Control of current draw during battery charging (Skoda Rapid NH1)

In order to obtain information about the condition of discharged batteries as early as possible, it is possible to assess, based on the amount of current consumed by the battery at the beginning of charging, whether the battery needs to be replaced or whether it can be fully charged.

Warning: Batteries with a colorless or light yellow eye cannot be monitored or charged. These batteries must be replaced.

Current consumption must always be checked if the battery tester with printer VAS 5097A shows the following results:

• 1 - the starter power is sufficient
• 2 - starter power is poor
• 3 - starter power is very poor
• 4 - not verifiable (the device does not turn on, the LED does not light, does not print)

Note.

• The battery temperature during charging should be at least 10°C.
• Use chargers recommended by the manufacturer that are capable of providing a charging current of at least 30 A (eg. "VAS 5900", "VAS 5903", "VAS 5095A").
• If the charger does not directly indicate the charging current (e.g. "VAS 5095A"), the charging current must be measured with a clamp meter, e.g. "VAS 5051B/7".

1. Connect the battery to the charger and start the charging process.

2. After five minutes, read the charging current of the battery on the charger or measure it with a clamp meter.

3. Five minutes after the start of charging, the charging current should exceed 10% of the rated capacity. If the charging current after five minutes is lower than 10% of the rated capacity, the battery should be replaced

For example:

The charging current of a 60 Ah battery should exceed 6 A 5 minutes after the start of charging. If this condition is met, charging should be continued and two hours after completion of charging, when the battery is not loaded with electrical consumers, the voltage should be measured again under current load.