Refresh Charging
Refresh Charging
Special tools, testers and auxiliary items required
• Battery Charger VAS 5903 (VAS 5900)
Risk of injury. Observe warning notes and safety precautions. Refer to => [ Battery Safety Precautions ] Battery Safety Precautions and => [ Battery Safety Designation ] Battery Safety Designation!
Batteries that have a colorless or light yellow visual indicator do not have to be tested or charged. Jump starting must not be used!
There is a risk of explosion during testing, charging or jump starting.
These batteries must be replaced.
Refresh charging is not permitted for VW vehicles, because voltage surges can damage the on-board electronics.
If Refresh charging is still used, the battery must always be separated from the vehicle electrical system.
During the charging process, always set the operation mode corresponding with the battery. Refer to Operation instructions for battery charger!
Refresh charging is suitable for:
• Wet batteries, which can be filled with distilled water.
Do not use Refresh charging on maintenance-free wet batteries.
"Refresh charging (Refr)" is only used on batteries that are possibly defective (e.g. sulfation). Thereby the battery is charged to the maximum specific gravity of electrolyte and the plates are reactivated (removal of sulfation layer).
• The battery temperature must be at least 10° C.
- Turn off the ignition and all electrical consumers.
- Plug in the electrical system connector of the charger. The last selected operation mode is shown on the display. Refer to => [ Battery Charger VAS 5903 ] Battery Charger VAS 5903.
- Using INFO, set the mode of operation that corresponds with the battery.
The symbol - 1 - for refresh - charging wet batteries or the symbol - 2 - for refresh - charging of Gel/Absorbant Glass Mat (AGM) batteries is indicated in the display.
- Set the capacity (Ah) of the battery to be charged with the corresponding button Up [Up Arrow] or Down [Down Arrow].
- Clamp the red charging clamp + to the positive battery terminal.
• In the case of vehicles with a start/stop function and an installed battery monitoring control module (J367), the black charge terminal - must be connected to the body ground. The start/stop system will malfunction if it is connected to the negative terminal on the battery.
- Connect the black charging clamp - to the negative battery terminal.
The charger recognizes the nominal voltage of the connected battery (6 V, 12V, or 24 V) and begins the charging process automatically.
At a charge condition of approximately 80 - 85% of the battery voltage, charging unit begins the Final-charging. The fourth bar is indicated on the display - 1 -. The battery is ready for operation.
• The Refresh charging process is dependent on the degree of sulfation of the battery.
Possible Malfunctions and How They Are Handled:
1 - Displayed Voltage Does Not Match The Nominal Voltage:
- Hold the appropriate button Up [Up Arrow] or Down [Down Arrow] until the charging process begins.
2 - Displayed Battery Voltage Does Not Match Rated Voltage - Charging Process Has Already Begun:
- Press START / STOP twice.
- Hold the appropriate button Up [Up Arrow] or Down [Down Arrow] until the charging process begins.
3 - The Charger Does Not Recognize A Battery, When The Battery Voltage Is Less Than 2 V:
The display remains unchanged.
The set operating mode and Ampere-hours (Ah) are displayed.
End Battery Charging Process:
- Press START / STOP.
- Remove the black charging clamp - of the charger from the negative battery terminal.
- Remove the red charging clamp + of the charger from the positive battery terminal.
- Pull out the electrical system connector of the charger.