PROCEDURE 9 | BATTERIES |
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| WHEN TO CHARGE BATTERIES | |
| (FIGURE 6) | |
| The Battery Discharge Indicator (BDI) is a bar graph dis- | |
B | play located on the MKIV joystick. It will keep you informed | |
as to power availability.Avisual warning is given before the | ||
A | ||
power becomes too low to operate the wheelchair. At full | ||
T | ||
chargethetwo(2)LEFTsegmentsandthefarthestRIGHT | ||
T | ||
segment of the bar graph will be illuminated. As the battery |
Ebecomesdischarged,thefarthestRIGHTsegmentwillpro- R gressively move to the LEFT until only the last two (2) bars I (LEFT) are illuminated. At this level the last two (2) bars
E(LEFT) will start to Flash ON and OFF to indicate that the
Send user should charge the batteries as soon as possible.
Battery Discharge | Battery Discharge |
Indicator (BDI) (in LCD | |
Indicator (BDI) | Readout) |
MKIV- A JOYSTICK | MKIV- A+ JOYSTICK |
Battery Discharge |
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Indicator (BDI) |
|
MKIV- X JOYSTICK
FIGURE 6 - WHEN TO CHARGE BATTERIES
CHARGING BATTERIES (FIGURE 7)
NOTE: New batteries MUST be fully charged prior to initial useofthewheelchair.
WARNING
Never attempt to recharge the batteries by attaching cables directly to the bat- tery terminals or clamps. Always use the recharging plug located on the side of the wheelchair frame.
DO NOT attempt to recharge the batter- ies and operate the power wheelchair at the same time.
During use and charging, unsealed bat- teries will vent hydrogen gas which is ex- plosive in the right concentration with air.
CAUTION
Always charge new batteries before ini- tial use or battery life will be reduced.
NOTE: As a general rule, batteries should be recharged daily to assure the longest possible life and minimize the required charging time. Plan to recharge the bat- teries when it is anticipated the wheelchair will not be used for a long period of time.
The range per battery charge using recommended batter- ies should be approximately 5 to 9 hours of typical opera- tion. Extensive use on inclines may substantially reduce per charge mileage.
Description and Use of Battery Chargers
The charger automatically reduces the charge from an ini- tially high rate to a zero reading at a fully charged condition. If left unattended, the charger should automatically
There are some basic concepts which will help you understand this automatic process. They are:
The amount of electrical current drawn within a given time to charge a battery is called the “charge rate”. If, due to usage, the charge stored in the battery is low, the charge rate is high, as indicated by the green light on the charger. Initially, the green light will stay illuminated for a short period of time followed by a longer period of off time. As a charge buildsup,thechargerateisreduced,andthegreenlightwill stay illuminated for a longer period of time followed by a shorter off time.
WARNING
If the charger circuit breaker is tripping ON and OFF, unplug the charger and contact Invacare Technical Services,
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