Charging The Battery

Information 

• Read operating instructions for the charger. 
• The battery must have a minimum temperature of 0°C. 
• If possible, do not rapid-charge batteries as this can damage them. 
• If exhaustively discharged batteries are charged quickly, they will not take up a charge current or they will be identified too early as full due to the so-called "surface charge". 

1. Switch off battery charging device.
2. Switch off ignition and remove ignition key.
3. Disconnect battery ground strap.
4. Disconnect positive cable.
5. Connect the positive cable of the battery charger to the positive terminal of the battery.
6. Connect the negative cable of the battery charger to the negative terminal of the battery.
7. Set the charge current on the battery charger according to the battery capacity.
8. Switch on battery charger.

   Procedure for charging exhaustively discharged batteries: 

   Batteries that have not been used for a long time discharge automatically.

   A battery is totally discharged if the open-circuit voltage has dropped to below 11.6 V.

   In exhaustively discharged batteries, the battery acid (sulphuric acid and water mixture) consists of virtually only water, as the sulphuric acid proportion is considerably reduced.

   Totally discharged batteries sulphatise, i.e. the entire plate surfaces of the batteries harden.

   If exhaustively discharged batteries are immediately recharged after an exhaustive discharge, the sulphatisation recedes again.

   If these batteries are not recharged, the plates continue to harden and charge take-up ability is limited. This results in reduced battery performance.

   Totally discharged batteries must be charged with a low charge current as follows:

   Set charge current at maximum 10% of battery capacity, i.e. for an 80 Ah battery the charge current is maximum 8 A.

   CAUTION: Ignition of the battery during charging. 

   • Danger of injury and risk of damage to materials coming into contact with battery acid when the battery is being charged. 
     • → The battery plugs must always be screwed in correctly when charging and during voltage measurement and load measurement.
     • → Rooms in which batteries are being charged should not be entered with a naked flame or when smoking. Gases form through the charging process in the batteries which are highly flammable.

   Information 

   • State-of-the-art batteries have central venting. 
   • The gas generated during charging escapes centrally through an opening on the upper side of the cover. Backfire protection is integrated at the same position and prevents combustible gas in the battery from igniting. 
   • On batteries with a hose/pipe for central venting, check that the hose is not disconnected or pinched. If it is, the battery cannot be freely vented. 
9. Charge the battery.