6
Q & A FG-A1
Backup System
Q. The red and yellow LED’s
flash on my control panel.
What’s wrong?
A. Maybe nothing at all! A slow
flash rate, (about 1 second, or
less), indicates that the charging
system has nearly charged the
battery to its optimum charge
level. The flashing LED’s should
slow and eventually stop when
the battery is completely charged.
A fast LED flash rate (more than
2 per second) indicated the 1 A
charging fuse has blown, the
battery leads are reversed or the
wall transformer is not supplying
proper voltage to the control box.
Check the battery connections,
then replace the fuse. If the LED’s
continue to fast flash, check the
115V outlet for proper current
and replace the plug-in wall
transformer,
if necessary. A
severely discharged battery may
also cause a surge in the system
and blow the fuse if connected.
Q. When I hooked up the
system, the yellow charging
light came on. Why? The
battery was supposed to be
fully charged when I got it.
A. A new battery, although charged
adequately to start most engines,
will not be charged to its full/
optimum level. The charging
system supplied with your pump
monitors the charge level and
slowly charges the battery to its
optimum level.
Q. OK, after 2 days, the LED’s
are blinking between
“charged and charging.”
What’s wrong now?
A. Probably nothing; see question 2
above. The system normally takes
2–3 days to fully charge a good
battery from about 11.9 VDC to
14.4 VDC. As the battery
approaches full charge,
the
LED’s will alternate between
“CHARGED” & “CHARGING.”
Q. Finally,
the LED’s quit
alternating and the
“CHARGED” LED came on,
but every once in a while the
“CHARGING” LED comes on
for just a second or two,
then goes out. Is my system
OK?
A. Yes! No need to worry. It is
normal for a battery to lose some
of its charge (decay) when idle.
Our charging system monitors the
charge state and turns itself on to
boost the battery backup to its
optimum charge. This usually
takes from a few seconds to a few
minutes.
Q. We came home late one
evening and heard our
battery backup alarm
sounding. The pump wasn’t
running. What’s wrong?
A. It is possible that the primary
pump failed to operate when
needed and your backup pump
activated and drained the tank.
The alarm activates any time the
pump is called to operate.
It continues to operate until the
alarm condition is manually
acknowledged by pressing the
reset switch.
Q. Pressing the reset switch
didn’t silence the alarm.
Now what?
A. The alarm circuit is activated
so long as the float switch is
activated. Check to see if the
backup float switch is tangled or
caught in the sump or piping.
Remember to disconnect all
power before servicing.
Q. The float wasn't tangled, but
the alarm continues to
pulsate.
A. A pulsating alarm is different
from a steady tone. The pulsing
alarm indicated that the battery
voltage has dipped below an
acceptable level. As a precaution,
the charging circuit is locked out
when this occurs, just in case one
or more cells have shorted. It will
be necessary to remove the
battery and have it charged on
a commercial automotive or
marine battery charger, per the
manufacturer’s instructions. Once
the battery voltage can be
sustained above 11.9 VDC, the
battery can be reinstalled in the
system and the on-board charging
circuit can again be used to
maintain the battery charge.
Q. When I got my system home
and prepared to install it,
I found out that the pump
cable, sensor and charging
cord were too short to reach
the control box. Can I splice
the leads so that they will
reach?
A. No! The cable lengths were
all designed around optimum
operating parameters and are at a
maximum length for their given
sizes. Since the charger and pump
are microprocessor (computer)
controlled, changing the cable
lengths may affect critical
computer inputs which could
cause the system to malfunction
and may even present a fire
hazard.
Q. I couldn’t install my battery
backup pump above my
primary pump per your
instructions, because my
sump is too shallow. Will it
matter if it is installed
BESIDE my primary pump?
A. Yes. Installing a backup pump in
the sump beside the primary
pump could spell disaster.
Sediment will accumulate inside
the backup pump and may cause
it to fail when needed most. The
backup pump must be installed
above the normal turn-on level of
the primary pump. You may need
to modify or replace your sump if
it is too small. A minimum 30"
deep sump is recommended.
Remember, the backup pump
must also be tilted at a 30 degree
angle to operate properly. (It may
air bind if not tilted.)
