1994 DS Batteries do not appear to be charging. Charger is working

[jfreeman]

Batteries newly installed in July 2011. I installed the battery charge level indication a couple of weeks later.

I rarely let the batteries go to 3/4 charge. Usually the charger completes the charge in its normal manner and then shuts off. This takes several hours.

I allowed the charger to run for almost 24 hrs and there was no indication that the level of charging changed. The charger just stayed on the entire time.

[shadowman]

OK its a 94 so there isn,t an OBC......if you have a voltage meter take down voltage for the whole pack and then put the charger on and take voltage again see if the #,s are different................if its not charging than #,s will be the same but if they are different..............if everythjing was working and batteries were charging and this just happened out of the blue its an odd one because most of the time either charger will not come on or it will and trip the breaker.................check voltage #,s both ways........................................

[jfreeman]

OK, back at this problem after a few days break for Christmas.

I put the meter across the battery pack it read 38 volts. I put the charger on and it read 38 volts.

I have no way of checking the charger without it being plugged into the cart, is there a way of doing this?

So what might the problem be.....

[shadowman]

is the charger coming on? can you hear it hum and is amp meter gage moving up to say 12 to 15 amp range? if amp meter gage needle isn,t moving up then charger isn,t charging battery pack...........now if you can try your charger on another cart or get a known good charger to try on your cart then you can eliminate either the cart or charger as problem.............but if your getting the same 38 volt reading with charger on cart seems to me charger isn,t working...................................

[jfreeman]

OK. Wow these carts are fun to learn about and, so far, reasonable to repair. The problem was in the charger unit and it was a diode on the heat sink. While the charger was putting out the proper voltage when plugged into the cart it was not. Now it is and the charger is humming away sounding as it used to sound; quieter rather than a loud annoying buzz. $48 dollars solved the problem at my local parts shop. I did not check online for the part but I will go back and do so.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions for trouble shooting this. I am going to have to fix the steering next so I will probably be back for further help.

Someday who knows I might even have a answer to a problem!

Happy New Year to all.

[shadowman]

Originally Posted by jfreeman

OK. Wow these carts are fun to learn about and, so far, reasonable to repair. The problem was in the charger unit and it was a diode on the heat sink. While the charger was putting out the proper voltage when plugged into the cart it was not. Now it is and the charger is humming away sounding as it used to sound; quieter rather than a loud annoying buzz. $48 dollars solved the problem at my local parts shop. I did not check online for the part but I will go back and do so.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions for trouble shooting this. I am going to have to fix the steering next so I will probably be back for further help.

Someday who knows I might even have a answer to a problem!

Happy New Year to all.

glad you got it figured out...................................

[TDAWG]

Originally Posted by TDAWG

Possible bad diode. Did the golf cart repair shop test your diodes?

Glad you figured it out. The charger testing a 40 volt output is what gave it away.