How healthy are your batteries?

(How to measure internal resistance)

I've seen here and there posts about people having trouble with their batteries,
some from DX (I've had issues, too) and other places, so now's a good time to post
a simple test you can do to find the health of your rechargeable battery.

For an example I'll use a common 18650 li-ion cell. When fully charged these carry
a potential of 4.2-4.25V and when discharged 3V. This is true of any cell that
hasn't shut down whether it's new or old and tired. So what is the difference
between a new cell and an old cell? Internally a battery consists of an
electrolyte/electrode interface where the potential is generated by chemical
reactions. As the reactions progress forward and are reversed during charging, the
interface slowly degrades. This degradation results in not only a loss of capacity
but also an increase in what is known as the batteries internal resistance.

High battery internal resistance is a BAD THING for a number of reasons. First, it
makes the battery output voltage drop when the battery is being used. As soon as
you take the battery out of the circuit to measure its voltage, the voltage rises
and it seems OK again. Secondly, high internal resistance saps output power from
the battery's already diminished capacity. This sapped power winds up as HEAT in
the battery and can cause ugly issues and further degradation.

Measuring the battery's internal resistance is simple. All you need is a 4 ohm 5W
power resistor or similar and a multimeter. Five common 1W 1 Ohm resistors in
series would work. If you aren't measuring an 18650, choose a load resistance that
will load the cell but not overload it. Capacity/3 should be ok.

1) First, measure the battery's voltage when charged. This is V1

2) Next, connect your multimeter leads to each side of the resistor and briefly
connect the resistor across the battery. Note the voltage reading, this is V2.
3) Measure your resistor to get its precise resistance, this is R

4) The battery's internal resistance (Ri) is calculated with the formula:

Ri = (V1-V2)*R/V2

Example: cell measures 4.2V unloaded, 4.0V when connected to a 4 ohm resistor has
an internal resistance of 200 mOhms (0.2 ohms)

A new high quality 18650 battery will have an internal resistance under 100mOhms.

A used up 18650 battery will have a resistance 400mOhms or more.

So, feel free to test a few batteries you have around and post what you find!!

I just tested a new 2600mah Sanyo #18650 cell @ 70� F:

V1=4.09 VDC No Load (Right off Charger - should allow an hour)

V2=3.97 VDC Loaded
R = 3.1 ohms
Internal resistance : 94 mOhms @ 1.28 amps load (about 1/2 C load rating)

According to 18650 Battery Testing Experts @ Cadex :

75-150 mOhm - Excellent

150-250 mOhm - Good
250-350 mOhm - Marginal
350-Up mOhm - Bad