power drive charging problems

[Releehweoj]

Originally Posted by jakesnake27

The OBC shouldn't let the charger run more than 16 hours straight...
48v packs can get up above 60v while charging- it's normal

Regarding max voltage during charging:

New (to me) '07 CC DS IQ
CC/Lester PowerDrive3 charger
New Powertron P8000 batteries X 6 (manufactured 24th week of 2013)
Water in batteries topped off earlier this week
ScottyB's DVM - installed this week

As of now, on hour 13 (of 12th charging cycle since getting the cart) - DVM shows 65V after batteries were discharged to 48.4V being run all day yesterday. Ammeter on charger reading ~4A.

Any of this sound wrong? Most of the comments on the subject say that voltage should peak around 60-63V.

[jakesnake27]

Originally Posted by Releehweoj

Regarding max voltage during charging:

New (to me) '07 CC DS IQ
CC/Lester PowerDrive III charger
New Powertron P8000 batteries X 6 (manufactured 24th week of 2013)
ScottyB's DVM - installed this week

As of now, on hour 13 (of 12th charging cycle since getting the cart) - DVM shows 65V after batteries were discharged to 48.4V being run all day yesterday.

Any of this sound wrong? Most of the comments on the subject say that voltage should peak around 60-63V.

65v is ok, as long as it doesn't get much higher...
New batteries can take longer to charge than broken in batts.
Does the charger shut off on its own?

[Golfdog]

Does not seem totally out of order. One thing though you should never discharge a new pack to 50% until they have been "run in". They can take 20-50 recharges to reach full capacity and should not be discharged much below their 75% capacity until then otherwise you run the risk of shortening their lifespan.

[Releehweoj]

Jake, the charger is cutting off by itself. Until last week I wasn't sure if it was hitting the 16 hour limit because I typically leave it to charge overnight and check it the next day. However, last week after a relatively short run, I hooked up the charger to see how it would react. It charged and cut off after about 4 hours.

[Releehweoj]

Originally Posted by Golfdog

Does not seem totally out of order. One thing though you should never discharge a new pack to 50% until they have been "run in". They can take 20-50 recharges to reach full capacity and should not be discharged much below their 75% capacity until then otherwise you run the risk of shortening their lifespan.

Yep - ran it more yesterday than intended - couldn't be helped. I am keeping up with charge cycles and intend to baby the batteries until break-in is complete. Thanks.

[greasegun]

got it working thanks for the help....i wasn't letting the charger on long enough.
when i was pulling the plug the volt meter said there was only 59 volts. I let the charger run and when the voltage got to 63 volts the charger shut off.
I guess I was worried about overcharging the batteries and not letting the charger do its job.
thanks again for all the help...

[Stevegrmich]

Originally Posted by greasegun

got it working thanks for the help....i wasn't letting the charger on long enough.
when i was pulling the plug the volt meter said there was only 59 volts. I let the charger run and when the voltage got to 63 volts the charger shut off.
I guess I was worried about overcharging the batteries and not letting the charger do its job.
thanks again for all the help...

. . . as previously stated, charging cycles can run up to 16 hours to complete . . .