Powerdrive charger on IQ Plus cart, problem?

bbriggs

I recently obtained a Carryall 2, 2007 (QB0703), with the IQ Plus system. Provided with it was a Powerdrive charger seemingly manufactured in 10/96. With the cart serial # in hand, I could download an owner's manual from Club Car and subsequently find in it that 'PowerDrive and IQ Plus battery chargers are not interchangeable' and 'long-term use of a PowerDrive battery charger with IQ Plus vehicles will damage the batteries.' These words are not particularly comforting.

The Powerdrive charger plugs right in and charges the batteries, and one would think the cart controls the charger: Why is the Powerdrive one inappropriate and/or what could the IQ Plus charger do differently?

Batteries in the cart are original shipped September '06; they perform well so far but unlikely were charged their whole lives with this Powerdrive charger. The cart and charger came together from an authorized Club Car dealer, but not local to me. For those who may not know, the IQ Plus system uses eight 6-volt batteries, a somewhat stronger motor, a 500 amp controller, and heavier wires than do the standard IQ models. Together with standard 4-wheel brakes these carts seem particularly attractive (to me at least) for chores around the farm and garden.

BGW

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MichEE

other than what the manual states, does the cart perform? Have you contacted the dealer? Do they have a comment? I'm quite sure someone with a little more experience will answer your question directly. Sorry, but I'm not familar enough with the differences in the systems. Your question is a good one since the charger and batteries must be matched correctly!

Stevegrmich

shadowman

i,m not a very technical person but i think they put that in the owners manual to cover thier behind...............i think you,ll be fine using that charger............................

bbriggs

I had a chat with the dealer this morning and what he says seems supportive of what I'm hearing on this forum. He said the newer Club Car chargers produce less amps than the older ones and do not perform well with the eight 6-volt battery demands (presumably, though, the IQ-Plus charger made more amps than the newer run-of-the-mill chargers). He says he is in constant contact with the folks at Club Car and their recommendations have changed since 2007. He believes the older Power-Drive charger will do a better job than the IQ-Plus charger that would have been included. Unfortunately, he was using quite a bit of explanation regarding the four 12-volt systems and the problems encountered therein - which struck me as beside the point since the debate should be more centered on the IQ-Plus charger vs older Power-Drive units on a rather larger battery pack. Perhaps his point was that Club Car has gone through a learning process with their chargers and battery pack configurations in the past 5 years and therefore their recommendations have changed. The only spec I can find on the IQ plus charger is it is rated at 17 amps, which seems rather similar to the earlier Power Drive charger.

I'm leaning towards being happy with what I got, but I did put in a call to Club Car tech support to see if they might weigh in on the matter.

After I plug in my PowerDrive charger at the end of the day the amp reading runs up to nearly 20 amps then tapers off over the next few hours down to a wit over 2 amps as the pack approaches 60 volts and seems to be furiously boiling. Voltage readings for individual batteries at that point range from 7.13 to 7.43.

erict

I thought CC went to a 6 8v not 8 6v

Stevec3201

Interesting topic

My '07 (4-12 volts) gets charged by an old Powerdrive (1) and it works great! I'm very happy I ended up with this charger. It appears very easy to repair if needed It starts out around 17 amps and finishes around 3 amps, just like the other poster said

erict

I am the same as you Steve but have the Powerdrive2 with 12v

shadowman

they did............................................... ....

erict

I wonder why the OP has 8, 6v.....