How to Troubleshoot a Schumacher Battery Charger
by Patrick Nelson
Schumacher has been producing automotive electrical products since 1946. It's an official supplier for the NASCAR auto racing brand and produces chargers, jump starters and inverters for NASCAR. Schumacher battery chargers are designed to work automatically, however issues can include the meter not working, noises and the charger not turning on. These kinds of problems can be rectified.
Step 1
Jiggle the clips and rock the clips backwards and forwards if there's no meter reading. The clips aren't making proper contact.
Step 2
Try a different AC power outlet if the charger won't turn on when it's connected. You can try another appliance -- a worklight, for example -- and see if that works. If the worklight won't come on, the problem is with the wall outlet, not the Schumacher charger. If the lamp comes on, try the charger again and wiggle the connections.
Step 3
Allow the charging to continue for up to 20 minutes if the charger makes clicking noises. The clicking can be the circuit breaker cycling and can indicate a defective battery, or a very discharged battery that isn't defective. If the clicking doesn't stops after about 20 minutes, the battery may well be bad and you should replace it.
Step 4
Shut off the charger and reverse the battery connections if the battery has been replaced and the clicking continues. The leads are on the wrong poles.
References
Tips
- Humming is normal and is a characteristic of the transformer technology. Humming can occur even when the charger isn't hooked up to a battery.
Things You'll Need
- Replacement battery
Writer Bio
Patrick Nelson has been a professional writer since 1992. He was editor and publisher of the music industry trade publication "Producer Report" and has written for a number of technology blogs. Nelson studied design at Hornsey Art School.
