Current Draw Test

Current Draw Test

Risk of injury. Follow all Warnings and Safety Precautions. Refer to => [ Battery Safety Precautions ] Battery Safety Precautions.

Batteries that have a 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.

• Make sure the correct charging mode is set on the charger so the current draw test is not inaccurate.

• VAS 5903, refer to => [ Battery Charger ] Battery Charger (VAS 5903).

In order to receive an indication as quickly as possible of the battery condition of discharged batteries, a conclusion can be made during the charging process using the current draw as to whether the battery should be replaced or charged completely.

• In the case of the battery tester (VAS 6161) , the current draw test must always be conducted when the test result "conduct current draw test" appears in the display.

Always perform a current draw test when

• The test result from the (VAS 5903) shows the following:

1 Starting power sufficient
2 Starting power insufficient
3 Starting power very insufficient
4 not able to test - charge the battery and test again
and in cases in which the unit does not switch on (no LED, no print-out)

or

• The test result from the (VAS 6161) shows the following:

1 Perform a current draw test

Depending on the results of the test => [ Evaluating Test Results ] Evaluating Test Results, additional test steps or activities for a clear evaluation of the battery condition must be made.

By checking a battery's current draw capacity during the charging procedure, it can be determined in a short time whether a partially discharged or severely discharged battery => [ Severely Discharged Batteries ] Severely Discharged Batteries can become operable again by further charging.

Test Prerequisites

• The battery temperature must be minimum greater than or equal to 50° F (10 °C) when charging.

• The charger must be able to deliver at least 30 A charging current, such as the VAS 5903.

• When charging using the Battery Charger (VAS 5903) indicates the current draw on the device.

- Connect the battery to the battery charger and start the charging process.

- Measure the battery charge current after five minutes.

Test Result

When current draw is greater than 10% of nominal capacity Ah (for example 6.1 A at 61 Ah battery), fully charge the battery and retest.

• On the Eos with two 6V AGM batteries, the charge current must only be greater than 5% of the battery nominal capacity in Ampere. As an example for the Eos: the 50 Ah battery must have a charge current greater than 2.5 A after charging for five minutes.

- Charge the battery completely when the charge current is greater than 10% of the nominal capacity (note exception for Eos in the note above).

- After resting the battery for two hours, perform a battery test. Refer to => [ Battery Test ] Battery Test.

If the charge current is less than 10% of the nominal capacity (two 6 Volt batteries in the Eos 5%) five minutes after starting the test (that is, for a 50 Ah battery less than 5A), then replace the battery. Fill out the battery check sheet for warranty and goodwill cases.