Tom's Electronics Pages

December 8, 2017

Zhiyu ZB2l3 V2.3a Battery tester

I ordered one of these from Bangood on 11-14-2017 for $4.73 It arrived on 12-8-2017. It runs off of a micro-USB cable that supplies 5 volts. It shipped with a 5 watt 7.5 ohm resistor

The device has 3 buttons (OK, +, and -) and a 4 terminal connector on one end.

Whatever microcontroller this thing uses is hidden under the 7 segment display module.

Here is documentation, taken from Syonyk

Operating Parameters

Power supply voltage: DC 4.5-6V (micro USB)
Working current: Less than 70mA (I assume this means for the micro USB interface)
Discharge voltage: 1.00-15.00V, resolution 0.01V
Termination voltage range: 0.5V-11V (precision 0.1V)
Current range: Max 3.000A, resolution 0.001A
Maximum voltage error: 1%+0.3V
Maximum current error: 2%+/- 0.010A

The board will show the battery capacity up to 9999Ah. The decimal shifts to indicate proper units.

Note: This circuit is designed with a DC bias to improve voltage measurement accuracy. When the terminals are not connected, the unit will display a small voltage. (0.06v on both Syonyk's and mine). This does not affect the actual measurement. If you short the input terminals, the unit will display 0v (mine does).

Method of Use

Fully charge the battery you're testing.
Connect the battery under test to the input terminals (center terminals) in the proper manner. This device may be damaged by reverse polarity. Connect the load to the proper (outer) terminals, and connect the micro USB power. (do not use a desktop or laptop - use a standalone cell phone charger). The battery voltage will be displayed.
To start the test with the automatically determined termination voltage, press the "OK" button. The display will flash the termination voltage 3 times and begin testing. If you wish to set the termination voltage yourself, press "+" or "-" to modify the termination voltage as desired, then press "OK" to start the test.
The tester connects the battery to the load, and displays the capacity (Ah), discharge current (A), and battery voltage (V), cycling the display through each. When the battery voltage reaches the specified termination voltage, the battery is disconnected, and the display shows the capacity (Ah) with a rapid blinking to indicate the test is done. Press "OK" to solidly illuminate the display with the capacity, then press "OK" again to reset the unit for another test.

Error Codes

Err1: Battery voltage greater than 15v.
Err2: The battery voltage is lower than the specified termination voltage.
Err3: The battery is unable to withstand the discharge current (too much sag?)
Err4: The discharge current is >3.1A.

 Calibration Operation 
(I have not attempted calibration.  This is my best attempt to translate the instructions.)

To enter calibration mode, press all three keys when the tester is powered on.
The unit will display 0u0A.
Short the input positive and negative terminals and press OK.
The unit will display J10u.
Apply 10.00V to the positive and negative inputs and press OK.
The unit will display J2.0A.
Apply a constant 2.0A DC current across the unit
  (short the load, perhaps?  I'm not sure how to hook this up) and press OK.
The unit will sanity check the calibration data.
If it likes it, it will show 4 calibration numbers after existing, otherwise it will discard it.





Have any comments? Questions?
Drop me a line!



Tom's electronics pages / tom@mmto.org