When charging a battery with sealed terminals outside the vehicle, install an adapter. Make sure all charger connections are clean and secure. For best results, the battery should be charged when the electrolyte and plates are at room temperature. Extremely cold batteries may not charge for several hours after charging begins.
Charge the battery until the green dot appears. During the charging process, the battery should be checked every 30 minutes. Tilt or shake may be necessary to make the green dot appear.
After charging, the battery should be tested.
The time it takes to charge a battery depends on the following factors:
- battery size - for a fully discharged high-capacity battery designed for heavy duty operation, the time required is 2 times longer than for charging the battery of a passenger car;
- temperature - it will take longer to charge a battery at -18°C than at 27°C. If the charger is connected to a cold battery, the charge level will be very low at first, but as the battery temperature rises, the charge level will increase;
- charger capabilities - a charger with a 5A charging current will take longer to charge than a charger with a 30A or higher charging current;
- state of charge - it takes twice as much charge to charge a completely discharged battery as it does to charge two half-discharged batteries, because in a completely discharged battery the electrolyte is almost pure water in composition and is a poor conductor. Then, as the charging current increases the acid content of the electrolyte, the state of charge increases accordingly.
Before charging, disconnect the positive cable from the battery, then the ground cable.
Before charging, check the electrolyte level and add distilled water if necessary.
Frozen battery (a battery in which the electrolyte has frozen) defrost before charging. A fully charged battery freezes at -65°C, a half charged battery at -30°C, and a discharged battery at -12°C.
Charge the battery only in a well-ventilated area. When charging the installed battery, leave the hood of the car open.
During normal charging, the charging current value is approximately 10% of the battery capacity. (that is, a battery with a capacity of 50 A should be charged with a current of approximately 5.0 A). Charging time is approximately 10 hours.
Connect the positive terminal of the battery to the positive wire, and the negative terminal of the battery to the negative wire of the charger.
During charging, the electrolyte temperature should not exceed +55°C; if necessary, interrupt charging or reduce the charging current value.
Fig. 7.4. Battery charger
(The text is available on this website: «www.RenaultBook.ru»)