Rebuild EzGo charger

[yurtle]

It seems unlikely - though not impossible - that someone would have gone to the trouble of disconnecting a working ammeter. My guess is the meter failed open, so it was bypassed.

[JohnnieB]

I'm 99.99999999999999999999999% sure that ammeter is bad.

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No, the ammeter isn't necessary, but it is important.
First of all, it tells you that charging current is, in fact, flowing. (The hum only tells you that AC power is applied to the transformer primary.)
Secondly, the initial Amps and the way the Amps decrease over time are useful tools for troubleshooting.

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The schematic or wiring diagram you have might not be for your specific charger. The manual charger with timer came in several flavors.

Some of the early ones had a true center-tapped secondary while later ones had a transformer with two secondaries that were tied together at one end to form a center tap.

I can't tell for sure from the pictures, but I suspect there are only three heavy black wires coming out of the secondary (Winding closet to the rear of the case).
Two of them would be connected to the two diodes on the heat-sink and the third would go to the ammeter.

I also suspect the drawing you have also shows a couple fuses or a fuse assembly if the two wire that connect to the ammeter.

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I'm not real happy about the way the white wire in the output cable is connected. Is it actually grounded to the charger case?
It should connect to the heat-sink without touching anything else.

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BTW - If the diodes ever fail, Just bore a couple small holes in the heat-sink and install a pair of stud mount diodes. (IE: 1N1184 or 1N1188, or just about anything rated at, or over, 100V and 35A.)

[Babyboomerboy]

Thank you for replies. If I buy a new amp meter for the charger, would it work if I just hook up the two black wires that are tied together now? I agree that the meter must have bit the dust or else it would still be connected. Now, what about that white wire!!!!

[JohnnieB]

Connect the black wire from the transformer to the Negative terminal on the new ammeter.
The black wire in the output cable connects to the Positive terminal.

In the second picture from the left, it looks like the white wire from the output cable connects to the green wire from the heat-sink, but I cannot tell if that connection is also connected to the metal of the charger frame/case/chassis or not. It should only be connected to the white wire. The whit wire is what eventually connects to the main positive terminal on the cart's battery pack and should be grounded, if it is.

[Babyboomerboy]

Thank you for your information. I took another picture of the white and green wire and hope this helps. The green wire is only wire that is grounded I think.

[JohnnieB]

What is the black thingy they are both connected to?
A circuit breaker maybe?

[Babyboomerboy]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Yes it is. You are looking for part #3454 from any one of our Nivel parts suppliers.

I measured the gauge and the hole in the charger. The hole was 2 1/16 inches wide. The gauge was 2 inches wide in the back and 2 1/4 inches on the face. When I called the people at Nivel, they said the 3454 gauge was 1 3/16 inches wide. Is there a larger gauge that will fit the hole in the case of the charger? I think the 3454 is to small. Thanks

[Babyboomerboy]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

What is the black thingy they are both connected to?
A circuit breaker maybe?

I have no idea what any of the stuff is inside the charger. There is nothing on the back side of the charger if that tells you anything. Sorry, I am just glad I am not color blind or I would be no help at all

[Babyboomerboy]

Ok, I bought two new batteries for the two that were weak. I charged them up twice and waited 12 hours. My pack is 38.5 and all the batteries except one is 6.5. The other one is 6.2 Do you think I have solved the battery problem? Do you think I will be putting a strain on the new batteries if I don't buy the other four? I still would like to find a amp gauge that is 2 inches across. I can't believe they make a gauge that is only 1 3/16 wide. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[JohnnieB]

It is best to replace all the batteries at the same time.
If a battery or two goes bad in the first year or two, the bad battery(ies) can be replaced to get the typical 3 to 5 years out of the rest of the batteries in the pack.
The replacement batteries should be considered sacrificial, and replaced when the rest are replaced.

As for putting a strain on the new batteries, yes.
The will soon have the same storage capacity as the rest of the pack.

Batteries are akin to apples.
Add good apples to a barrel of rotten ones and they will soon be as rotten as the rest.
Also, if you add a rotten apple to a barrel of good one, they will soon all be rotten.

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Only the back of the ammeter has to fit within the hole.
Something like this would work.

http://www.amazon.com/Amico-85L1-A-Rectangle-Analog-Ammeter/dp/B00842J5OI

http://www.amazon.com/Amico-85L1-A-Rectangle-Analog-Ammeter/dp/B00842J5OI

Of course, you'll have to drill a couple of holes to mount it, but the faceplate should cover the existing mounting hole in the charger.
Look around on the net, you might find one that will fit better.