Sears 200.71231 - Manual (Page 9)

8
Charging Your Battery
Charging your battery in the vehicle:
1. Arrange the power cord and charging leads
carefully in order to avoid damage that could be
caused by the hood, door, or moving engine parts.
2. Keep clear of the fan blades, belts, pulleys, and
other parts that can cause injury.
3. Check the polarity of the battery posts using the
identification marks on the battery case: POSI-
TIVE (POS, P, +) and NEGATIVE (NEG, N, -).
4. Identify which battery post is ground or connected
to the chassis. THE NEGATIVE POST IS NOR-
MALLY THE ONE THAT IS GROUNDED.
5. To charge a negative grounded post system:
Connect the red (POSITIVE) charger clamp to the
ungrounded POSITIVE (POS, P, +) post of the
battery. Next, connect the black (NEGATIVE)
clamp to a heavy unpainted metal part of the
chassis or engine block, away from the battery. Do
not connect clamp to carburetor, fuel lines, or
sheet metal parts.
To charge a positive grounded post system:
Connect the black (NEGATIVE) charger clamp to
the ungrounded NEGATIVE (NEG, N, -) post of
the battery. Then connect the red (POSITIVE)
clamp to a heavy unpainted metal part of the
chassis or engine block, away from the battery. Do
not connect clamp to carburetor, fuel lines or
sheet metal parts.
6. Connect the clamp to the battery post and twist or
rock back and forth to make a solid connection.
This will help keep the clamps from slipping off the
posts and causing sparks.
7. Set your charger's right-hand 3-position selector
switch to the OFF position. Then plug the charger's
power cord into a grounded AC wall outlet.
8. Select the desired charge rate. (See "Setting the
Controls" on page 7.)
9. The charger will not stop when the battery is fully
charged. For this reason it is important to check
charging progress frequently. Overcharging can
damage a battery, you must monitor and unplug
charger when battery is fully charged.
10. When the battery is fully charged, the AMMETER
needle will fall to about half the charge rate
selected. For specific positions, see the “Amme-
ter” section of “Setting the Controls” on page 7.
11. When the battery is fully charged, unplug the
charger power cord. Next, set the right-hand
switch to the OFF position.
12. Facing away from the battery, remove the charger
clamp from the chassis first, then from the battery
post or terminal.
13. Clean and store the battery charger in a dry
location.
NEGATIVE GROUNDED SYSTEM