Charging your battery procedure
Preparing to charge
- If it is necessary to remove the battery from the vehicle to charge it, always remove the grounded terminal first. Make sure all of the accessories in the vehicle are off, to prevent arcing.
- Be sure the area around to battery is well ventilated while the battery is being charged.
- Clean the battery terminals before charging the battery. During cleaning, keep airborne corrosion from coming into contact with your eyes, nose and mouth. Use baking soda and water to neutralize battery acid and help eliminate airborne corrosion. Do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Add distilled water to each cell until the battery acid reaches the level specified by the battery manufacturer. Do not overfill. For a battery without removable cell caps, such as valve regulated l lead-acid-batteries, carefully follow the manufacturer's recharging instructions.
- Read, understand and follow all instructions for the charger, battery, vehicle and any equipment used near the battery and charger. Study all of the battery manufacturer's specific precautions while charging and recommended rates of charge.
- Determine the voltage of the battery by referring to the vehicle owner's manual and make sure that the output voltage selector switch is set to the correct voltage. If the charger has an adjustable charge rate, charge the battery in the lowest rate first.
- Make sure that the charger cable clips make light connections.
Charger location
- Locate the charger as far away from the battery as the DC cables permit.
- Never place the charger directly above the battery charged; gases from the battery will corrode and damage the charger.
- Do not set the battery on top of the charger.
- Never allow battery acid to drip onto the charger when reading the electrolyte specific gravity or filling the battery.
- Do not operate the charger in a closed-in area or restrict the ventilation in any way.
DC connection precautions
- Connect and disconnect the DC output clips only after all of the charger switches to the 'off' position and removing the AC plug from the electrical outlet. Never allow the clips to touch each other.
- Attach the clips to the battery and chassis, as indicated below.
A spark near the battery may cause a battery explosion. To reduce the risk of a spark near the battery:
- Position the AC and DC cables to reduce the risk of damage by the hood, door and moving or hot engine parts.
- Stay clear of fan blades, belts, pulleys and other parts that can cause injury.
- Check the polarity of the battery posts. The POSITIVE (POS, P, +) battery post usually has a larger diameter than the NEGATIVE (NEG, N, -) post.
- Determine which post of the battery is grounded (connected) to the chassis. If the negative post is grounded to the chassis (as in most vehicles), skip to the next step*. If the positive post is grounded to the chassis, skip to the step after next**.
- For a negative-grounded vehicle, connect the POSITIVE (RED) clip from the battery charger to the POSITIVE (POS, P,+) ungrounded post of the battery. Connect the NEGATIVE (BLACK) clip to the vehicle chassis or engine block, away form the battery. Do not connect the clip to the carburetor, fuel lines or sheet-metal body parts. Connect to a heavy gauge metal part of the frame or engine block.
- **For a positive-grounded vehicle, connect the NEGATIVE (BLCK) clip from the battery charger to the NEGATIVE (NEG,N, -) ungrounded post of the battery. Connect the POSITIVE (RED) clip to the vehicle chassis or engine block, away form the battery. Do not connect the clip to the carburetor, fuel lines or sheet-metal body parts. Connect to a heavy gauge metal part of the frame or engine block.
- When disconnecting the charger, turn all switches to 'off,' disconnect the AC cord, remove the clip from the vehicle chassis and then remove the clip from the battery terminal.
- See Calculating Charge Time for length of change information.
A spark near the battery may cause a battery explosion. To reduce the risk of a spark near the battery:
- Check the polarity of the battery posts. The POSITIVE (POS, P, +) battery post usually has a larger diameter than the NEGATIVE (NEG, N, -) post.
- Attach at least a 24-inch long 6-gauge (AWG) insulated battery cable to the NEGATIVE (NEG, N, -) post.
- Connect the POSITIVE (RED) charger clip to the POSITIVE (POS, P, +) post of the battery.
- Position yourself and the free end of the cable you previously attached to the NEGATIVE (NEG, N, -) battery post as far away from the battery as possible - then connect the NEGATIVE (BLACK) charge clip to the end of the cable.
- Do not face the battery when making the final connection.
- When disconnecting the charger, always do so in the reverse order of the connecting procedure and break the first connection while as far away from the battery as practical.
- A marine (boat) battery must be removed and charged on shore. To charge it onboard requies equipment specifically designed for marine use.
Battery charging - AC connections
- The battery charger is for use on a nominal 120-volt circuit.
- Recommended minimum AWG size for extension cords for battery chargers: