7
PRE-QUALIFICATION TEST:
LEDs #6 / 7 / 8
TEST LEDs #6/7/8 indicate the condition of the battery prior to charging. Charging commences after 10 seconds.
Consult the
“EARLY WARNING OF BATTERY PROBLEMS”
table on page 2 (illustration 2) for TEST LED indications.
LOW TEMPERATURE WARNING - LED #8 (red) flashing:
The temperature measured at OptiMate Lithium is below -20 degrees
Celcius or 4 degrees Fahernheit, below the safe charging AND discharging zone for LiFePO4 batteries.
SAVE / LOW VOLTAGE RECOVERY:
LED #3
IMPORTANT: If this mode engages read the section
VERY FLAT NEGLECTED BATTERIES
on page 5.
This mode engages
if the battery was more than 90% discharged / voltage is below 12.8V.
safe T:
Charge current is
automatically adjusted according to voltage and ambient temperature measured during the pre-qualification test.
VERY LOW VOLTAGE SAVE for batteries between 0.6V and 8.8V
:
Current starts at 125mA and will increase to 325mA
depending on charge progress. If the voltage did not rise above 8.8V within 2 hours, charging will be suspended and the TEST
LED #8 (red) will flash, indicating the battery may have suffered permanent damage or a professional assessment is required.
LOW VOLTAGE SAVE for batteries between 8.9V and 12.8V:
Maximum current is set to 1.25A. The battery's charge
acceptance is monitored for unusual behaviour. A healthy LiFePO4 battery will progress to CHARGE mode within 4 hours,
otherwise charging will be suspended and TEST LED #8 (red) will flash, indicating the battery may have suffered permanent
damage or a professional assessment is required.
CHARGE:
LED #4
The
safe T
program limits charge current if the temperature measured at the OptiMate Lithium is below 0 C / 32 F or above 45
C / 113 F. If the temperature was initially below 0 C / 32 F charge current is limited to 325mA only for the first hour after which
the battery is expected to have increased it's internal temperature within the normal temperature zone. Within the normal
temperature zone the
ampmatic
™ LiFePO4 specific program automatically determines 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 5A.
For batteries with an electrical storage (Ah) capacity less than 5Ah charge current is automatically adjusted lower to an average
equal to battery Ah capacity, e.g. a 2.5Ah / 2500mAh battery receive an average of 2.5 Amps.
NOTE:
For safety reasons there is an overall charge time limit of 24 hours for SAVE and CHARGE modes.
OPTIMIZE:
LED #5
The OPTIMIZE mode starts when the voltage has reached 14.3V for the first time during bulk CHARGE mode.
Pulsed absorption / equalization step:
The
ampmatic
™ current control program now delivers pulses of current for 10
minutes so as to cause the battery voltage to vary between 14.1V and 14.4V, to equalize the individual cells within the battery.
Verification step:
The battery's charge level is verified during 5 minutes. If the battery requires further charging the program will
revert to pulsed equalization.
NOTE:
Charge time limit equal to 1/2 the time the battery remained in CHARGE mode.
VOLTAGE RETENTION TEST: starts with
LED #6 flashing
Delivery of current to the battery is interrupted for 12 hours to allow the program to determine the battery's ability to retain
charge. A small load is applied to remove surface charge and improve accuracy of the test result.
For batteries with a good state of health LED #6 (green) should continue to flash for the full period
.
Consult the
“EARLY WARNING OF BATTERY PROBLEMS”
table on page 2 for LED indications other than LED #6 (green).
A significant problem exists if the battery is unable to retain sufficient charge during the 12 hour test period.
NOTE:
If the voltage reduced below 12.8V within the first 30 minutes charging will be suspended and TEST LED #8 (red) will
flash, indicating the battery may have suffered permanent damage or a professional assessment is required.
Read the section NOTES ON TEST RESULTS on reasons for poor test results or how to test a battery that returns a good result but
cannot deliver sufficient power once it is returned to service.
MAINTENANCE CHARGE: LED #6 /7 / 8 steady on
The circuit offers current to the battery within a safe 13.6V voltage limit whilst the result of the voltage retention test is displayed.
For batteries with a good state of health LED #6 (green) will remain on. The maintenance charge mode continues until
the charger is disconnected.
Consult the
“EARLY WARNING OF BATTERY PROBLEMS”
table on page 2 for LED indications other than LED #6 (green).
A more detailed description of the automatic maintenance cycle for long term battery storage can be found under the section
AUTOMATIC BATTERY MAINTENANCE.
