Polaris GEM E Series, Service Manual

Page: 75 / 174

ELECTRICAL 5 - 28
November 2007 GEM Service Manual
CHARGING WHEN BELOW MINIMUM VOLTAGE
The on-board charger has a safety feature, which
does not allow it to turn on if the pack voltage is
below 36 volts. If the battery pack goes below this
level an alternative charging procedure must be
followed:
NOTE: Use the appropriate charger for the
application. Failure to do so may result in injury
or personal and property damage. Use a 12-volt
charger for 12-volt type batteries only. Charge
one battery at a time individually. Use a 24-volt
charger for 8-volt and/or 12-volt type batteries;
two 12-volt batteries at one time or three 8-volt
batteries at one time.
1. Turn the master disconnect switch OFF.
2. Using an automotive type charger, charge each
battery individually. Set the charger on a
medium current level (10-30 Amps). Allow
enough charge time so the voltage on each
battery is at least 11.5 volts (30 minutes to 1
hour per battery).
3. After all batteries have been charged, remove
charger and turn the master disconnect switch
ON. Measure total pack voltage. If the pack
voltage is above the low voltage threshold, plug
in the on-board charger. Allow the on-board
charger to run it's complete cycle.
If a fault occurred anytime during charging, the red
FAULT LED will flash with a code corresponding to
the error. There are several possible conditions that
will generate errors. Some errors are serious and
require human intervention to first resolve the
problem and then to reset the charger by removing
and then restoring AC power. Other errors will
automatically recover when the fault condition is
eliminated. To determine which error occurred, the
FAULT LED will flash a number of times at rate of
one second, and then pause for 1.5 seconds and
then repeat.
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Always use a grounded outlet. When using an
extension cord, avoid excessive voltage drops
by using a grounded 3-wire 12 AWG cord.
2. The charger will automatically turn on and go
through a short LED indicator self-test (all
LED’s will flash in an up-down sequence for two
seconds). If the charger is used with the master
disconnect switch OFF and is waiting to be
connected to the battery pack, the charging
algorithm number will be displayed for 11
seconds (see “Check / Change Charging
Algorithm”) before ultimately displaying an
under-voltage fault until AC is cycled.
3. Once a minimum battery voltage is detected,
the charger will enter the bulk charging
constant-current stage and current to the
batteries will be displayed by the LED light on
the display of the charger unit. The length of
charge time will vary by how large and how
depleted the battery pack is, the input voltage
(the higher, the better), and ambient
temperatures (the lower, the better). If the input
AC voltage is low (below 104VAC), then the
charging power will be reduced to avoid high
input currents (‘AC’ LED extinguished). If the
ambient temperature is too high, then the
charging power will also be reduced to maintain
a maximum internal temperature (charger
display will flash YELLOW LED light but may
become blank or “blacked out”).
4. When the battery is at approximately 80% state
of charge, the bulk stage has completed and an
> 80% charge indication is given by turning on
the ‘80%’ LED. In the next phase know as the
absorption or constant-voltage phase, the last
20% of charge is then returned to the battery.
The charging could be terminated at this point if
the vehicle requires immediate usage, however,
it is highly recommended to wait until 100%
charge indication is given to ensure maximum
battery capacity and life.
5. A low current “finish-charge” phase is next
applied to return and maintain maximum battery
capacity (the ‘100%’ LED will flash).
6. When the ‘100%’ LED is continuously GREEN,
the batteries are completely charged. The
charged may now be unplugged from AC power
(always pull on plug and not cord to reduce risk
of damage to the cord). If left plugged in, the
charger will automatically restart of a complete
charge cycle to top the batteries up after an
appropriated time interval has elapsed (the
interval varies depending on the selected
algorithm).
7. If a fault occurred anytime during charging, a
fault indication is given by flashing RED with a
code corresponding to the error. There are
several possible conditions that generate