Powerdrive charger question

LukeL

At what voltage should a powerdrive 3 charger shut off automatically with brand new batteries?

IQ Club Car DS


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BGW

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Sergio

The final voltage will change depending on the charging algorithm the OBC is using.

The first few charging cycles after an OBC reset (disconnecting the batteries for more than 10 minutes) will take longer and run at a higher voltage since the OBC will use a dV/dt algorithm.

Once the OBC has calculated the baseline health of the battery pack and verified the information against its stored energy used, it will switch to a Coulomb count algorithm.

The maximum voltage and charging time will be less from this point forward since the OBC knows how much energy it needs to store back to the pack.

The voltage at the end of the charge will vary from 60v to 65v.

If You ever see the Powerdrive3 fall below 3 amps, that is an indication of an OBC problem (or stuck charger relay) since the OBC cannot operate that low.

LukeL

It gets down to about 3 A and then it runs and runs. I installed a digital voltage meter in the dashboard of the cart today, so I am going to try it one more time and see what it does. I am watching the voltage, and when it gets above 60, how long should it take to turn off?

I know the relay is not stuck, because when I unplug the charger, it cuts off.


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Sergio

As long as 16 hours, You need to let it finish the "baseline" analysis cycle(s).

LukeL

Ok. I’ve never let it charge that long. I’ll give it overnight, and hope it doesn’t boil the acid out of these new batteries :-|


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Sergio

It should be fine at 3 amps per hour charge...

LukeL

Thanks. It’s still at 10 Amps. I’ll let you know.


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Htownblue

It would be rare for the charger to “over charge” the batteries. Possible. Not probable.

teecro

And therein lies the problem... Your not handling the charger or batteries properly. First off new batteries rarely have a full charge when delivered, 2ndly new batteries do have a break in period to which they need to be charged heavily to build their capacity. Plug in your charger and learn to leave it be, properly functioning it will automatically shut off at 16 hours and as the voltage rides nearest to 65 volts the amps will taper off to less than 5 amps. Learn to trust your equipment and keep your cart plugged into its charger as much as reasonably possible...

LukeL

I know how to maintain the batteries, and I am very familiar with the break-in period. But this golf cart sat out behind someone's shed for years before I started rebuilding it, and I want to make sure all the components are working properly, one step at a time. I prefer the chargers that work by themselves, and not the ones that rely on the OBC.

Regardless, I went out to look and the voltage was at 64 during the final stage and the charger had shut off, so I guess that solves the problem.