Schumacher Electric SC1281 Owner's Manual page 8

CHARGING A BATTERY OUTSIDE OF THE VEHICLE
1. Place battery in a well-ventilated area.
2. Clean the battery terminals.
3. Connect the battery, following the precautions listed in sections 6 and 7.
4. Connect the charger to a live grounded 120V AC outlet.
5. Select the battery type and charge rate.
6. Press the START button to begin charging immediately. If not pressed within 30 seconds, charging
will begin immediately. With the Charge rate selected, charging of the battery will automatically
complete. Even with Charge rate selected, the charger will automatically use the Boost rate, during
first 10 minutes, if needed, and then switch to the Charge rate to charge the battery efficiently.
7. When charging is complete, or if you are done using Engine Start or Boost modes, press STOP
button, disconnect the charger from the AC power, disconnect the clamp attached to vehicle's
chassis, and finally remove the clamp from battery terminal.
8. A marine (boat) battery must be removed and charged on shore.
CHARGE RATE
The charger will automatically adjust the charging current, based on battery size, in order to charge the
battery completely, efficiently and safely.
BATTERY CHARGING TIMES
BATTERY
SIZE
APPLICATION
POWERSPORTS 6Ah
32Ah
AUTOMOTIVE
300 CCA
1000 CCA
MARINE 50Ah
105Ah
Times are based on a 50% discharged battery and may change, depending on age and condition of battery.
AUTOMATIC CHARGING MODE
When an Automatic Charge is performed, the charger switches to the maintain mode automatically after the
battery is charged.
ABORTED CHARGE
If charging cannot be completed normally, charging will abort. When charging aborts, the charger's
output is shut off and the Bad Battery (red) LED will light. The digital display will show an error code (see
Troubleshooting for a description of the error codes). Do not continue attempting to charge this battery.
Have it checked or replaced.
DESULFATION MODE
Desulfation could take 8 to 10 hours. If desulfation fails, charging will abort and the Bad Battery (red) LED
will light.
COMPLETION OF CHARGE
Charge completion is indicated by the Charged/Maintaining (green) LED. When lit, the charger has
switched to the maintain mode of operation.
MAINTAIN MODE (FLOAT MODE MONITORING)
When the Charged/Maintaining (green) LED is lit, the charger has started maintain mode. In this mode, the
charger keeps the battery fully charged by delivering a small current when necessary. If the charger has to
provide its maximum maintain current for a continuous 12 hour period, it will go into abort mode (see Aborted
Charge section). This is usually caused by a drain on the battery or the battery could be bad.
CHARGING TIME (Hours)
2A 6A 8A 10A
6 2 1.75 1.5
15 5 4.5 4
12 4 3.5 3
30 10 8.5 7
15 5 4.25 3.5
33 11 9.5 8
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