48v 97 Club Car charger not shutting off

[pondrat]

I am having an issue with my powerdrive charger not shutting off, this is a 97 club car 48v system and the charger seems to charge like it should but when it charges down to 3 or 4 volts on the meter it continues there and does not complete you end up smelling the batteries if you don't eventually unplug the cart. this was happening near the end of last season and the individual battery readings were all over the place so over the winter I replaced the whole pack with new batteries, the first few charges on the new batteries the charger did shut off but then the exact same thing has happened since that. my digital battery indicator of the pack will read up to 64.8v were you can then smell the batteries but it will not shut off. after unplugging and checking an hour later my readings average cell per battery is 2.12 not 1 battery is under this average, pack sitting at 51.4v . I have rebuilt the charger already. Question I have would it be a high percentage the OBC has gone bad causing all the battery's to over charge, any advice would be very much appreciated, Thanks in advance

[pondrat]

I can be content I guess to just charge and unplug the charger every night when it reaches a voltage value can someone inform me what total voltage valve when charging would the 48v pack be considered fully charged or the value the charger should be shutting off at. Thanks

have you tried a OBC reset ?
battery smell is normal, they gas as batteries charge that's why you don't smoke around them when they are charging
charging can take up to 16hrs to complete
good read


http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Batter...n_Methods.html
http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Batter..._Tutorial.html

[pondrat]

Yes I have reset the OBC a few weeks ago, thanks for the reads crash great advise I think I will try and let the charger over run way beyond what seems necessary one more time and see if it will eventually shut off, the stench is very strong and my camp neighbors can even smell it, I do not want to over harm these new batteries, I will post back shortly, Thanks again

[Hyper]

I am having the same issue. My batteries are new. It is normal to smell batteries, I thought it was my charger so I got a different club cart charger. I thought I was supposed to charge until charger reached 5 volts on my charger. My charge stay at 5 volts for hours and then batteries start smelling so I turn off charger. If you guys are saying up to 16 hours I have not been charging that long. I get afraid of leaving charger that long since I have friend neighbor whose house burnt down due to charging his vehicle too long.

yes new batteries take a long charge ..

[Golfdog]

Originally Posted by pondrat

I can be content I guess to just charge and unplug the charger every night when it reaches a voltage value can someone inform me what total voltage valve when charging would the 48v pack be considered fully charged or the value the charger should be shutting off at. Thanks

If its a new pack then 63-64v. mine switches off at 64.5v older batteries will reach lower voltages 56-59v

[Hyper]

Should I be concern that batteries smell after a while?

[teecro]

Originally Posted by Hyper

Should I be concern that batteries smell after a while?

How strong is the smell and how confined is the area you are charging in? I have a 2.5 car garage and can not smell the batteries outgassing while charging unless I'm very close (3-ft?) to the batteries. I would expect the smell to be stronger if I were charging the cart say inside of a small closed up shed etc...

[Hyper]

I have a 2 car garage and the smell is present when you open the door. I have left the garage door cracked to let any gases out. I am sensitive to smells and tend to be paranoid about it catching on fire or spilling. I am new to battery charging and it's the first cart I own. Perhaps that's my lack of knowledge getting the best of me.