Phone: 714-751-0488
Fax: 714-957-1621
E-Mail: [email protected]
www.newmarpower.com
P.O. Box 1306
Newport Beach,
California 92663
22
The rate that water is lost by the battery is dependent on several factors; battery condition,
ambient temperature, battery use, charge voltage, etc. It is normal for batteries which are not
maintenance-free to require topping off about once a month.
A battery’s state of charge may be monitored by checking the specific gravity or by open
circuit voltage. You may use the following table to evaluate the condition of your batteries:
Battery Condition Table
Specific Gravity
Measured by
State of
Hydrometer Open Circuit Voltage
Discharge @ 80° F
12 Volt System
24 Volt System
32 Volt System
1.265
12.6 or more
25.2 or more
33.6 or more
Fully Charged
1.225
12.4
24.8
33.1
25 % Discharged
1.190
12.2
24.4
32.6
50 % Discharged
1.155
12.0
24.0
32.0
75 % Discharged
1.120
11.7 or less
23.4 or less
31.2 or less
100 % Discharged
*
Note: Wait at least 5 minutes after charging or discharging before checking specific gravity or
open circuit voltage. The battery’s voltage needs to stabilize in order to get an accurate reading.
Troubleshooting Your Battery System
If your battery will not accept or hold a charge, one of the following conditions may exist:
1.
A BAD BATTERY
. You may have a battery with an open or shorted cell, a battery without
any “life” left. Check by charging the battery until all cells have a specific gravity of 1.225 or
greater at 80° F. If you are unable to obtain 1.225 in each cell, replace the battery.
2.
A BAD BATTERY CHARGER
. If the battery open circuit voltage is low and/or the hydrom-
eter indicates your batteries are low, the battery charger should be providing current to the
batteries. If it is not, check the input fuse and check to see that you have charging voltage on
the output with no battery attached.
Note: You will not get an accurate voltage reading on the
output of the charger with no batteries attached. This is checked merely to ensure that you do
not have an open circuit on the output.
The battery charger has a thermal power reduction circuit to protect the charger from over-
heating. If you suspect this is the case, refer to the INSTALLATION section for information
about proper charger location.
3.
ELECTRICAL LEAKAGE
. You may have a previously unsuspected source of current drain
from the battery. To check for a leakage of this sort, disconnect the battery ground cable and
connect an ammeter between the negative battery post and ground. If you have a reading
over .1 amp, there is a source of current drain from the batteries which must be located and
removed.