There are now a few on the market when it comes to smart, connected car battery chargers. But none offer the in-depth analysis that the Topdon TB6000 Pro does.
What is it?
The Topdon TB6000 Pro is a Bluetooth charger that works with 12v and 6V batteries. It can also charge all types, including lithium-ion, WET, GEL, MF, EFB and AGM. In addition, it’ll charge batteries as small as 5ah up to 240ah.
You can schedule charge times, so no more timer sockets; it monitors the real-time voltage and current in graph form on the accompanying app and can test the CCA, internal resistance, state of health, state of charge and the battery health as a whole.
How does it work?
The app works on iOS and Android, downloading and opening the app starts the pairing procedure. The TB6000Pro can power itself from a 12v battery, so you can even pair without plugging it into the mains.
Once paired, you get the full functionality of the charger, scheduling, the plethora of tests, and the different modes.
Without using the app, you can cycle through the basic charging modes by pressing the large power button on the front.
The LCD screen lights up a nice bright white, so it’s easily visible, and the charger comes with a permanent hook-up connection and the traditional crocodile clamps. It’s also IP65-rated, but does come with a plug adapter as it’s an international item – the plug adapter felt solid though like it would stay in place.
What’s it like?
Super easy to use.
The app is nicely intuitive, and it wasn’t as buggy as the CTEK One app was, and it’s better laid out than the marA Power Smart Bluetooth Battery Charger.
Recently we changed the 12v battery on our BMW i3 as it was coming up to five years old, which is around the time they can fail. Attaching the TB6000 Pro to the old i3 battery, I ran a health check. First, you must switch off the mains and input the battery rating in amps. To do this, you need to select the battery standard as ‘EN’ (for European), then put the original amps the battery came with new in the box below.
I then ran the test, which came back with just 225 amps as opposed to the original 300, with the results saying, ‘The battery needs to be replaced’. So I’m glad I did before it failed!
Scheduling a charge is easy, although you can also leave it attached to smart charge (as long as the battery isn’t a Li-Ion or 6v). The repair function can also slowly jolt a battery back into life by gradually lifting the amps and voltage via pulse and small current charging.
Another handy feature which not all 12v chargers have is to become a 12v power supply. This can help if you’re swapping batteries and don’t want to lose vehicle settings or to fault find – clearing spurious error codes and seeing if they come back when the battery isn’t attached.
You can also delve into the ‘Expert’ modes if the standard DIY mode isn’t what you’re after…but you’d really have to be an expert to know if what you’re doing is right. Here you can change the max voltage, current, desulphation process and pre-charging values.
There’s no hook on the TB6000Pro, but there are rubber feet, so it’s easy to leave resting under your engine bay, or you could even put it on the bottom of the windscreen if you wanted to.
For some reason, Topdon has decided to use a bespoke round, four-pin connector from the unit to the crocodile clips and permanent hook-up. Although most manufacturers use a standard SAE connector, this makes permanent connections interchangeable between different chargers. A minor point, but if you have more than one vehicle or SAE cables already in place, it could be an issue.
Where can I get one?
Currently, the TB6000Pro is being crowdfunded on Kickstarter, but once that ends, the TB6000Pro will go on general sale for around the $99.99 mark.
