EZGO PowerWise II charger problem

[TaylorMade]

By the way, my friend leaves his cart and the charger outside. The charger is not under anything and it gets rained on. That can't be good for it, can it? He says they're designed to be out in the elements. He's crazy.... right?

[JohnnieB]

Water and electricity don't play well together.
Unless his charger is designed to be left outdoors, or is protected from the rain, he's just been lucky so far.
Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with luck, but it is a cryin' shame to waste it when common sense would work better.

[paulj5]

I am also going to work on my powerwise II charger that only reads 10 amps.
You refer to a "sticky" where I can download a manual for checking diodes and caps.
What is a sticy, and where do ai find it?

Thanks,
Paul

[JohnnieB]

Here is a manual and a troubleshooting guide for a Lestronic II, which is what the PW-II is a clone of.

[cgtech]

Awesome, your library of good stuff always comes through.

[DoubleTake]

Originally Posted by TaylorMade

It turned out the capacitor was bad. It was a 4 micro farad capacitor, but only tested 1.8 MFD. So $30 later and I'm back in action! The amp meter now jumps to 20 amps when I plug it in. Thanks everyone for all the advice!

Where did you get your capacitor from? I have the same charger and am having the same issue.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by DoubleTake

Where did you get your capacitor from? I have the same charger and am having the same issue.

https://shop.ezgo.com/products/Capac...roduct_id=1556

The capacitor is matched to the ferroresonant transformer and might be either a 3µf or 4µf, so check the value of the one installed in your PW-II charger.(Other makes/models of chargers use different values.)

You probably can find a Motor Run capacitor with the proper µf value at you local electrical supply at a much better price.

Be sure to get the motor-run type, it is for continuous duty, while a motor-start type is only for intermittent duty.

[DoubleTake]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

https://shop.ezgo.com/products/Capac...roduct_id=1556

The capacitor is matched to the ferroresonant transformer and might be either a 3µf or 4µf, so check the value of the one installed in your PW-II charger.(Other makes/models of chargers use different values.)

You probably can find a Motor Run capacitor with the proper µf value at you local electrical supply at a much better price.

Be sure to get the motor-run type, it is for continuous duty, while a motor-start type is only for intermittent duty.

Thanks. I was looking the one linked below. Is it ok to use the 4 MF capacitor?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191397984118...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[DoubleTake]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Here is a manual and a troubleshooting guide for a Lestronic II, which is what the PW-II is a clone of.

I read the manual about replacing the capacitor. Is it necessary to "unload" the capacitor before disconnecting the terminals? I know not to have it plugged in.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by DoubleTake

Thanks. I was looking the one linked below. Is it ok to use the 4 MF capacitor?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191397984118...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

It'll work, but may not work right.

As previously stated: The capacitor is matched to the ferroresonant transformer and might be either a 3µf or 4µf, so check the value of the one installed in your PW-II charger.


Basically, the initial Amps will be either be above or below the desired amount (specs) if the wrong value capacitor is used.