Method and apparatus for measuring a parameter of a vehicle electrical system

[0001] The present invention relates to the measurement of electrical parameters of a vehicle electrical system. More specifically, the present invention relates to measuring an electrical parameter of an electrical system of a vehicle through the use of multiple measurements.

[0002] Electrical systems, such as those which are used in automotive vehicles, consist of a number of discreet components or systems which are interconnected. Techniques for measuring and utilizing parameters, such as dynamic parameters, of electrical systems are shown and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,911, issued Mar. 25, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,708, issued Sep. 30, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,768, issued Mar. 28, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,170, issued Apr. 25, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE SCALING; U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,038, issued Nov. 14, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE SCALING TO DETERMINE DYNAMIC CONDUCTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,416, issued Mar. 27, 1990, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH STATE-OF-CHARGE COMPENSATION; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,269, issued Aug. 18, 1992, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC TESTER FOR ASSESSING BATTERY/CELL CAPACITY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,380, issued Aug. 30, 1994, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPRESSING TIME VARYING SIGNALS IN BATTERIES UNDERGOING CHARGING OR DISCHARGING; U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,136, issued Nov. 5, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,355, issued Nov. 12, 1996, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTION AND CONTROL OF THERMAL RUNAWAY IN A BATTERY UNDER CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,416, issued Dec. 10, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STEP-CHARGING BATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,728, issued Dec. 17, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,757, issued Dec. 31, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STEP-CHARGING BATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,093, issued Jan. 7, 1997, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE LOOSE TERMINAL CONNECTION DETECTION VIA A COMPARISON CIRCUIT; U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,098, issued Jan. 28, 1997, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH VERY HIGH NOISE IMMUNITY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,920, issued Aug. 12, 1997, entitled METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING THE CHARGING LEAD-ACID BATTERIES AND AN INTERACTIVE CHARGER; U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,192, issued May 26, 1998, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING A BAD CELL IN A STORAGE BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,756, issued Oct. 13, 1998, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH TAILORED COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,435, issued Nov. 3, 1998, entitled BATTERY TESTER FOR JIS STANDARD; U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,605, issued Jun. 22, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,829, issued Aug. 31, 1999, entitled MIDPOINT BATTERY MONITORING; U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,238, issued Dec. 14, 1999, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX IMPEDANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,751, issued Mar. 14, 2000, entitled APPARATUS FOR CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,777, issued Mar. 14, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROM COMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,976, issued Apr. 18, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUDITING A BATTERY TEST; U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,098, issued Jun. 27, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,245, issued Jul. 18, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUDITING A BATTERY TEST; U.S. Pat. No. 6,104,167, issued Aug. 15, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,137,269, issued Oct. 24, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ELECTRONICALLY EVALUATING THE INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,156, issued Dec. 19, 2000, entitled ELECTRICAL CONNECTION FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,483, issued Jan. 9, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX IMPEDANCE OF CELL AND BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,505, issued Jan. 9, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,369, issued Apr. 24, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROM COMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,808, issued May 1, 2001, entitled TEST COUNTER FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,124, issued Jun. 19, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH INTERNAL BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,259,254, issued Jul. 10, 2001, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS ON BATTERIES AND FOR RAPIDLY CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,563, issued Jul. 17, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX ADMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,896, issued Sep. 25, 2001; entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX SELF-IMMITANCE OF A GENERAL ELECTRICAL ELEMENT; U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,897, issued Sep. 25, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ELECTRONICALLY EVALUATING THE INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,087, issued Oct. 16, 2001, entitled APPARATUS FOR CALIBRATING ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,481, issued Oct. 30, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,607, issued Nov. 6, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING STORED CHARGE IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,608, issued Nov. 6, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,914, issued Nov. 13, 2001, entitled TESTING PARALLEL STRINGS OF STORAGE BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,650, issued Nov. 27, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,793, issued Dec. 11, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,762, issued Dec. 18, 2001, entitled ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,113, issued Dec. 18, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,102, issued Feb. 26, 2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,359,441, issued Mar. 19, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,303, issued Mar. 26, 2002, entitled ALTERNATOR DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM, U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,414, issued May 21, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,669, issued Jul. 9, 2002, entitled SUPPRESSING INTERFERENCE IN AC MEASUREMENTS OF CELLS, BATTERIES AND OTHER ELECTRICAL ELEMENTS; U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,158, issued Jul. 23, 2002, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS ON BATTERIES AND FOR RAPIDLY CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,585, issued Aug. 17, 2002, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TESTING RECHARGEABLE ENERGY STORAGE BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,158, issued Sep. 3, 2002, entitled VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TESTER WITH ENCODED OUTPUT; U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,045, issued Sep. 24, 2002, entitled INTEGRATED CONDUCTANCE AND LOAD TEST BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,025, issued Oct. 15, 2002, entitled ALTERNATOR TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,026, issued Oct. 15, 2002, entitled PROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 09/703,270, filed Oct. 31, 2000, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/780,146, filed Feb. 9, 2001, entitled STORAGE BATTERY WITH INTEGRAL BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/816,768, filed Mar. 23, 2001, entitled MODULAR BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/756,638, filed Jan. 8, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROM COMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/862,783, filed May 21, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIES EMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLEL SYSTEMS; U.S. Ser. No. 09/960,117, filed Sep. 20, 2001, entitled IN-VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/908,389, filed Jul. 18, 2001, entitled BATTERY CLAMP WITH INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SENSOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/908,278, filed Jul. 18, 2001, entitled BATTERY CLAMP WITH EMBEDDED ENVIRONMENT SENSOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/880,473, filed Jun. 13, 2001; entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/940,684, filed Aug. 27, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING STORED CHARGE IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/330,441, filed Oct. 17, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 60/348,479, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled CONCEPT FOR TESTING HIGH POWER VRLA BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/046,659, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/993,468, filed Nov. 14, 2001, entitled KELVIN CONNECTOR FOR A BATTERY POST; U.S. Ser. No. 09/992,350, filed Nov. 26, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/341,902, filed Dec. 19, 2001, entitled BATTERY TESTER MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/042,451, filed Jan. 8, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE, U.S. Ser. No. 10/073,378, filed Feb. 8, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS USING A CIRCUIT MODEL TO EVALUATE CELL/BATTERY PARAMETERS; U.S. Ser. No. 10/093,853, filed Mar. 7, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH NETWORK COMMUNICATION; U.S. Ser. No. 60/364,656, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH LOW TEMPERATURE RATING DETERMINATION; U.S. Ser. No. 10/098,741, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUDITING A BATTERY TEST; U.S. Ser. No. 10/101,543, filed Mar. 19, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,114, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/109,734, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,105, filed Mar. 28, 2002, entitled CHARGE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,998, filed Mar. 29, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY REPLACEMENT OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/119,297, filed Apr. 9, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIES EMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLEL SYSTEMS; U.S. Ser. No. 10/128,790, filed Apr. 22, 2002, entitled METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING JUMP-START BOOSTER PACKS; U.S. Ser. No. 60/379,281, filed May 8, 2002, entitled METHOD FOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/143,307, filed May 10, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 60/387,046, filed Jun. 7, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INCREASING THE LIFE OF A STORAGE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/177,635, filed Jun. 21, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGER WITH BOOSTER PACK; U.S. Ser. No. 10/207,495, filed Jul. 29, 2002, entitled KELVIN CLAMP FOR ELECTRICALLY COUPLING TO A BATTERY CONTACT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/200,041, filed Jul. 19, 2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/217,913, filed Aug. 13, 2002, entitled, BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 60/408,542, filed Sep. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST OUTPUTS ADJUSTED BASED UPON TEMPERATURE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/246,439, filed Sep. 18, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER UPGRADE USING SOFTWARE KEY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,399, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; and U.S. Ser. No. 10/263,473, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,796, filed Oct. 3, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/271,342, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitled IN-VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No. 10/270,777, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitled PROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,515, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,490, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,385, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,255, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled REMAINING TIME PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,224, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled DISCHARGE VOLTAGE PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 10/349,053, filed Jan. 22, 2003, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROTECTING A BATTERY FROM OVERDISCHARGE, U.S. Ser. No. 10/388,855, filed Mar. 14, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY FAILURE TEMPERATURE DETERMINATION, U.S. Ser. No. 10/396,550, filed Mar. 25, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/467,872, filed May 5, 2003, entitled METHOD FOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE, U.S. Ser. No. 60/477,082, filed Jun. 9, 2003, entitled ALTERNATOR TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 10/460,749, filed Jun. 12, 2003, entitled MODULAR BATTERY TESTER FOR SCAN TOOL, U.S. Ser. No. 10/462,323, filed Jun. 16, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER HAVING A USER INTERFACE TO CONFIGURE A PRINTER, U.S. Ser. No. 10/601,608, filed Jun. 23, 2003, entitled CABLE FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 10/601,432, filed Jun. 23, 2003, entitled BATTERY TESTER CABLE WITH MEMORY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/490,153, filed Jul. 25, 2003, entitled SHUNT CONNECTION TO A PCB FOR AN ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM EMPLOYED IN AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE, which are incorporated herein in their entirety.

[0003] There is an ongoing need to measure parameters of electrical systems of vehicles and heavy equipment. Such measurements can be used to diagnose operation, failure or impending failure of components or subsystems of electrical systems. For example, in electrical systems used in vehicles, measurement of electrical parameters of such systems can be used to diagnose operation of system or indicate that maintenance is required before ultimate failure.

[0004] One particular measurement is the resistance of cabling used in large equipment such as heavy trucks. For example, one such cable or set of cables connects the battery of vehicle to the starter motor. The starter motor has a relatively large current draw and even a relatively small cable resistance can have a significant impact on operation of the starter motor.

[0005] Because the cable resistance is relatively small it typically cannot be measured using a standard ohm meter or other techniques which are normally used to measure resistance. One technique which has been used to measure the cable resistance is to run a very large current through the cable and measure the voltage drop. However, this is cumbersome and requires components capable of handling the large current.

[0006] An apparatus for measuring electrical parameters for an electrical system includes measurement circuitry which is configured to measure a first parameter of the electrical system between a first connection to the electrical system and a second connection to the electrical system. The measurement circuitry is further configured to measure a second parameter of the electrical system between a third connection to the electrical system and the second connection to the electrical system. A processor determines a third electrical parameter of the electrical system as a function of the first parameter and the second parameter. A method can also be employed.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an electrical system 10 of large equipment 12 such as a heavy truck. Electrical system 10 includes a battery 20, a high current load 22 and cables 24 and 26. Cables 24 and 26 have resistances R₁ and R₂, respectively and connect load 22 to battery 20. FIG. 1 also shows connection points C, D and C′, D′. Connections C and D are across load 22 and connections C′ and D′ are cross battery 20.

[0011] As discussed in the Background section, the resistances R₁ and R₂ of cables 24 and 26 can have a significant impact on the amount of power which can be delivered to load 22. Even if the resistance values are relatively small, because a relatively large current passes through cables 24 and 26, the resultant voltage drop can significantly reduce the voltage at points C and D and therefore the amount of power (or voltage) which can be delivered to load 22. In industrial equipment, it is often desirable to measure the resistance R₁ and R₂ of cables 24 and 26, respectively, in order to identify a cable with a resistance which is too high. One technique which has been used to measure the resistance of the cables is to pass a large current through the cable and measure the resulting voltage drop across the cable. However, this is a cumbersome test and requires electrical test equipment which is capable of handling the large current draw. The present invention provides an apparatus and technique for measuring the resistance of a cable in a configuration similar to that shown in FIG. 1.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of one example embodiment of electrical test equipment 50 for measuring electrical parameters of the electrical system 10 shown in FIG. 1. Test equipment 50 includes measurement circuitry 52, microprocessor 54, memory 56 and output 58. Measurement circuitry 52 is configured to couple to electrical system 10 of FIG. 1 through electrical connections 60 and 62. Measurements obtained by measurement circuitry 52 are used by microprocessor 54 in accordance with program instructions contained in memory 56. Based upon the measurements, an output is provided through output 58, for example, to a user or to other equipment. Connectors 60 and 62 are configured to couple to points C, D and C′, D′ in order to measure parameters of system 10. Any number of connectors may be used and the invention is not limited to the two illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0013] In one aspect of the present invention, test equipment 50 measures a parameter P(C,D′) between points C and D′ and a parameter P(C′,D′) between points C′ and D′. These measurements are used to determine the resistance of R₁ in accordance with the formula:
R₁=F[P(C,D′),P(C′,D′)]  EQ. 1
Further, a third measurement can be taken to obtain a parameter P(C′,D) between points C′ and D in FIG. 1. With this additional parameter, the resistance of R₂ can be determined as:
R₂=F[P(C′,D),P(C′,D′)]  EQ. 2

[0014] Microprocessor 54 can determine the actual values of R₁ and R₂, or can make some other determination related to R₁ and R₂, for example a pass/fail determination, a relative determination, a gradient based determination, etc. Microprocessor 54 provides an output through output 58 based upon the determination related to R₁ and R₂. The output can be a visual output, audible output, or the like, to an operator. In another example, the output is suitable for receipt by other circuitry.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a simplified diagram showing another example embodiment of circuitry in accordance with the present invention. In FIG. 3, test equipment 100 includes a microprocessor 54, memory 56 and output 58, similar to the configuration discussed with respect to FIG. 2. Additionally, measurement circuitry 102 is provided for coupling to the C,D and C′,D′ connections shown in FIG. 1. More specifically, Kelvin connections 104 and 106 are provided and are identified as A, B, C and D with connections 104B, 106A, 104A and 106B, respectively. Kelvin connection 104 is configured to couple to location C shown in FIG. 1. Kelvin connection 106 is configured to couple to location D shown in FIG. 1. An additional pair of connections 108 and 110 are configured to couple to locations C′ and D′ shown in FIG. 1. A forcing function 120 couples to connections 104B and 106A (A and B) and is configured to apply a time varying signal therebetween. The signal can be any type of time varying signal including a periodic signal and may have any type of waveform at a desired frequency or multiple frequencies. Further, in some embodiments, measurements are taken using different forcing functions at differing frequencies or waveforms. The forcing function can be an active signal which is injected through the A/B connection, or can be a passive signal in which a signal is drawn from points A/B through selective application of a resistance, etc.

[0016] An amplifier 122 couples to connections 104A and 106B (C and D) and provides an output to an analog to digital converter 124. Connections 108 and 110 (C′ and D′) couple to an amplifier 126 which provides an output to analog to digital converter 124. Note that this configuration is for explanation only and other configurations can be implemented in accordance with the present invention including different amplifier configurations, different analog to digital converter configurations, etc. Further, the forcing function 120 can be an active forcing function in which a signal is actively applied or can be a passive forcing function in which a signal is applied passively through a resistance or the like which is selectively applied to draw current from battery 20 shown in FIG. 1. The circuitry can be implemented in analog or digital circuitry, or their combination. Circuitry in accordance with techniques set forth in the Background section can be implemented, or other measurement techniques can be used.

[0017] Using the configuration set forth in FIG. 3, Kelvin connections 104 and 106 can be applied to points C and D identified in FIG. 1. Additional connections 108 and 110 can be applied to points C′ and D′ shown in FIG. 1. Using this configuration, the parameters measured in accordance with FIGS. 1 and 2 can be dynamic parameters which are functions of the applied forcing function 120. In another example embodiment, a single pair of Kelvin connections is used in which the connections are moved between various positions C, D, C′ and D′ shown in FIG. 1 and the resistance R₁ and R₂ of the cables 24 and 26 are determined.

[0018] Using the circuitry set forth in FIG. 3, conductance values between the various connections shown in FIG. 1 can be obtained. Using these conductance values, the resistances R₁ and R₂ can be determined using the following equations:
R₁=(K₁/G_CD′)−(K₂/G_C′D′)  EQ. 3
R₂=(K₃/G_C′D)−(K₄/G_C′D′)  EQ. 4
Where G_CD′ is the conductance measured between points C and D′, G_C′D is the conductance measured between points C′ and D′ and G_C′D is the conductance measured between points C′ and D. The values K₁, K₂, K₃ and K₄ are constants and can be, in some examples, the same value, for example unity. The conductance values can be either direct conductance values or can be conductance values converted to a cold cranking amps (CCA) scale. When CCA values are measured, the values of R₁ and R₂ can be determined using the formula:
R₁=(3.125/CCA_CD′)−(3.125/CCA_C′D′)  EQ. 5
R₂=(3.125/CCA_C′D)−(3.125/CCA_C′D′)  EQ. 6
The value of 3.125 can be adjusted based upon the particular CCA scale employed.

[0019] The load 22 can be any type of load including loads which draw high current levels, for example, a starter motor, a magnetic switch, a ground connection, wiring harness, a terminal which may be susceptible to corrosion, a connection through a bolt which may have inappropriate torque or otherwise provide a poor connection, trailer wiring, etc. In one example output, a particular voltage drop is provided for a particular current draw through the cabling. For example, the output can comprise an indication that there is a 0.5 volt drop through the cable under a 500 amp current. Such a parameter can also be used, for example, in a pass/fail test, i.e., if the voltage drop is more than a particular threshold at a given current level, a failure indication can be provided as an output. In one embodiment, the measured parameters comprise dynamic conductance. However, any dynamic parameter can be used in accordance with the present invention including dynamic resistance, reactance, impedance, conductance, susceptance, and/or admittance, including any combination of these parameters.

[0020] Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The measurements can be taken using multiple connections to the electrical system or by moving a single pair of connections to various positions on the electrical system. An output can be provided to instruct the operator where to place the connections.