• 6 •
3.  PREPARING TO CHARGE
3.1  If necessary to remove battery from 
vehicle to charge, always remove 
grounded terminal from battery rst. Make 
sure all accessories in the vehicle are off, 
so as not to cause an arc.
3.2  Be sure area around battery is well 
ventilated while battery is being charged.
3.3  Clean battery terminals. Be careful to 
keep corrosion from coming in contact 
with eyes.
3.4  Add distilled water in each cell until 
battery acid reaches level specied by 
battery manufacturer. Do not overll. For a 
battery without removable cell caps, such 
as valve regulated lead acid batteries, 
carefully follow manufacturer’s recharging 
instructions.
3.5  Study all battery manufacturer’s 
specic precautions while charging and 
recommended rates of charge.
3.6  Determine voltage of battery by referring 
to car owner’s manual and make sure that 
output voltage selector switch is set at 
correct voltage. If charger has adjustable 
charge rate, charge battery initially at 
lowest rate.
4.  CHARGER LOCATION
4.1  Locate charger as far away from battery 
as DC cables permit.
4.2  Never place charger directly above 
battery being charged; gases from battery 
will corrode and damage charger.
4.3  Never allow battery acid to drip on 
charger when reading electrolyte specic 
gravity or lling battery.
4.4  Do not operate charger in a closed-in 
area or restrict ventilation in any way.
4.5  Do not set a battery on top of charger.
5.  DC CONNECTION PRECAUTIONS
5.1  Connect and disconnect DC output clips 
only after removing AC cord from electric 
outlet. Never allow clips to touch each other.
5.2  Attach clips to battery and chassis, as 
indicated in sections 6 and 7. 
6.  FOLLOW THESE STEPS WHEN BATTERY IS INSTALLED IN VEHICLE
WARNING: A SPARK NEAR THE 
BATTERY MAY CAUSE A BATTERY 
EXPLOSION. TO REDUCE THE RISK 
OF A SPARK NEAR THE BATTERY:
6.1  Position AC and DC cords to reduce risk 
of damage by hood, door, or moving 
engine part.
6.2  Stay clear of fan blades, belts, pulleys, 
and other parts that can cause injury to 
persons.
6.3  Check polarity of battery posts. POSITIVE 
(POS, P, +) battery post usually has larger 
diameter than NEGATIVE (NEG, N, –) post.
6.4  Determine which post of battery is 
grounded (connected) to the chassis. If 
negative post is grounded to chassis (as 
in most vehicles), see (6.5). If positive 
post is grounded to the chassis, see (6.6).
6.5  For negative-grounded vehicle, connect 
POSITIVE (RED) clip from battery charger 
to POSITIVE (POS, P, +) ungrounded post 
of battery. Connect NEGATIVE (BLACK) 
clip to vehicle chassis or engine block 
away from battery. Do not connect clip to 
carburetor, fuel lines, or sheet-metal body 
parts. Connect to a heavy gauge metal 
part of the frame or engine block.
6.6  For positive-grounded vehicle, connect 
NEGATIVE (BLACK) clip from battery 
charger to NEGATIVE (NEG, N, –) 
ungrounded post of battery. Connect 
POSITIVE (RED) clip to vehicle chassis 
or engine block away from battery. Do 
not connect clip to carburetor, fuel lines, 
or sheet-metal body parts. Connect to a 
heavy gauge metal part of the frame or 
engine block.
6.7  When disconnecting charger, turn 
switches to off, disconnect AC cord, 
remove clip from vehicle chassis, and 
then remove clip from battery terminal.
6.8  See Operating Instructions for length of 
charge information.