La Marche A45E Instruction Manual - page 9
MODEL A45E INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Page 9 of 12
THEORY & ADJUSTMENTS
CAREFULLY READ AND ADHERE TO ALL BATTERY AND BATTERY CHARGER INSTRUCTIONS
AND SAFETY WARNINGS.
To operate the charger, it is only necessary to turn on the on/off switch and connect a
battery. After the on/off switch is placed in the “on” position and prior to the battery
connection, all of the LED’s on the front panel will flash until a battery is connected.
This is the lamp test mode. When the battery is finally connected, the “ON CHARGE”
lamp will light and the digital display will indicate an increase in output current. The
charger will automatically start to charge the battery at some rate up to its maximum
capacity depending upon the state of charge of the battery.
A saturable reactor regulator controls the charge rate so that the charger puts out near
maximum output current down to a trickle charge on a taper curve as the battery
comes up to full charge. The charger’s battery EMF sensing circuit continuously
samples the battery voltage during the complete charge cycle and controls the
saturation of the reactor which in turn controls the power output of the charger.
The charger provides automatic power line compensation. This eliminates the need for
adjusting taps to match the input line voltage. The automatic compensation also
eliminates charging problems that arise from a varying line when charging continually
day and night or for two or three shift operations.
The unit is self protecting when subjected to abnormal overloading conditions. The
current limiting feature limits the output current to not more than 130% of the output
rating of the charger.
The charger is factory tested and preset such that no field adjustments are necessary.
If field adjustments must be made, the taper and shutdown point may be adjusted.
This adjustment may be made by moving the red slider band on the voltage reference
variable resistor RV1.
Moving the slider band toward the series connected resistor RV2 raises the shut down
point which allows the battery voltage to rise to a higher point before shutting down to
a trickle charge. Moving the red slider band away from the series connected RV2,
lowers the shutdown point.
It should not be necessary to make any adjustments to this charger and should any
adjustments be necessary, extreme care should be taken in making the adjustment. An
accurate d.c. voltmeter should be used and the d.c. voltage at the charger and battery
terminals should be measured. The battery voltage should not exceed 2.50 volts per
cell on a fully charged battery. Settings above this point may cause excessive (gassing)
use of water and battery heating.
Because of the stability of design, the unit needs no periodic adjustment. This along
with the rugged construction and conservation rated components, a insure long life and
trouble free operation.