Schumacher PS-1562A,PS-1562A Instruction Manual

For
Lead-Acid
Batteries

Model: PS-1562A

1.5 Amp Automatic Battery Charger/Maintainer
For 6 and 12 Volt Batteries

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

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Important Safety Instructions

Read instructions and rules for safe operation carefully.

Your battery charger has been designed to provide years of service. This instruction manual contains information
on safety, operation, and maintenance of your new charger. Make sure that you are familiar with this information
before using the charger.

The battery charger is ideal for recharging batteries in snowmobiles, ATVs, garden tractors and motorcycles. It
also will warm large batteries found in automobiles and marine applications.

1. Before you use your battery charger, be sure to read all in­structions written in the manual, on the charger and carton.

2. Do not expose to rain or snow.

3. The use of an attachment not recommended or sold by the
charger manufacturer may result in a risk of fire, electric
shock, or injury to persons.

4. To reduce risk of damage to electric plug and cord, pull by
plug rather than by the cord when disconnecting charger.

5. An extension cord should not be used unless absolutely
necessary. Use of improper extension cord could result in a
risk of fire and electric shock. If an extension cord must be
used, make sure:

a) the pins on plug of extension cord are the same number,

size and shape as those of plug on charger.

b) the extension cord is property wired and in good electri-

cal condition; and

c) the wire size is large enough for AC ampere rating of

charger as specified in the following chart.

Length of cord (feet): 25 50 100 150
AWG size of cord: 18 18 16 14

6. Do not operate the charger with damaged cord or plug; re­place them immediately.

7. Do not operate charger if it has received a sharp blow, been
dropped, or otherwise damaged in any way; take it to a quali­fied service person.

8. Do not disassemble charger; take it to a qualified service
person when service or repair is necessary. Incorrect as­sembly may result in a risk of electric shock or fire.

9. To reduce risk of electrical shock, unplug the charger from
outlet before attempting any maintenance or cleaning.

10. WARNING: RISK OF EXPLOSIVE GASSES.
WORKING IN THE VICINITY OF A LEAD-ACID BATTERY
IS DANGEROUS. BATTERIES GENERATE EXPLOSIVE
GASSES DURING NORMAL BATTERY OPERATION. FOR
THIS REASON, IT IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE
THAT EACH TIME BEFORE USING YOUR CHARGER; YOU
READ THIS MANUAL AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS
EXACTLY.

To reduce the risk of battery explosion, follow these instruc­tions and those published by the battery manufacturer. Re­view the cautionary markings on the battery charger and
battery.

11. PERSONAL PRECAUTIONS
a) Someone should be within range of your voice, or close

enough to come to your aid, when you work near a lead­acid battery.

b) Have plenty of fresh water and soap nearby in case bat-

tery acid contacts skin, clothing or eyes.

c) Wear eye protection and clothing protection. Avoid touch-

ing eyes while working near a battery.

d) If battery acid contacts skin or clothing, immediately wash

with soap and water. If acid enters eye, immediately flood
with running cold water for at least 15 minutes and get
medical attention immediately.

e) Never smoke or allow a spark or flame in the vicinity of

battery or engine.

f) Do not drop a metal tool onto the battery. It might spark

or short-circuit the battery or other electrical part that may
cause an explosion.

g) Remove personal metal items such as rings, bracelets,

necklaces and watches when working near a lead-acid
battery.

h) Use the charger for charging a lead-acid battery only. It

is not intended to supply power to a low-voltage electri­cal system other than in an automotive application. Do
not use battery charger for charging dry cell batteries
that are commonly used with home appliances. These
batteries may burst and cause injury to persons or dam-

age to property.
i) Never charge a frozen battery.
j) WARNING: Handling the cord on this product or cords

associated with accessories sold with this product, will

expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of

California to cause cancer and birth defects or other re-

productive harm.

If it's necessary to remove battery from vehicle to charge, al­ways remove grounded terminal from the battery first. Make sure
all accessories in the vehicle are off, so as not to cause an arc.

Wash hands after handling.

00-99-000295/0503

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12. PREPARING TO CHARGE
a) Make sure area around the battery is well ventilated while

battery is being charged. Gas can be blown away by
using a piece of cardboard or other non-metallic mate­rial as a fan.

b) Add distilled water in each cell until battery acid reaches

levels specified by the battery manufacturer. This helps
purge gas from cells. Do not overfill. For a battery with­out cell caps, carefully follow manufacturer’s instructions.

c) Study all battery manufacturer’s specific precautions such

as removing or not removing cell caps while charging
and recommended rates of charge.

d) Determine voltage of battery by referring to vehicle

owner’s manual.

DANGER: Never alter the AC plug provided. If it will not fit the
outlet, have a proper outlet installed by a qualified electrician.
Improper connection can result in the risk of electrical shock.

WARNING: Connect and disconnect the battery clips only when
the wall plug is disconnected or arcing may result.

CAUTION: Do not expose to rain. Replace damaged cords or
wires immediately.

13. BATTERY CHARGER LOCATION
a) Locate charger as far away from battery as DC cables

permit.

b) Never place charger directly above battery being

charged.

c) Never allow battery acid to drip on clamps or charger

when reading specific gravity.

d) Do not operate charger in a closed-in area or restrict

ventilation in any way.

e) Do not set battery on top of charger.

14. DC CONNECTION PRECAUTIONS
Connect and disconnect DC clamps only after removing
charger AC power cord from the wall outlet. Do not permit
clamps to touch each other.

15. FOLLOW THESE STEPS WHEN BATTERY IS INSTALLED
IN VEHICLE. A SPARK NEAR BATTERY MAY CAUSE BAT­TERY EXPLOSION. TO REDUCE THE RISK OF A SPARK
NEAR THE BATTERY:

a) Position AC power cord and DC output cord to reduce

risk of damage by hood, door, or moving engine parts.

b) Stay clear of fan blades, belts, pulleys and other parts

that can cause injury to persons.

c) Check polarity of battery posts. Positive battery post usu-

ally has a larger diameter than the Negative post.

d) Determine which post of battery is grounded (connected)

to the chassis. If Negative post is grounded to the chas­sis (as in most cases), see Item 15e. If Positive post is
grounded to the chassis, see Item 15f.

e) For negative grounded vehicle, connect Positive clamp

from charger to Positive ungrounded post. Connect
Negative (Black) clamp to vehicle chassis or engine block
away from battery. Do not connect to carburetor, fuel lines
or sheet metal body parts. Connect to a heavy-gauge
metal part of the frame or engine block.

f) For positive-grounded vehicle, connect Negative (Black)

clamp from charger to ungrounded Negative (Black) post
of battery. Connect Positive (Red) clamp to vehicle chas­sis or engine block away from battery. Do not connect to

carburetor, fuel lines, or sheet metal body parts. Connect
to a heavy-gauge metal part of the frame or engine block.

g) When disconnecting charger, disconnect at wall recep-

tacle, remove clamp from vehicle chassis and then re­move clamp from battery post.

16. FOLLOW THESE STEPS WHEN BATTERY IS OUTSIDE

OF VEHICLE.

a) Check polarity of battery posts. Positive battery post usu-

ally has a larger diameter than the Negative post.

b) Attach at least a 24" long, 18-gauge or heavier insulated

jumper cable to the Negative battery post.

c) Connect Positive (Red) charger clamp to Positive post

of the battery.

d) Position yourself and free end of the cable as far away

from the battery as possible, then connect the Negative
clamp to the free end of the cable. Do not face battery
when making this final connection.

e) When disconnecting charger, always do so in reverse

sequence of connecting procedure and disconnect the
first connection while as far away from the battery as
possible.

f) A marine (boat) battery must be removed and charged

on shore. To charge it on board requires equipment spe­cially designed for marine use.

17. OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS
a) Set the 6 and 12 Volt selector switch to match the volt-

age of the battery being charged.
b) Connect charger to a battery as outlined in Section 15 or 16.
c) Plug AC power cord into 120 Volt, 60 Hz receptacle.
d) The amber light indicates battery is being charged, the

green light indicates battery is fully charged, and the red

light indicates trouble. See more detailed explanation

below.
e) When the charger is plugged into an AC outlet but not

connected to a battery, the Green LED will be illuminated.

For proper operation, the battery charger must be

plugged into an AC outlet and connected to a battery.
f) When properly connected, the amber LED indicator

should illuminate. This indicator will stay illuminated un-

til the battery voltage has reached approximately 14.4

Volt and the charge current has decreased to 0.5 Amps.

At this point, the amber indicator turns off and the green

indicator turns on. Also at this point, the internal voltage

reference of the charger will change in order to maintain

the battery voltage at 13.2 Volt. At this lower voltage,

charger current is typically a few milliamperes (mA)

(1 mA = 0.001 A). Under this condition, called maintain,

most batteries can be left charging indefinitely. If the

battery is loaded with 0.5 Amps or greater while in the

maintain condition, the charger will change back to the

normal charging condition described above.
g) Never leave the battery connected to the charger while

the charger is unplugged from the AC outlet. The charger

draws a few milliamperes (mA) from the battery and will

eventually rundown the battery.
h) The Red LED indicates an overload condition. Common

causes are shorting of the battery clamps, reverse-po-

larity connection to a battery, and charging a problem

battery. An overload condition could also be caused by

charging two or more batteries in parallel or charging a

battery larger than the size commonly used in a car or

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truck. Once the charger goes into the overload state, it
will not automatically reset to the normal charge state.
One of the battery clamps must first be disconnected
from the battery for at least 5 seconds.

i) Battery types: Most starter, deep cycle and gel type bat-

teries can be charged and maintained.

CAUTION: To reduce risk of fire or electric shock, connect
battery charger directly to grounding receptacle (three­prong). An adapter should not be used with battery charger.

CHARGER MAINTENANCE AND CARE

Clean the clamps each time you are finished charging. Wipe off
any battery fluid that may have come in contact with the clamps
to prevent corrosion.

Coil the output cord neatly when storing the charger. This will
prevent accidental damage to the cord and charger.

CHARGER CONTROLS

This charger has no power on/off switch. Plug into AC recep­tacle only after battery connections are made.

INDICATION OF A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY

A hydrometer reading of the specific gravity of the electrolyte
(fluid) of the battery in good condition should be between 1.25
and 1.285. When the battery reaches 80–85% of full charge,
bubbles will appear on the surface of the fluid. As the battery
nears full charge, bubbling will become more vigorous.

CHARGING TIMES

This charger has a rated output of 1.5 Amps. This output will
vary with the age and condition of the battery being charged.

Approximate

Ampere Hour Average Charge

Battery Capacity Times in Hours

10 10–12.5
12 12–15.0
20 20–25.0

LIMITED WARRANTY

SCHUMACHER ELECTRIC CORPORATION, 801 BUSINESS
CENTER DRIVE, MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS, 60056-2179
MAKES THIS LIMITED WARRANTY TO THE ORIGINAL PUR­CHASER AT RETAIL OF THIS PRODUCT. THIS LIMITED WAR­RANTY IS NOT TRANSFERABLE.

Schumacher Electric Corporation warrants this battery charger
for 2 years from date of purchse at retail against defective mate­rial or workmanship. If such should occur, the unit will be re­paired or replaced at the option of the manufacturer. It is the
obligation of the purchaser to forward the unit together with proof
of purchase, transportation and / or mailing charges prepaid to
the manufacturer or its authorized representative. This limited
warranty is void if the product is misused, subjected to careless
handling, or repaired by anyone other than the factory or other
authorized factory representative. The manufacturer makes no

PLEASE NOTE: In most instances, a “replacement” charger is a factory-reconditioned unit. Free replacement applies only within the
initial 2-year period. Factory-reconditioned units are available at a low, fixed cost after the 2-year warranty expires.

warranty other than this limited warranty and expressly excludes
any implied warranty including any warranty for consequential
damages.

This is the only express limited warranty and the manufacturer
neither assumes nor authorizes anyone to assume or make any
other obligation towards the product other than this express lim­ited warranty. The manufacturer makes no warranty of merchant­ability or fitness for purpose of this product and expressly ex­cludes such from this limited warranty. Some states do not allow
the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential dam­ages or length of implied warranty so the above limitations or
exclusions may not apply to you. “This warranty gives you spe­cific legal rights, and you may have other rights which vary from
state to state.”

Schumacher Electric Corporation, Warranty Service Department

Customer Service: 800-621-5485 (Hours: 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST)

801 Business Center Drive
Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056-2179

Send Warranty Product Repairs to:

1025 Thompson Avenue, Hoopeston, IL 60942

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