have specific testing routines for six different battery types:
- Flooded
- AGM Flat Plate
- AGM Spiral Wound
- Gel Cell
- Start-Stop AGM
- Start-Stop EFB
Because the EFB construction and characteristics are so different from traditional flooded and other battery types, it requires its own judgement map if we are going to accurately assess this battery type. Because the EFB battery was introduced in Europe before it made it to North America, we were able to perform extensive testing and develop our EFB assessment capabilities long before the battery was first seen in US vehicles (2017-2018).
BA227
BA327
BA427
For testing EFB batteries using our printer-equipped models (BA227, BA327, BA427), when the tester prompts to input battery type, toggle to START STOP and press ENTER. Then, toggle to EFB and press ENTER, following the prompts to complete the process. For testing EFB batteries using the BA9, when the tester prompts to input battery type, toggle to EFB, following the prompts to complete the process. It is really that simple. The tester will run its analysis and provide a accurate assessment of EFB battery condition, based on the input values provided.
EFB Testing Made Easy… with BA Series Testers.
