Vector VEC090 User Manual

PERSONAL PRECAUTIONS AND SAFETYPERSONAL PRECAUTIONS AND SAFETY

1. Someone should be within range of your voice or close enough to come to your aid when you work
near a lead-acid battery.

2. Have plenty of fresh water and soap nearby in case battery acid contacts skin, clothing, or eyes.

3. Wear complete eye protection and clothing protection. Avoid touching eyes while working with a
battery. Acid, acid particles or corrosion may get into your eyes. Immediately flood eye with running
cold water for at least 10 minutes and get medical attention immediately.

4. if battery acid contacts skin or clothing, wash immediately with soap and water.

5. NEVER smoke or allow a spark or flame in vicinity of battery or engine.

6. Be extra cautious to reduce risk of dropping a metal tool onto battery. It might spark or short-circuit
battery or other electrical part that may cause explosion.

7. Remove any metal items on your person such as rings, bracelets, necklaces, and watches when
working with a lead-acid battery. A lead-acid battery can produce a short-circuit current high enough
to weld a ring, or the like to metal causing a severe burn.

GROUND AND AC POWER CORD CONNECTIONGROUND AND AC POWER CORD CONNECTION

Charger should be grounded to reduce risk of electric shock. Charger is equipped with an electric cord
having an equipment grounding conductor and a grounding lug. The plug must be plugged into an
outlet that is properly installed and grounded in accordance with all local codes and ordinances. (See
Figure 1.)

DANGER!DANGER! NEVER NEVER alter AC cord or plug provided — if it will not fit outlet, have proper outlet installed by a
qualified electrician. Improper connection can result in the risk of an electric shock.

This battery charger is for use on a nominal 120 volt circuit, has a grounding plug that looks like the
plug illustrated in Figure 1 A. A temporary adapter, which looks like the adapter illustrated in Figure 1 B,
may be used to connect this plug to a two-pole receptacle as shown in Figure 1 B, if a properly
grounded outlet is not available. The temporary adapter should be used only until a properly ground ed
outlet can be installed by a qualified electrician.

DANGEDANGER!R! Before using adapter as illustrated, be certain that center screw of outlet plate is grounded.
The green-colored rigid ear or tab extending from adapter must be connected to a properly grounded
outlet- make certain it is grounded. If necessary, replace original outlet cover plate screw with a longer
screw that will secure adapter ear or tab to outlet cover plate and make ground connection to grounded
outlet.

FIGURE lA FIGURE lB

ADAPTER (B)
GROUNDING PIN (A) METAL
SCREW

G

ROUNDING

MEANS

USE OF AN ADAPTER IS NOT ALLOWED IN CANADA. IF A GROUNDING TYPE
RECEPTACLE IS NOT AVAILABLE, DO NOT USE THIS APPLIANCE UNTIL THE PROPER
OUTLET IS INSTALLED BY A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN.

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PREPARING TO CHARGE

1. Determine voltage of battery by referring to car owner s manual.

2. if it is necessary to remove battery from vehicle to charge, or to clean terminals, always remove

grounded terminal from battery first. Make sure all accessories in the vehicle are off, so as not to
cause an arc.

3. Clean battery terminals. Be careful to keep corrosion from coming in contact with eyes.

4. Add distilled water in each cell until battery acid reaches level specified by battery manufacturer. This

helps purge excessive gas from cells. Do not overfill. For a battery without cell caps, carefully follow
manufacturer*s recharging instructions.

5. Study all battery manufacturers* specific precautions such as removing or not removing cell caps

while charging and recommended rates of charge.

6. Be sure area around battery is well ventilated while battery is being charged. Gas can be forcefully

blown away by using a piece of cardboard or other nonmetallic material such as a fan.

7. Make sure the initial charging rate is not over battery manufacturer*s suggestion.

CHARGER LOCATION

1. Locate charger as far away from battery as cables permit.

2. Never place the charger directly above battery being charged; gases from battery will corrode and

damage charger.

3. Never allow the battery acid to drip on charger when reading gravity or filling battery.

4. Do not operate charger in a closed-in area or restrict ventilation in any way.

5. Marine batteries must be removed and charged on shore.

6. Do not set a battery on top of charger.

DC CONNECTION PRECAUTIONS

1. Connect and disconnect DC output clips only after removing AC cord from electric outlet.

2. Never allow clips to touch each other.

3. Attach clips to battery posts and twist or rock back and forth several times to make a good

connection. This tends to keep clips from slipping off terminals and helps to reduce risk of sparking.

FOLLOWFOLLOW THESE THESE STEPS WHEN BATTERY IS INSTALLED IN VEHICLE. A SPARK NEAR BATTERY MAY CAUSSTEPS WHEN BATTERY IS INSTALLED IN VEHICLE. A SPARK NEAR BATTERY MAY CAUSEE
BATTERY EXPLOSION. TO REDUCE RISK OF A SPARK NEAR BATTERY:BATTERY EXPLOSION. TO REDUCE RISK OF A SPARK NEAR BATTERY:

a. Position AC and DC cords to reduce risk of damage by hood, door, or moving engine part.
b. Stay clear of fan blades, belts, pulleys, and other parts that can cause injury to persons.
c. Check polarity of battery posts. POSITIVE (POS, P, +) battery post usually has larger diameter

than NEGATIVE (NEG, N,-) post.

d. Determine which post of battery is grounded (connected) to the chassis. If negative post is

grounded to chassis (as in most vehicles), see (e). If positive post is grounded to the chassis,
see (f).
For negative-grounded vehicle, connect POSITIVE (RED) clip from battery charger to POSITIVE
(P05, P, +) ungrounded post of battery. Connect NEGATIVE (BLACK) clip to vehicle chassis or
engine block away from battery. Do not connect clip to carburetor, fuel lines, or sheet-metal
body parts. Connect to heavy gauge metal part of the frame or engine block.

f. For positive-grounded vehicle, connect NEGATIVE (BLACK) clip from battery charger to

NEGATIVE (NEG, N, -) -) ungrounded post of battery. Connect POSITIVE (RED) clip to vehicle
chassis or engine block away from battery. Do not connect clip 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 AC cord, remove clip from vehicle chassis, and then

remove clip from battery terminal.
h. See operating instructions for length of charge information.
i. Do not charge the battery while the engine is operating.

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INTRODUCTION AND FEATURES

Thank you for selecting the Vector Model VEC090 2/10/20 Amp 12 volt Smart Battery Charger,

with Alternator Voltage Check and Battery Recondition modes. With proper care and use, it will

give you years of dependable service. This model battery charger has a high charge rate of up to
35 amps, and low charge rate of up to 2 amps. It is intended for charging only 12 volt lead-acid
batteries - maintenance free, conventional automotive, marine deep cycle and gel - that are usually
used in cars, trucks, farm equipment, boats, RVs and SUVs, lawn mowers and garden tractors,
motorcycles, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, ATVs, trucks and various commercial
applications.

Vector Smart Chargers are microprocessor-based and have a charge curve that has three stages.
(See Figure 2). Stage One is essentially a constant current charge. This continues until the
connected battery is about 85 percent charged. When Stage One ends, the charger briefly sounds
a tone (beep) to indicate a change to Stage Two, the Absorption Phase. This stage is essentially a
constant voltage phase and supplies approximately 10 percent of the charge. At the end of Stage
Two, the charger changes output to Stage Three. Stage Three continues and turns OFF when the
battery reaches full charge. This charger has a CHARGING COMPLETE LED and the digital
display shows FUL when the battery is fully charged.

FIGURE FIGURE 2 -- CHARGE CURVECHARGE CURVE

BEEP BEEP

Stage One

Three

COMPLETE LED LIT

FEATURESFEATURES

! The unit has three charge rate setting, with a 2/10/20A pushbutton charge rate switch:

a) 2 amps: smaller batteries as in lawn mowers, snowmobiles, motorcycles, etc.
b) 10 amps: m
iddle sized batteries such as in small cars
c) 20 amps: automobile and small truck batteries.

! Microprocessor controlled for proper operation and for fault detection.
! Large Lighted Digital Display, shows charging current, and codes that indicate faults, and modes of

operation and timeout of functions.

! High Frequency operation for pure DC output.
! Rapid charging three stage output.
! Heavy-duty cables and clamps are corrosion-resistant for better connections.
! Connect to side, or top-mount battery terminals.
! Rugged case with baked on finish, plus sturdy carry handle.
! Self storage of cables and clamps.
! Ideal for charging during winter season when the starting performance of vehicle batteries is lowered

by cold or extreme weather conditions.

! Single beep tone indicates a button is pressed or a mode change occurs.
! Battery Recondition mode provides desulfation of battery plates to improve battery performance.
! Alternator Voltage Check can confirm proper operation of the alternator and indicate less than full

output.

VEC090

02/24/2003

Revision A

4