the most efficient rate of charge current for the connected battery, according to its state of charge, state of
health, and electrical storage (Ah) capacity. The delivered current may be anywhere from 1.25A to 5.6A.
VERY FLAT NEGLECTED BATTERIES: Pay particularly close attention to the following A LiFePO
left deep-discharged for an extended period may develop permanent damage in one or more cells.
Such batteries may heat up excessively during charging. During the SAVE mode the program limits charge
current if the voltage is below nomimal (12.8V) and the program should detect obvious cell damage and will
automatically suspend charging, but the higher the cell count in parallel the more difficult it is to detect a bad
cell. ALWAYS monitor the battery temperature during the first hour, then hourly there-after. If at any time
the battery is uncomfortably hot to touch or you notice any unusual signs, DISCONNECT THE CHARGER
IMMEDIATELY.
STEP 1
1a 1b
CONNECT
TO THE
BATTERY
Protection
MANUAL CHARGE
BMS
RESET
ACTIVATION:
3
Bms
Bms
WARNING: Prior to and
following MANUAL
CHARGE ACTIVATION
monitor the battery
temperature. If at any
time the battery is
uncomfortably hot to
touch or you notice
any unusual signs,
DISCONNECT THE
CHARGER
IMMEDIATELY.
6
SELECTABLE MODES:
CHARGE - LED #1a - is the default mode following connection to AC
TUNE
power.
TUNE - LED #1b - provides a stable voltage of 13.6V to the battery with
2
up to 5A of current available, to prevent the battery from losing charge
during diagnosis/troubleshooting and/or when vehicle circuitry is
operated without the engine running. TUNE mode can be activated
during CHARGE mode, if the charger has determined that the battery
has reached approximately 75% state of charge (STEP 8) and is now
able to support additional or intermittent high current draw that may
occur during diagnosis/troubleshooting. See page 6.
LED #2 REVERSE POLARITY:
are incorrect. The charger is electronically protected so no damage
will result, and the output will remain disabled until the connections
are corrected.
AUTOMATIC ACTIVATION: The CHARGE mode automatically activates
and LED #1a brightens if the connected battery voltage is at least 0.5
Volt. The program proceeds directly to STEP 2 & 3.
MANUAL ACTIVATION: may be required for batteries with integrated
battery management system (BMS) that protects against deep
discharge.
Press the pushbutton. LED #3 blinks once per second as a special
BMS reset pulse is delivered. When the OptiMate Lithium senses the
battery BMS has reset, LED #3 turns full on, the reset pulses will
automatically discontinue and the program will continue to STEP 5.
Remove finger from pushbutton.
BMS not resetting / LED #3 lights briefly and then turns off: A deep
discharged battery may not hold sufficient voltage to power its own
BMS system.
MANUAL CHARGE ACTIVATION: Place and hold finger on BMS reset
button for 10 or more seconds until LED #3 turns full on. The charge
program now automatically starts at STEP 4 or 5.
ERROR! LED #8 flashes/blinks: 1) Battery is connected in reverse
polarity. Correct the connections and try again. 2) The vehicle circuitry
powered by the battery is preventing the pulse from being delivered.
Disconnect the battery from the vehicle and try again. 3) The battery's
BMS or the battery itself may have suffered damage. Have the battery
professionally assessed. 4) The charger cannot deliver current as the
ambient temperature may be out of safe charging range for the
battery. See page 2 for temperature (°C/°F) and corresponding
Ampére (A) values.
Lights when the battery connections
battery
4