10
USING THE BUILT-IN BATTERY TESTER
OVERVIEW
This battery charger has a built-in battery
tester that displays either an accurate bat-
tery voltage or an estimate of the battery’s
relative charge based on the battery volt-
age and the Battery Council International
scale.
TESTING SEQUENCE
There are four basic steps required to use
the PSC-12500A as a battery tester.
1. Connect the charger battery clamps to
the battery. Be sure to follow all of the
precautions listed under “OPERATING
INSTRUCTIONS”.
2. Connect the charger power cord to a
120V AC wall outlet. Again, be sure to
follow all of the precautions listed under
“OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS”.
3. If necessary, press the BATTERY
TYPE button until the correct type is
indicated.
4. Read the voltage on the digital display
or press the DIGITAL DISPLAY button
to set the tester to BATTERY % and
read the battery percent.
TESTER AND CHARGER
When first turned on, the PSC-12500A
operates only as a tester, not as a charger.
To continue to use it as only a tester, avoid
pressing the CHARGE START button. Se-
lecting a charge rate activates the battery
charger and deactivates the tester. Press-
ing the CHARGE START button when the
ENGINE START LED is lit (except during
the 180 second cool down) will shut off the
charger and activate the tester.
POWER-UP IDLE TIME LIMIT
If no button is pressed within 15 minutes
after the PSC-12500A is first powered up,
it will automatically switch from tester to
charger, if a battery is connected. In that
case, the charger will be set for the SMALL
BATTERY charge rate and 12V REGULAR
battery type.
TESTER WITHOUT TIME LIMIT
If either the DIGITAL DISPLAY or BAT-
TERY TYPE button is pressed within the
first 15 minutes after the PSC-12500A is
powered up, it will remain a tester (not a
charger) indefinitely, unless a charge rate
is selected.
TESTING AFTER CHARGING
After the PSC-12500A has been changed
from tester to charger (by selecting a
charge rate), it remains a charger. To
change the PSC-12500A back to a tester,
press the CHARGE START button until all
charge rate LEDs are off.
TESTER STATUS LEDs
When the PSC-12500A is operating as a
battery tester, the status LEDs light under
the following conditions:
• The CHARGED (green) LED will light if
a charged battery is tested.
• The CHARGING (yellow) LED does not
light in the battery test mode.
• The CONNECTED LED lights if a properly
connected battery is detected.
• When the tester digital display is set to
VOLTAGE, the CHARGED and CHARG-
ING LEDs won't light (it could be testing
a battery or an alternator).
INITIAL PERCENT CALCULATION
When a battery % is calculated for the first
time after connecting a battery, the digital
display will show three dashes (“---”) for a
period as long as several seconds while
the tester analyzes the battery.
NOTES FOR TESTING BATTERY %
A recently charged battery could have a
temporarily high voltage due to what is
known as “surface charge”. The voltage
of such a battery will gradually drop during
the period immediately after the charging
system is disengaged. Consequently, the
tester could display inconsistent values