Solar 1874 Mode D'emploi page 3

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Note: If tester has not been used for a period of time, moisture may have condensed between carbon pile discs. This
will cause the tester to steam a little during first or second load application. This is normal and is not a malfunction of the
tester. (Do not confuse this with heat due to overloading the tester.)
PREPARING TO TEST
Be sure area around battery is well ventilated while battery is being tested. Gas can be forcefully blown away by using a
piece of cardboard or other non-metallic material as a fan.
Clean battery terminals. Be careful to keep corrosion from coming in contact with eyes, skin or clothing.
Inspect the battery for cracked or broken case or cover. If visible signs of damage are present, do not test battery.
When testing flooded batteries, add distilled water in each cell until battery acid reaches level specified by the manufac-
turer. This helps purge excessive gas from cells. Do not overfill.
Perform load tests only on batteries above 60°F(16°C).
If it is necessary to remove battery from vehicle to test, always remove ground terminal from battery first. When removing
battery, make sure all accessories in the vehicle are off to ensure you do not cause an arc.
CALCULATE BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE
Before a battery can be load tested, you MUST determine its state of charge.
A hydrometer is a great tool to assess the condition of each cell, but on batteries with non-removable caps, a voltmeter is
your only choice to determine state of charge. The specific gravity of an open vent battery should be at least 1.230 in all
cells. If not, charge the battery until 1.230 is obtained. The specific gravity readings of each battery cell in a fully charged
battery should not vary more than 50 points between cells. If the variance is more than 50 points (0.050), replace the bat-
tery. In case of a deeply discharged battery, a longer period of time for charging may be required. After charging, remove
the surface charge from the battery. If charging the battery will not bring the charge to 1.230 or greater, then the battery
should be replaced.
OKAY to
Load Test
Do Not
Load Test
Maintenance free and sealed batteries have an indicator built into the battery cover. The color of this indicator verifies the
condition of the battery:
– If the green ball is visible, the battery is charged.
– If the indicator is dark and the green ball is not visible, the battery is partially discharged.
– If the indicator is light yellow, the battery is low on fluid and near the end of its useful life.
DO NOT ATTEMPT RECHARGING OR TESTING IF THE INDICATOR IS YELLOW.
It is highly recommended that maintenance free batteries should be tested with a voltmeter to determine state of charge.
All manuals and user guides at all-guides.com
Open Circuit Approximate
Voltage State-of-Charge
{
12.60 ––––––––––––100% –––––––––––––– 1.225
12.40 –––––––––––– 75% –––––––––––––– 1.225
{
12.20 –––––––––––– 50% –––––––––––––– 1.190
12.00 –––––––––––– 25% –––––––––––––– 1.155
11.80 –––––––––––– 0% –––––––––––––– 1.120
Average Cell
Speci c Gravity
OKAY to
Load Test
Do Not
Load Test