Battery Charger Tips

Charge Cycle
To get your battery to perform at full capacity, you must fully change and discharge it three to five times. Set your battery in the Canon charger until it is fully charged then set your battery in the camcorder. Turn your camera on and use it until the battery dies. Slide the battery back into the
battery charger.
Typically, the first time you plug your battery into the charger, the charger will inappropriately read "fully charged" after about 15 minutes. To charge the battery fully, remove it from the charger and slide it back into the charger. Typically, a full charge takes between two and four hours.
Charger Input
The charger works with electrical outlets between 100 and 240 Volts. This covers the majority of electrical outlets in the United States. If you wish to use the Canon battery charger in a foreign country, you must use an appropriate power adapter.
Remove the battery charger from the power outlet when the indicator light changes to green. The green light indicates that the charge is complete. Charging the battery completely will take roughly an hour and 30 minutes.
Plug the battery charger into a power outlet. Or, insert the power cord that came with the camera into the battery charger, then plug the other end of the power cord into a power outlet.
Connect the battery charger to the battery. If the battery is connected to the car, attach the positive (usually red) charging cable to the positive post (usually marked with a plus sign). Then attach the negative (usually black) charging cable to the engine block. Do not connect the negative cable to the negative post while the battery is in the car. If the battery is not connected to the car, attach the positive charging cable to the positive post. Then attach the negative charging cable to the negative post, usually marked with a minus sign.
Turn the "Charge Time" to set how long you want to charge the battery. Use the ammeter to measure battery-charging rate. Use the battery test monitor to see if the battery is in working condition.
Select the desired charge rate. Typical choices for 12-volt batteries are two amperes, 10 amperes and 40 amperes. The charge rate determines how long it will take to fully charge a battery with a given AH (Ampere-Hour) Rating or CCA (Cold Cranking Amperes) rating. For example, a battery with 315 to 550 CCA having a 50 percent charge would take 20 to 35 hours at two amperes, four to seven hours at 10 amperes, and 45 minutes to two hours at 40 amperes.
Attach the black, negative battery charger cable to a clean, unpainted spot on the car's frame. It may be attached directly to the negative battery post, but it's a good habit to use the car's frame as a ground when working with car batteries. It's dangerous to attach directly to the negative post when jump starting a car because sparking can cause a battery to explode.
Rotate the timer clockwise to the desired charge time. It's possible to destroy a battery by overcharging. That's why the maximum time on most battery charger timers is three hours. Most chargers do provide a "Hold" setting on the timer control which deactivates the timer motor and allows you to charge for periods exceeding three hours.