2013 RXV - 6 month old batteries not holding charge?

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by wingnut2000

They draw 25% when driving cart with no accessories on or only when they are on

Any time they are powered on, whether there are loads on or not. Idle current is when there are no loads on, and lower efficiency when loads are being powered. With DC-DC converters, with 48 VDC input and 12 VDC output, input vs output watts consumed, the watts consumed are estimated to be no more than 10% more than the watts delivered to the load. I have measured these 120 Watt reducers, and they averaged 30% to 40% more watts drawn than what was delivered to the load. That manifests as more heat on the heat sink than it should be creating. When powered up and idle, no loads on, the reducers I tested still pulled 1/2 to 1 Amp of idle current. So it is better to have it switched by the solenoid.

If left on, it could take many days to see its affect. Carts not driven for weeks can see a larger drop in battery pack voltage vs a cart with the reducer power switched off.

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by BigOL3

I have the same 10amp reducer, for only the past week. I just installed a volt meter in the dash. Today I backed the cart out of the shop to clean the shop out. It sat outside most all day and the volt meter did not show any drop, MoF it climbed up to 51.5 and stayed there all afternoon. I ASSUME if there was a problem, the volts would have been dropping ...... correct???

As I replied above...

If left on, it could take many days to see its affect. Carts not driven for weeks can see a larger drop in battery pack voltage vs a cart with the reducer power switched off.

[BigOL3]

Originally Posted by BobBoyce

As I replied above...

If left on, it could take many days to see its affect. Carts not driven for weeks can see a larger drop in battery pack voltage vs a cart with the reducer power switched off.

"If left on" ...... does that equate to being wired straight to the POS and NEG of the pack, but the lights are turned off?

[BobBoyce]

Yes, exactly.

[wingnut2000]

Originally Posted by BobBoyce

Any time they are powered on, whether there are loads on or not. Idle current is when there are no loads on, and lower efficiency when loads are being powered. With DC-DC converters, with 48 VDC input and 12 VDC output, input vs output watts consumed, the watts consumed are estimated to be no more than 10% more than the watts delivered to the load. I have measured these 120 Watt reducers, and they averaged 30% to 40% more watts drawn than what was delivered to the load. That manifests as more heat on the heat sink than it should be creating. When powered up and idle, no loads on, the reducers I tested still pulled 1/2 to 1 Amp of idle current. So it is better to have it switched by the solenoid.

If left on, it could take many days to see its affect. Carts not driven for weeks can see a larger drop in battery pack voltage vs a cart with the reducer power switched off.

my 6 8volt Trojans aren't very old and something is draining them faster now so Im thinking it is the 12v converter. Would I do my self good to take off the $12 converter and get a $100 one?

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by wingnut2000

my 6 8volt Trojans aren't very old and something is draining them faster now so Im thinking it is the 12v converter. Would I do my self good to take off the $12 converter and get a $100 one?

Yes and No.
Yes it would be a good idea to replace the El-cheapo reducer with a high quality one, but No you don't have to spend $100 for it.
http://www.cartsunlimited.net/12v-reducers.html

Personally, there is only one type of voltage reducer I'd use. One that has a remote On/Off wire that connects to something that has battery pack voltage on it when cart is ready to be driven. That place is easy to find in a Series or SepEx drive DC cart, but harder to find in an RXV and other AC drive carts. Keyswitch for the DC drives, but I've heard you don't want to connect anything to the keyswitch in AC drive, so you'll have to get the answer from someone that knows the ins and outs of AC drives and I'm not one of those.

If you have a radio that has to have 12V applied to its memory to keep the settings, there are Voltage reducers with remote On/Off that also have a low power 12V output that stays on when the high power 12V is off.

[BobBoyce]

Yes, reducers always on will be a parasitic drain. Higher quality reducers are typically higher efficiency, so less parasitic drain. On a reducer with the remote on/off wire, you can connect the control wire to the solenoid.

[drhill]

OK, so I charged my cart up last night and 24 hours later my pack is at 50.2/50.3. Voltage reducer has been removed. This seems like excessive loss? Anything else I should check? No other accessories that I can see hooked to the pack other than the factory one positive and 2 negative wires.

[BigOL3]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Yes and No.
Yes it would be a good idea to replace the El-cheapo reducer with a high quality one, but No you don't have to spend $100 for it.
http://www.cartsunlimited.net/12v-reducers.html

Personally, there is only one type of voltage reducer I'd use. One that has a remote On/Off wire that connects to something that has battery pack voltage on it when cart is ready to be driven. That place is easy to find in a Series or SepEx drive DC cart, but harder to find in an RXV and other AC drive carts. Keyswitch for the DC drives, but I've heard you don't want to connect anything to the keyswitch in AC drive, so you'll have to get the answer from someone that knows the ins and outs of AC drives and I'm not one of those.

If you have a radio that has to have 12V applied to its memory to keep the settings, there are Voltage reducers with remote On/Off that also have a low power 12V output that stays on when the high power 12V is off.

Would the following 'redneck' option work to avoid any power drainage when 12V were not needed. The only real need I have for 12V is lights. Only time I need lights is during deer season. If a 'toggle' type switch was placed on the POS wire going to pack and only turned on if needed for lights, seems that would kill the parasitic drain from the reducer ....... correct?

[BigOL3]

See above .......