12
090143.01
vetus®
Battery charger BC120517
090143.01
13
vetus®
Battery charger BC120517
9 Meaning of LEDs
All LEDs off
No mains power (AC).
Red LED is lit
Mains power (AC) connected.
Yellow LED flashes
7-step charging process in progress.
Green LED is lit
Battery fully charged.
Red LED flashing
Error detected. Possible causes:
- Positive and negative cable con-
nected incorrectly.
- Short circuit between the posi-
tive and negative cables.
- Battery not connected.
- Battery voltage higher than 17.5
Volts.
- Internal temperature battery
charger higher than 70 ° C.
8 Charging capacity
Battery capacity
Charging time
(Ah)
(hours)
15
3
25
5
40
8
60
12
80
16
100
20
120
24
7 7-Stage charging
Step 1: Removing sulphate
Desulphation aims to break down the sulphate that forms in
batteries that have been discharged for a long time. This al-
lows the battery to be fully charged again.
Step 2: Soft start
During this first charging phase, the battery voltage is slowly
increased. This process protects and extends the life of the
battery.
Step 3: Bulk (constant current)
Bulk mode charges the battery at maximum speed, putting a
large amount of power into the battery in a short time. In this
phase, the battery is charged to around 80% until the voltage
reaches 14.5 volts.
Step 4: Absorption (constant voltage)
The charging speed is reduced. This allows the battery to ab-
sorb more power and to be charged up to 100%. The voltage
remains 14.5 Volts while the current is gradually reduced until
no more charge can be added without overcharging the bat-
tery.
Step 5: Battery test
After the absorption phase, a battery test is automatically
performed. To determine whether the charging process has
been successful, the voltage is monitored for 90 seconds.
If the voltage, after the test, is lower than 13.2 volts (defec-
tive), step 6 starts (recovery phase). If the voltage is higher
than 13.2 volts (OK), the final phase is initiated: maintenance
charging.
Step 6: Reconditioning
If the battery fails the battery test (phase 5), the recondition-
ing of the battery is started automatically. Failing the test in-
dicates that the battery could not be fully charged during the
absorption phase and therefore the reconditioning phase will
be started. The battery will be charged with a low constant
current for a period of 4 hours. The charger then proceeds
to maintenance charging. During the recovery phase, bat-
teries can be restored from a deeply discharged state, which
increases the performance and the service life of the battery.
Step 7: Float
The Float phase keeps the battery fully charged without over-
charging or damaging the battery. This means the charger
can remain connected to the battery.
The fully automatic 7-step charging cycle is repeated indef-
initely. If the terminal voltage falls below a lower limit, the
charger automatically returns to the start of the charging
curve.
ENGLISH
