6
Turbostart
SMART
CHArGer
USER GUIDE
Chapter 3
Operation
Charging Lead-Acid Batteries
WARNING:
Before you start to charge batteries read the “Important Safety Instructions” on page and take all safety
precautions when working with batteries.
SMART
CHArGer
have been designed to provide fully automatic recharge most 12V/14V/16V AGM and gel-cell batteries.
To charge your 12V, 14V or 16V battery:
1)
If possible, disconnect all loads from the battery, by removing battery cables, opening a disconnect switch, or switching loads off.
CAUTION!
Although this is best, in a racing environment this may not be possible. Supplemental loads such as an electric water
pump or cooling fans may be operated while charging during stage one. Please note though that supplemental loads
will reduce the amount of amperage available to the battery. The charger detects that a battery is fully charged when its
charging current drops below a preset limit in a specific elapsed time. The presence of electrical loads on the battery will
interfere with this process. Therefore when the charger is in stage two-absorption charging it is necessary for the battery
to be isolated from loads.
The
SMART
CHArGer
is in Stage 2 when the charge rate is declining.
2)
Select the correct battery voltage.
3)
Select the correct charging rate.(TurboStart 16V AGM battery should be charged at 15A when at the shop or 25A for rapid
charging at the track.)
4)
Connect the red positive (+) clip of the charger cables to the positive (+) terminal of the vehicle battery.
5)
Connect the black negative (–) clip of the charger cables to a solid chassis ground. If this is not possible, connect it to the negative
(–) battery terminal.
6)
Flip the power switch on the front panel to ON.
The
SMART
processor
will analyze the battery and then after a short delay, the “Charging Status” indicator on
the front panel will illuminate beginning the three-stage charging sequence. During charging, the charging current can be
reset to a different charge rate if necessary.
CAUTION:
Do not change the voltage type during charging. Use the correct battery type at all times.
During Stage 1, bulk charging, the amperage will begin at 20A. During Stage 2, absorption charging, the amperage will
start to fall to zero as the battery comes up to 100%. After the charging process is completed, the “Charging” indicator
light will go out and the Float Charge indicator will come on. During Stage 3, Float charging, the cooling fan inside the
charger will stop and the battery can be left in this stage indefinitely.
*Note that the charger will automatically restart the charging sequence if the charge current rises above a factory preset threshold.
7)
When complete, flip the power switch to OFF.
8)
Remove the black negative (–) clip and the red positive (+) clip from the vehicle’s battery terminals.