Manual
,m
Maintenance(Continued)
WARNING
The electrolyte (acid) produces a highly explosive gas. Keep
all sparks, flame and fire awayfrom areawhen charging
battery or when handling electrolyte or battery. Electrolyte
(acid) is a highly corrosive liquid. Wear eye protection.
Wash affected areas immediately after havingeye or skin
contact with electrolyte (acid). Battery acid is corrosive.
Rinseempty acid containers with water and mutilate before
discarding. If acid is spilled on battery, bench, or clothing,
etc., Flushwith clear water and neutralizewith baking soda.
DONOTattempt to charge battery while installed on the
rider. DO NOTuse "BOOST"chargers on the battery.
BatteryService
1. Removethe battery.
Referto the section entitled "BAT-
TERYREMOVAL".
2. Placethe battery in a well ventilated areaon a level sur-
face.
3. Using distilled water,refill the cells as required to cover
the cell plates (of which can also beviewed through the
plastic battery case).
4. With the cell caps removed, connect the battery charger
to the battery terminals. Redto positive (+) terminal
and blackto negative (-) terminal.
5. Slow chargethe battery at 1 amp for 10 hours.
6. If the battery will not accepta charge or is partially
charged after 10 hours of charging at 1 amp, replace
with a new battery.
BatteryStorage
If the mower is to be stored out of season on its rear
bumper, it is recommendedthe battery be removed, charged
and stored.
1. Removethe battery. Referto the section entitled "BAT-
TERYREMOVAL".
2. Perform battery service.
3. Bring the battery to full charge,if required.
4. Store the battery in an areaaway from the rider on a
wood surface. DO NOTSTORETHE BATTERYON A
CONCRETESURFACE.
New BatteryPreparation
1. Removethe battery from the carton.
2. Placethe battery in a well ventilated areaon a level non-
concrete surface.
3. Removethe battery cell caps. Fill the cells as required
with electrolyte (purchased separately)to the proper
level. Filling the battery with electrolyte will bring the
battery to 80% charged state.
4. With the cell caps removed, connect the battery charger
to the battery terminals; REDto positive (+) and BLACK
to negative(-) terminal.
WARNING
DO NOTattempt to charge the batterywhile installed on
the rider. DO NOTuse "BOOST"chargers on the battery.
DO NOTOVERFILL!
IMPORTANT:Never place anything in the battery other than
the specified electrolyte.
5. Slow charge the battery at 1 amp for 2 hours to bring
the battery to full charge.
6. After charging, check the level of electrolyte and add as
neededto bring the level to 3/16" above the cell plates.
7. Reinstall the cell caps.
8. Remove the hair pin and swivel from the deck support
to allow clearancefor battery installation.
9. Slide the battery partially into the battery housing.
lO.Connect the red positive (+) cable (B, Figure 49) first,
from the wiring harnessto the positive terminal (+) on
the battery, using the bolt and nut provided in the hard-
ware bag. Connect the black negative(-) cable (A) last,
to the negativeterminal (-) on the battery, using the bolt
and nut. Apply a small amount of greaseover the termi-
nals to prevent corrosion.
11.Insert the battery completely into the battery housing.
12.Reinstall the battery cover (A, Figure48).
13.Reinstall the swivel and hair pin for the decksupport.
Battery Testing
There are two types of battery tests: Unloaded and Loaded.
The unloaded test is the procedurethat will be discussed. It's
the simplest and most commonly used.An unloadedtest is
made on a battery without discharging current. Toperform
unloaded testing, check charge condition using either a
hydrometer or voltmeter.
1. Using a voltmeter,voltage readings appear instantly to
show the state of charge. Rememberto hook the posi-
tive leadto the battery's positive terminal, and the nega-
tive leadto the negativeterminal.
2. A hydrometer measuresthe specific gravity of each cell.
The specific gravity tells the degreeof charge; generally,
a specific gravity of about 1.265 to 1.280 indicates full
charge. A readingof 1.230 to 1.260 indicates the battery
should be charged.The chart on the next pageshows
the charge level as measuredby syringe float hydrome-
ter, digital voltmeter and five ball hydrometer.
WARNING
Shield the positive terminal with the terminal cover located
on the battery harness. This prevents metal from touching
the positive terminal, which could cause sparks.
26 www.snapper.com