Tecmate Optimate4 Anwendungsvorschriften Seite 4

USING THE OPTIMATE
The clauses below are numbered the same as the quick guide on the inside front cover.
1. and 2. Connections and input power
Connect the charger to the battery: RED clamp to POSITIVE (POS, P, +) terminal and BLACK clamp to NEGATIVE
(NEG, N,–) terminal. Now you are ready to start:
1.
Connect the charger to a mains supply socket providing AC supply of 220 to 240V. The "POWER ON" LED #1
should illuminate. If not, check your AC supply and the connection to it.
2.
If the INVERSE POLARITY LED #2 indicates, the battery connections are incorrect. The charger is
electronically protected so no damage will result, and the output will be disabled automatically. Disconnect
the AC input, swap the battery connections around, then restore the AC input power.
Automatic microprocessor controlled operations.
All charge and test LEDs light briefl y after § 1 above to confi rm microprocessor health.
3. Circuit activation and recovery of deep-discharged, neglected batteries
For safety reasons, the OptiMate
to it and it is connected to a live 220-240V input. If these conditions are not met, only the POWER ON LED #1 will
light on the LED panel.
3.1 Immediately the output circuit is activated, the orange DESULFATE LED #3 comes on very briefl y while the
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OptiMate checks whether the battery can be charged effectively by the normal multi-stage programme. If
it can, the yellow CHARGE LED #4 will almost immediately replace the DESULFATE LED, and the CURRENT
LED #10 (0,8A) should come on.
3.2
If the battery is extremely fl at (deep-discharged or sulphated), the DESULFATE LED will continue to indicate
for up to 2 hours while a special high voltage is applied to force a very small fi xed current into the battery in
a recovery attempt. This recovery mode has two stages. In the fi rst stage the voltage is limited to about 16V
for 5 seconds while the circuit assesses whether this level is likely to be adequate to recover the battery. If
this assessment is positive the recovery mode programme continues with voltage limited at 16V for up to
2 hours maximum, or until the moment when the automatic circuit judges that the battery can accept the
normal charging programme. During 3.2 the charge current LED #8 (0,2A) may indicate after some time
when the battery starts to accept some current.
3.3 In the case of very badly neglected batteries that have not received any charge for many months, the
second more powerful TURBO stage of the recovery mode will engage about 5 seconds after the circuit
has been initialised. The voltage limit is reset at 22V, but the current is limited to a very low and safe value.
To indicate the activation of the TURBO RECOVERY mode the DESULFATE LED #3 fl ashes. As and when the
battery can accept the very low set current, the charge voltage automatically reduces. At this moment or in
any case after the maximum time limit of 2 hours has elapsed, the CHARGE mode (§ 4) will engage.
NOTE: A battery left deep-discharged for an extended period may develop permanent damage in one or more
cells. Such batteries may heat up excessively during charging. Stop charging any battery immediately if it is
uncomfortably hot to touch.
4. Charge and charge verifi cation
4.1
The BULK CHARGE stage (steady LED #4) delivers a constant current of about 0,8 Amps (LED #10) into the
battery. This will cause the charging voltage to increase gradually. When it reaches 14,3V, the OptiMate
will start the absorption and CHARGE VERIFICATION stage.
4.2
CHARGE VERIFICATION (fl ashing LED #4): The charging voltage is now limited at 13,6V during 30 minutes
whilst the battery's charge level is verifi ed. If the battery requires further charging the programme will
revert to the main CHARGING stage (§ 4.1) and yellow LED #4 will indicate steadily again. When the
rising voltage again signals that the battery is approaching full charge the circuit reverts to VERIFICATION
and LED #4 resumes fl ashing. These reversions may occur as many times as is necessary to reduce the
battery's current demand below 200mA at 13,6V (which is consistent with a battery that has accepted as
much charge as its basic condition allows). As soon as the circuit has verifi ed that the charge is adequate
(signaled by LED #4 having fl ashed continuously and consistently for a full 30 minutes), the voltage
retention test (see § 5) automatically follows.
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output will only switch on if a battery retaining at least 2V is correctly connected
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