How to Test a 6 Volt Battery

Six-volt batteries are used to power items such as motorcycles, golf buggies and wheelchairs. Two 6 volt batteries, wired in series to produce 12 volts, are also commonly used in recreational vehicles as they last longer than one 12-volt battery. The batteries used to power these items are lead-acid batteries and are capable of producing a constant 6 volts until they are almost fully discharged (about 80 percent). You can test if your battery is producing 6 volts using a voltmeter or multimeter.

Things You'll Need

  • Multimeter or voltmeter
  • Access the 6-volt battery and determine the polarity of the two battery terminals. Each terminal is clearly labeled. The positive terminal is labeled "Pos", "+" on, or next to, the terminal. Once you've found the positive terminal, the other terminal is the negative terminal, but to confirm look for "Neg" or "-" on, or next to, the terminal. Some terminals can have small plastic colored rings around the base of the terminal making identification even easier: red for positive and black for negative.

  • Set a multimeter or voltmeter to measure volts in the range 0 to 12, if it has variable settings. The meter has two colored wires attached to it: red meaning positive and black meaning negative. On the end of the wires are metal sensors.

  • Place the sensor on the end of the red wire onto the positive battery terminal. Place the sensor on the end of the black wire on the negative battery terminal.

  • Look at the digital or meter display on the multimeter or voltmeter. It should read 6 volts if the battery is in good condition and is at least 20 percent charged. If it reads less than 5 volts, recharge the battery.