Troubleshooting a Bruno Chair Lift Battery

Check all the connections to the Bruno chair lift batteries. Loose or poor connections mean your stair may not operate to full capacity or may not operate at all. Use a wrench to tighten the nuts holding the battery cables on the batteries. If this step doesn’t improve performance, continue troubleshooting.

Check the battery terminals for signs of pitting or sulfur deposits. "Pitting" means the connections are shorting, requiring you to remove the battery cables and clean the terminals by rubbing them with sandpaper. If you encounter sulfur deposits, your battery is likely starting to leak at the terminals but most probably simply has a poor connection. Clean the terminals using sandpaper, and reconnect the battery cables. Test the chair lift to determine whether you have resolved the problem; if not, continue to troubleshoot. If you have resolved the problem, check the terminals again in a few months to see whether the sulfur deposits have returned. If so, replace the battery or batteries.

Charge the batteries using the DC charging unit until the batteries are full. Turn on the chair lift, and let it travel up the and down the stairs once. This function uses a little energy from the charged batteries, allowing you to perform an accurate troubleshoot on the power they emit.

Read the label on the side of the batteries to ascertain the voltage. Expect to read "12 volts," as most Bruno chair lift batteries are 12 volts, but older models may have a 6-volt battery. Turn on the multimeter, and set it to measure voltage.

Place the sensor on the end of the red cable from the meter to the positive (+) terminal of the first chair lift battery, then place the sensor on the end of the black wire onto the negative (-) terminal of the first battery. Read the meter. If it reads 12.7 volts, the battery is in good condition. If it reads less than 12.4 volts, the battery is not holding its charge correctly and requires replacement.

Repeat steps 1 through 5 on the second battery. If either battery gives a reading below 12.4 volts, replace both. If you are testing a 6-volt battery, the reading should be no lower than 6.2 volts.