10
KNOW YOUR CHARGER
Read this entire manual before using your charger. The items below are additional
features of your charger.
Relay
: Your charger is equipped with a
relay. This device turns the charge
current on and off to the battery. It is
normal to occasionally hear a clicking
sound when the relay is turned on or off.
MAINTENANCE AND CARE
A minimal amount of care can keep your battery charger working properly for years.
1. Clean the clamps each time you are finished charging. Wipe off any battery fluid
that may have come in contact with the clamps to prevent corrosion.
2. Coil the input and output cords neatly when storing the charger. This will help
prevent accidental damage to the cords and charger.
3. Occasional cleaning of the case of the charger with a soft cloth will keep the finish
shiny and help prevent corrosion.
4. Store the battery charger in a clean and dry location.
Fan
: Your charger is equipped with a
fan. It is normal for the fan to be on all
the time. Keep the area near the charger
clear of obstructions to allow the fan to
operate efficiently.
BATTERY CHARGE TIME
This charger adjusts the charging time
in order to charge the battery com-
pletely, efficiently and safely. The mi-
croprocessor automatically makes the
necessary decisions. However, this
section includes guidelines that can be
used to estimate charging times.
The duration of the charging process
depends on three factors:
1. Battery State
– If a battery has only
been slightly discharged, it can be
charged in less than a few hours. The
same battery could take up to 10
hours if very weak.
2
. Battery rating
– A higher rated
battery will take longer to charge than
a lower rated battery under the same
conditions. A battery is rated in
ampere-hours (AH), reserve capacity
(RC) and cold cranking amps (CCA).
The lower the rating the faster the
battery will be charged.
3
. Charge rate
– The charge rate is
measured in amps. This charger
provides charge rates of 2A, 6A and
10A. The
2A rate is for charging
smaller batteries such as those used
for motorcycles and garden tractors.
Such batteries should not be charged
using the 6A or 10A rates. The
6A
and 10A rates are for charging larger
batteries. The charger charges at the
selected charge rate and eventually
reduces the charge rate in a con-
trolled manner. After the charging
process has started, the charger led’s
can be used to determine charging
progress.
There are some important facts to keep
in mind when charging a battery.
• When the led below the charged led is
lit, the battery has been charged
enough to start most vehicles and has
already been charged as much as by
many other battery chargers.
• The more a battery is discharged, the
faster it absorbs charge from a
charger. That means that the battery
charge increases faster at the
beginning of the charging process
than at the end. In other words, it
takes longer for the battery to absorb
the last few percent of charge than
the first several percent.
