5.
PREPARING TO TEST
a. If necessary to remove battery from vehicle to test, always remove grounded terminal from battery first. Make
sure all accessories in the vehicle are turned off, so as not to cause an arc.
b. Clean battery terminals. Be careful to keep corrosion from coming in contact with eyes.
c. Determine cold cranking amp (CCA) rating of battery by referring to car owner's manual or label on battery.
6.
TESTER LOCATION
a. Locate tester as far away from battery as DC cables permit.
b. Never allow battery acid to drip on tester when reading specific gravity or filling battery.
c. Do not set a battery on top of tester.
d. Position cables to reduce risk of damage by hood, door, or moving engine parts.
e. Stay clear of fan blades, belts, pulleys and other parts that can cause injury to persons.
7.
CONNECTION PRECAUTIONS
a. Check that the load knob is fully counter clockwise before connecting clamps.
b. When attaching clamps to battery posts, twist or rock back and forth several times to make a good connection.
This tends to keep clamps from slipping off terminals and helps to reduce risk of sparking.
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Duty Cycle:
It is difficult to specify a duty cycle on a carbon pile load tester. It will vary greatly with ambient
temperature, length of test and load current on battery.
For maximum life, we recommend that the carbon pile never be heated until it is red hot. This can be easily seen by
looking in the unit when running a test. A red glow will indicate that the discs are so hot that the binders which hold
the carbon granules together are burning and deteriorating. This will lead to a deterioration of the discs, which will be
exhibited by the surfaces of the disc turning soft and powdery.
1. Visually inspect battery for obvious damage. Do not test battery if posts are loose, case is cracked, or fluid level in
cells is below the top of the plates. With "maintenance free" batteries, see manufacturer's instructions for
checking water level.
Do not test a frozen battery.
2. See connection precautions before connecting or disconnecting clamps prior to test.
3. Connect RED clamp to POSITIVE (POS, +, P) battery post and BLACK clamp to NEGATIVE (NEG, -, N) battery
post. Rock clamps to be sure of good electrical connection.
4. DETERMINE STATE OF CHARGE OF BATTERY.
a. Adjust LOAD CONTROL clockwise (CW) to ½ CCA rating for 3 seconds and release. Do not exceed 300
Amps on a 24-Volt battery.
b. Determine State of Charge by reading voltmeter and comparing to chart.
6 Volt
12 Volt
24 Volt
% Charge
6.3 or greater
12.6 or greater.
25.2 or greater
100%
6.2 - 6.3
12.4 - 12.6
24.8 - 25.2
75 - 100%
6.1 - 6.2
12.2 - 12.4
24.4 - 24.8
50 - 75%
6.0 - 6.1
12.0 - 12.2
24.0 - 24.4
25 - 50%
5.8 - 6.0
11.7 - 12.0
23.4 - 24.0
0 - 25%
5.8 or less
11.7 or less
23.4 or less
0%
If the state of charge is less than 75%, charge battery and retest.
