Newb 48v conversion

Farmbuggy

Hello to all I just completed a 48v conversion on my 2001 club car DS, I went with a alltrax 4865, Curtis p-b6, heavy duty f&r switch and 400 amp solenoid. I also installed 8 - 6v batteries brand new, all voltage readings are correct to my research, and the cart puts a smile on my face. My question is about charge time?
I tried to leave it plugged in but after 20 hours charge time the charger still did not shut off. When I initially started the charge the charger came on, spooled up, down, back up charged the batts and seemed to idle after reaching a 1-3 amp charge forever. I'm still using the 36v charge plug and have the 36-46v switchable charger from lv sales.There is this black wire off of the left side of the charge plug that used to be hooked up to the micro on the old v glide I tried to put it on my pb6 micro but caused a short, disconnected it and cart works great like I was sayin. Would that black wire be the cause of why my charger wont shut off? Or would having 8 batteries extend the charge time?
Thanks in advance for any input.

BGW

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Farmbuggy

Any body ? 8 batteries how long do/did yours charge the first time or two...?

OLD MEC

The black wire that originally went from charger plug to the micro on V glide was a safety so cart couldnt drive away while charger was plugged in. From what you said I need a little more info to help diagnosis? On your new charger is it a ( LV 3648 unit )that will charge at about 17 amps at 36 volts and 15 amps max at 48 volts and have you gone over possible wiring changes that supplier literature shows needed when going from 36 volts to 48 volts? I checked with neighbor that has this same model charger working at 15 amps and 48 volts and he says that this new charger takes about ( 5 additional hours ) to charge pack over his old Powerwise Club Car 20 amp max charger with OBC connected? He did similer as you and put 8 new Trojans #T125 6 volters into his stock 2000 DS Club Car that originally came as a 48 volt cart that he had 6-T890 batterys before. He uses his cart some on beaches so wanted more range and power curve so added two extra batterys but at same voltage. He said that with new charger and new batterys it took over 24 hours to charge batterys the first time and that he was almost ready to replace the charger as too slow but after initial charge slowly over break in period it cut time down to about 18-19 hours now ( NOTE HOLDS AT ABOUT 3-5 amps for long period of time )? Remember that each charger and batterys will all be some what different in performance, as well as how low the batterys are between charges?
He broke in his batterys as Trojan had recomended and now has about 60 hours on them.

Farmbuggy

Thank you OLD MERC that's what I wanted to hear, I understand that that the black wire is a safety now not a concern any more, My charger is the lv3648 it worked properly while charging the batteries, just didn't hit the 24 hour period, just about 20-21 hours.
Ill try charging again when my pack gets to 50%.I just unplugged it the first time cause I got nervous and didn't want to hurt my batteries, And yes Ive double checked all wiring to the literature Ive collected from this site and the suppliers, Thanks again,
This place Rocks!

Farmbuggy

Just thought Id update ive used the charger three times now and everythings going great.
The charger doesnt turn completely off but does stop charging the batteries when they reach full charge and then is on standy by mode when the voltmeter reaches 0 .
The first charge brought the pack voltage to 50.1v and second charge to 50.4v
and third charge 51.1. Thanks again every body lots of great info here.:)

scottyb

Sounds like the charger is working fine. Doing the best it can with the extra cells to charge. And going to standby mode as designed when complete..... It is normal to have long charge times at first ..... best break-in procedures is to bring the pack down to just 75% the first 20 cycles or so and then never lower than 50% ..... Glad to hear you are getting good results.

P.S.
Ole MEC = Great post, Lots of helpful information. I was looking at this charger this afternoon and wondering how it would perform. I would like to hear from any one using the LVS3648 on a six pack of 8v batteries....

CC-John

Scotty,

I bought one of these chargers right after I brought Ike home.. I've been really pleased with it's performance so far.. It's been flawlessly charging Ike's six 8V batteries over 18 months.. It equalizes the pack pretty good, automatically shutting off at 58 to 60 volts, depending on depth of discharge.. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat!!

scottyb

THat says alot coming from you
Have you had a chance to see if the monitoring feature works well? Thanks

CC-John

I left Ike plugged in while we were out of town for a week over the holidays.. I guess the charger performed as designed, the pack was fully charged when we got back home..

scottyb

That's cool 2