Chargingabatteryreversesthechemicalreaction,allowing
thebatterytoonceagainproduceelectricity.
Abatteryisaperishableitemthathasalimitedlifetime
(Figure13).Whenabatteryisnew ,itrequiresabreak-in
periodtoestablishefcientelectricalproduction.Thisbreak
inperiodusuallyrequires20to50discharge/chargecycles.
Figure13
Battery-lifetimetable
1.Batterycapacity
4.Primebatterylife
2.Discharge/chargecycles5.Endofthebatterylife
3.Break-inperiod(20to50
cycles)
Afterthebreak-inperiod,thebatterywillmaintainahigh
capacityformanycycles.Thenumberofcyclesabatterywill
performisdependantonthefollowing:
•Batterymaintenance—impropermaintenancewill
severelyreducethelifeofthebatteries.
•Depthofdischargebetweenchargecycles—thedeeper
thebatteriesaredischargedonaregularbasis
betweencharges,thelesslifetheywillhave.
•Chargefrequency—chargethebatterieswheneverthey
arenotinuse.Fullydischargingthebatterieswill
damagethemandreducetheirlife.
Attheendofthebatterylife,thecoatingontheleadplates
beginstodeteriorate,causingthebatteriestorapidlylose
electriccapacity.
UsingtheBatterySystem
Whenyourbatteriesarefullycharged,thebatterymeterwill
have10barsshowingfromlefttoright(Figure14).
Figure14
1.Battery/hourmeter2.Charge-indicatorbars
Asyouusethemachine,thebarswilldisappearasthe
electricalcapacityofthebatteriesisused.
Whenonly2barsareleft,theredwarninglightonthemeter
willilluminate,andthebatteryiconwillbeginashingonthe
screen(Figure15).Thisindicatesthatthebatterycapacityis
nearlydrainedandyoushouldchargethebatteriesassoonas
possibletopreventbatterydamage.
Figure15
1.Batteryicon
2.Warninglight—On
Whenonlyonebarisleft,thewarninglightwillash,andthe
machinewillgointoanenergy-savingmode(Figure16).In
thismode,themachinewillonlydriveat3mph.Chargethe
batteriesimmediatelytopreventseriousdamagetothem.
Ifthebatteriesbecomefullydischarged,themachinewill
shutdown.Donotallowthebatteriestobecomefully
discharged.
Important:Toobtainmaximumbatterylife,always
chargethebatterieswhenthereare2ormorebarsvisible
onthescreen.Depletingthebatteriestolowerthan2
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