I have a Schumacher SE-520MA battery charger, that seems to be having problems.
Here is a link to a picture and information: http://www.batterysales.com/schumacher-detail.cfm?model=SE-520MA
I have been using it to charge my 105Ah deep cycle AGM battery, as well as a 7Ah battery. When things were working properly, an LED would indicate a full charge, afterwhich the charger would switch into a maintenance mode. Over time, the LED would go on and off at various intervals, indicating that the battery was being kept charged. However, now the LED no longer indicates a full charge. I know the LED is working, because it will light up if I unplug the charger and connect the terminals to the battery. There is also voltage at the terminals while the charger is powered up.
In addition, the batteries appear to be mostly drained. I am unable to transmit on my IC-7000 while connected to the 105Ah battery, which is a few years old, and has been charged only a few times.
Does anyone have experience with this charger, who might know what is wrong with it?
---Michael, NO6O
michael@reynoldsoffice.com wrote:
I have a Schumacher SE-520MA battery charger, that seems to be having problems.
Here is a link to a picture and information: http://www.batterysales.com/schumacher-detail.cfm?model=SE-520MA
I have been using it to charge my 105Ah deep cycle AGM battery, as well as a 7Ah battery. When things were working properly, an LED would indicate a full charge, afterwhich the charger would switch into a maintenance mode. Over time, the LED would go on and off at various intervals, indicating that the battery was being kept charged. However, now the LED no longer indicates a full charge. I know the LED is working, because it will light up if I unplug the charger and connect the terminals to the battery. There is also voltage at the terminals while the charger is powered up.
In addition, the batteries appear to be mostly drained. I am unable to transmit on my IC-7000 while connected to the 105Ah battery, which is a few years old, and has been charged only a few times.
Does anyone have experience with this charger, who might know what is wrong with it?
What is the open-circuit voltage on the battery, and what is the voltage with the charger connected? Some of these units use selenium rectifiers that get tired after a while.
-- Jay Hennigan - CCIE #7880 - Network Engineering - jay@impulse.net Impulse Internet Service - http://www.impulse.net/ Your local telephone and internet company - 805 884-6323 - WB6RDV
On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:39:09 -0700, Jay Hennigan jay@west.net wrote:
What is the open-circuit voltage on the battery, and what is the voltage with the charger connected? Some of these units use selenium rectifiers that get tired after a while.
Hi Jay,
The open-circuit voltage switches between 9.7 and 4.7 volts in 3-second intervals. When connected to the battery, it's mostly steady at about 12v, which is what I measure right off the battery. When connected, the charger measurement shows a slight variation in the voltage, with the same 3-second intervals.
---Michael, NO6O
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Jay Hennigan -
michael＠reynoldsoffice.com