Manual

B-5
OPERATION
B-5
READING AN AMMETER
The ammeter indicates the charging current being
drawn from the charger by the battery. As the battery
becomes more fully charged, the charge rate lessens
and the ammeter needle moves toward the lower amp
numbers on the meter. During engine starting, the
ammeter will usually peg to the high-amperage end of
the meter.
There is no clear-cut way to read an ammeter and
determine exactly when charging is complete (if the
charger is so equipped, a green light on the charger
indicates battery is fully charged). At full charge, the
ammeter will still register some current draw (approxi-
mately 20-50% of the chargerʼs output rating). In
many cases, overcharging can occur if the charger is
not disconnected when the battery reaches full charge
or sooner. Therefore, it is very important that you fol-
low the CHARGING TIME EQUATION provided in this
manual.
Several battery conditions can also cause the amme-
ter to appear to indicate a battery near full charge,
when in fact, charging has only begun.
• Cold Battery
• Sulfated Battery
• Deeply-Discharged, Lead-Calcium Battery (many
newer automotive batteries)
BATTERY EXPLOSION CAN INJURE, AND
CAUSE PROPERTY DAMAGE!
To reduce risk of battery explosion, check to make
sure a cold battery is not frozen. Battery explosion can
result from attempting to charge a frozen battery.
• COLD BATTERIES (temperatures lower than 32° F
or 0° C) will begin charging at a low rate of charge.
But as the battery warms up through charging, the
charge rate will increase. Then, as the battery
charges up, the charge rate will decrease normally.
• SULFATED or DEEPLY-DISCHARGED LEAD-
CALCIUM BATTERIES - require a special activa-
tion procedure. See DEEPLY DISCHARGED
LEAD-CALCIUM BATTERIES in CHARGING TIME
INSTRUCTIONS.
• SHORTED BATTERIES - When the battery being
charged has a short circuit, the ammeter will peg at
the high-amp end of the scale. If after 5 to 10 min-
utes of charging, the needle has not started to
move toward lower amperages, unplug the charger
and discontinue charging.
If available, use a voltmeter and read the battery volt-
age. If the voltage is LESS THAN 12.0 volts for a 12
volt battery or LESS THAN 6.0 volts for a 6 volt bat-
tery, plug the charger back in and resume charging. If
after another 15 to 20 minutes, the ammeter has failed
to move toward lower amperages, repeat the volt-
meter test. If the voltage has not increased, the bat-
tery needs to be serviced or replaced.
DO NOT USE AMMETER to determine when full
charge is reached. Failure to comply with this caution
could cause the battery to be damaged from over-
charging. The battery could overheat and even
explode.
CHARGING TIME INSTRUCTIONS
Manual battery chargers need to be disconnected
from a battery when the battery has reached 100% of
charge OR SOONER. If this is not done, the battery
will overcharge, resulting in possible battery damage.
Be sure to follow the CHARGING TIME EQUATION
provided in this manual.
AUTOMATIC / MANUAL BATTERY CHARGERS / STARTERS HOUSEHOLD CHARGERS
WARNING
CAUTION