CRUISING ELECTRONICS E-Meter User manual
Graphic and Digital Displays!
The
Ultimate
battery monitor for...
...Marine Systems
...Alternative Energy Systems
...Recreational Vehicle Systems
...Industrial Lift Truck Applications
...Electric Vehicles and many more!
The world's most accurate
state-of-chargemonitor!
Copyright 1995-1998 Manual Part # 890015 Rev.5D 1/15/98
Owner's Manual
EINSTAL5D.PM6
Patented
2
Help Index
Advanced Functions, 30-38
Battery Basics, 8
CE Declaration of Conformity, 51
Charge Efficiency Factor, 23
Charged Parameters, 22-23
High Voltage Notes, 50
Historical Data, 29
Installation (General), 9-15
Introduction, 7
Low Battery Alarm, 27, 35-38
Low Voltage, 27
Meter Wiring Detail, 14
Mounting, 10
Operation (Basic), 18-24
Options and Versions, 44
Peukert’s Equation, 26, 39-42
Prescaler (optional), 45
Quick Reference Guide, 5-6
Reading the Bar Graph, 19
Removing, 11
Reset and Lock, 28
Serial Port, RS-232(optional), 49
Setting Battery Capacity, 21
Setting Peukert's Exponent, 26
Setting Up t , 24
Shunt & Battery Wires, 13
Specifications, 3
Start Up, 16
Synchronizing Your Meter, 17
Temp. Sensor (optional), 25
Troubleshooting, 43
Using the Buttons, 20
Warranty Support, 52
Wire by Wire Check, 15
Wiring Overview, 12
DONOTINSTALLORUSETHISPRODUCTUNTILYOUHAVEREAD
THE ENTIRE OWNER’S MANUAL. IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF
THISUNITMAYBEHAZARDOUSANDVOIDSYOURWARRANTY.
3
Specifications
Voltage:For 12V - 24V systems. Optional Prescalers extend voltage range.
Standard Model: Two Auto-ranges: 0 to 19.95V (0.05V resolution)
20.0to50.0V(0.1Vresolution)
Optional Prescalers: 0-100V, 0-500V (Used with standard model)
Amperage:
Low Range: + 0 - 40.0 Amps (0.1 Amp resolution)
High Range: + 500 Amps (1 Amp resolution)
Amp-hours:
Low Range: +0 - 199.9 Amp-hours (0.1 Amp-hour resolution)
High Range: + 200 - 1999 Amp-hours (1 Amp-hour resolution)
Time Remaining:
Low Range: 0 to 199.9 Hours (0.1 hour resolution)
High Range: 0 to 255 Hours (1.0 hour resolution)
PowerRequirements:
9.5-40 Volts DC
Current: 50-150mA(DependsonAmbientlight.DisplayAutoDims.)
28 mA (Sleep Mode - Bar Graph Display Only)
Shunt type required: 50 mV @ 500 Amp
Accuracy:Voltage: + (0.6% of reading + 1 least count of resolution)
Amperage: + (0.8% of reading + 1 least count of resolution)
Amp-hours: Ahr Error ~ (Time of measurement x current error)
Physical: Max. Outer Bezel Diameter: 2.5 inches (63.5mm)
Max. Barrel diameter: 1.95" (50mm)
Max. Depth: (from back of bezel) 3.15 inches (80mm)
Hole Cutout Size: Use 2" or 2 1/16" hole saw (52mm)
Water Resistance: Splashproof front panel.
Weight: 8 Ounces (227g)
V
t
A
Ah
4
Top Rear View of Meter
-DC Meter Negative (BLACK) [1]
Shunt Sense Lead Load Side (GREEN) [2]
Shunt Sense Lead Battery Side (ORANGE) [3]
Battery Volt Sense (0-50V DC1) (BLUE) [4]
+DC Meter Power (9.5-40V DC) (RED) [5]
Optional Temperature Sensor Input [6]
Optional Low Battery Alarm [7]
Optional Temperature Sensor Ground [8]
SYSTEM POSITIVE
SYSTEM NEGATIVE
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Twisted pair wire is used for shunt
sensing leads for noise immunity.
Battery Compartment
+-
2 Amp
Fuses
Your Meter works
with flooded or gel
lead-acidbatteries
Basic Wiring Diagram
The 500 A 50mV
shunt senses cur-
rent in or out of
your battery.
Meter Location
+-
5
Quick Reference
Full
80-99% +
60-79%+
40-59%+
20-39%+
0-19%+
EMPTY
FULL
The Light Bar
The light bar shows state-of-charge at a glance.
Here's what the lights mean:
When you press the button, you
SELect a numeric display. In normal
operation, each press illuminates a sta-
tus light. The light indicates Volts
are being displayed, the light indi-
cates Amps, indicates Amp-hours,
and indicates Time. We’ll explain
these terms on the next page.
The Button
For shortest charging times,
leadacid batteryinmarineor
RV service is normally dis-
charged 50% then recharged
to 85-90% of full. Restoring
thelast10-15%of afullcharge
requiresalongtime-typically
2 - 3 hours. This means only
35-40%ofyourbatterycapac-
ity is actually available for
normaluse. Occasionally dis-
chargingabatterymoredeeply
is perfectly acceptable.
Status Lights
Shows what number is
being displayed
6
Voltsiselectricity’spoten-
tial to do work. Voltage
helps assess approximate
state-of-charge and to
checkforpropercharging.
A 12V battery is consid-
ered 100% discharged
when it drops below
10.5V.
Amps is the present flow
ofcurrentinoroutofyour
battery.Forexample,are-
frigerator may draw 6.2
Amps of current. This is
displayed as -06.2 (6.2
Amps are being con-
sumed).
Time is an estimate of
how long your battery
will sustain a load. A
Time display of 3.7
hours means you have
approximately 3 hours
42 minutes of operat-
ing time remaining.
Amp-hoursconsumed
represents the amount
of energy removed
fromthe battery. Ifyou
run a 10 Amp load for
one hour, Your Meter
will show -10.0 in the
display.
Volts
Amps
Time
Amp-hours
Press and hold the
SET button for 3 sec-
onds to enter the Set
Up and Advanced
Functionsmode.SEL
appearsinthedisplay.
Advanced Functions
KeyAdvancedFunctions
Set Up Features
Advanced
Functions:
CustomizesYour
Meter's functions.
For details read
pages 29-30 and
pages 34-37.
Locks front
panel.
Shows charging
efficiency and
historical data.
ResetsAmp-hours (AH)
or(ALL)defaults.
F01 Scanning
F02 Sleep Mode
F09 Discharge Floor
F15 S/WVersion
F17 Test Lights
Quick Reference
7
Introduction
Congratulations! Your Meter is the most advanced (Patents Pending) DC
power measurement instrument available. It shows you:
Battery State-of-Charge on a multicolor light bar.
System voltage accurate to 1/20th of a Volt (<20VDC).
System current accurate to 1/10th of an Amp (<40 Amps).
Amp-hours removed from, or put into, your battery.
Time of operation remaining until recharging is required.
This meter is sold under a variety of brand names: Cruising Equipment
Company meters are called an
E-Meter
. Heart Interface units are la-
beled Link 10. Other companies have private brand names for this prod-
uct. For convenience, this manual refers to all units as "Your Meter"
since all meters support identical functions.
Forinstallationandoperationquestions, please contact the company whose
name appears on the face of Your Meter. For warranty and technical
support please follow the process outlined on Page 51.
If you wish Your Meter to support an external Low Battery Alarm, such as
a bell or buzzer, or if you need Your Meter to report data to a computer or
data logging unit, these options must be included at the time of manufac-
ture and can not be retrofitted in the field.
The installation of Your Meter is simple, as is its operation. However,
there many advanced features and functions, so please take the time to
read and thorough understand this manual.
Installers Note: This manual contains operating
instructions. Please leave it with the meter!
8
Why monitor a battery?
Batteries can be ruined by excessive discharge. They may also be dam-
aged by under-charging. A battery (or bank of batteries) may be storing
less energy than you think. Your Meter provides all the key data you, or
your technician, need to make decisions about battery use and charging.
How does Your Meter work?
Your Meter uses sophisticated microprocessor technology to report all
significant battery information. Your Meter monitors battery voltage and
current over time to report Amp-hours consumed and time remaining --
precisely the information necessary to maximize system performance.
What's an Amp-hour?
Batteries are rated by Amp-hour capacity. A battery which delivers one
Amp for one hour has delivered one Amp-hour. Marine and RV deep
cycle battery capacity is based on their 20 hour discharge rate. A battery
which delivers 10 Amps to a load for 20 hours before battery voltage
drops to 10.5 Volts, is considered a "200 Amp-hour" battery. 10 Amps
times 20 hours equals 200 Amp-hours.
For maximum life you should never discharge more than half the rated
capacity of a battery. Therefore, if you have a 200 Amp-hour battery, you
should recharge when Your Meter shows -100 in the Amp-hour display.
The -100 means 100 Amp-hours have been removed from your battery.
FOR MAXIMUM BATTERY LIFE, RECHARGE
YOUR BATTERIES WHEN YOU HAVE DIS-
CHARGED 50% OF THEIR AMP-HOUR CAPACITY.
Battery Basics
9
Basic installation of Your Meter on a 12 or 24 Volt system involves only 5
wires. Because Your Meter will work on systems up to 500 Volts, special
high voltage installation techniques are discussed beginning on Page 44.
You need to read this section if you're working on an electric vehicle or
system where more than 50 Volts is encountered. If your installation is
on a 12 or 24 Volt system, let's get to work!
Installation Planning
First, gather all the tools you'll need for installation. We recommend:
* A 2" or 2 1/16" (52mm) hole saw to make the panel cutout.
* A 3/8" drill with bits to run power and shunt wiring.
* An adjustable 9/16" wrench for shunt bolt connections.
* Wire stripper/crimper and a small flat blade screwdriver.
Make sure you have all the parts you'll need to complete the job:
* A 500A - 50 mV shunt (May be supplied with Your Meter)
* #18 or #16 twisted pair shunt wire long enough to reach
from the battery to the meter location. Ask your dealer for
Cruising Equipment PN 910009 - 25' 4 twisted pair cable
or PN 910010 - 50' 4 twisted pair cable (not included).
* 2 in-line fuse holders with 2 Amp fuses.
CAUTION: DO NOT INSTALL FUSES UNTIL YOU
COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS ON PAGE 10-15.
* A short heavy duty battery cable to run from one shunt bolt
to the battery. Cable is available at auto and marine shops.
* Assorted small gauge crimp type terminals for connecting
ing the power, shunt, fuses, and voltage sense leads.
Installation
10
Mounting
Our Patent Pending "Ratchet Ring" makes mounting easy and fast .
TIP: When installing from the front of a
panel or dashboard slide the Ratchet Ring
onto cable with correct orientation
and then connnect
the wires.
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Push Ratchet Ring
on untill firmly in con-
tact with panel.
The gasket around the ring
of Your Meter should pro-
videanadequatesealagainst
moisture. Ifasealantisused
be sure it is silicone so that
the meter may be removed
without damage.
CAUTION!
Orient ring so the ratchet
teethwillengageproperly.
Practice installing and re-
moving ring before final
assembly. Considerable
force is required, this en-
sures the ring will not
loosen over time.
Install the meter from the front of your
panel. The panel thickness may be from
1/16" to 1 1/2". Slip the locking ring on
from the rear and press forward until it's
teeth hold the meter securely in place.
PATENTED
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