36V EZGO charger

tlottman · 07-13-2018, 04:36 PM

Quick question. I was getting 0 current on my charger for my cart. Found capacitor in charger rusted out so I replaced. Got cap with same specs as original , 20uF, 370V, etc. Got it and put it in and have current now but only 5 amps or less. Diodes test good so was wondering, the new cap although same parameters as the old one is about half the size of the old one. Believe it is a run cap for an ac. So finally to my question, will the physical size of the cap being smaller produce less output current? Thinking I may need to order an actual golf cart charger cap?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Troy

JohnnieB · 07-13-2018, 04:54 PM

The physical size of the capacitor doesn't matter.

Sounds like you have a ferroresonant transformer type charger, so the transformer and boost capacitor are a matched pair.

Without the capacitor, the output of the transformer secondary is 60VAC and with it connected, the output is 90V. If the capacitor has the wrong uF value, output will be something other than 90VAC.

Attached is how to test the transformer and capacitor.

Also, what is the battery pack's On-Charge voltage when the charger is putting out 5A?

tlottman · 07-13-2018, 05:49 PM

I am getting around 44 volts out of the charger across the batteries. Takes forever to charge at 5 amps. I am reading like 64 with the cap disconnected and about 86 with it connected.

JohnnieB · 07-14-2018, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlottman

I am getting around 44 volts out of the charger across the batteries. Takes forever to charge at 5 amps. I am reading like 64 with the cap disconnected and about 86 with it connected.

The voltages with and without capacitor are withing the normal range and so is putting out about 5A when the on-charge voltage is 44V.

Disconnect the charger and let the batteries rest for at least and hour and then reconnect charger.
What is the pack voltage when the charger is first connected?
What is the Amps when the charger is first connected?

Normal operation for a ferroresonant transformer type charger is an output of about 18A when first connected and the amps start to taper off as the on-charge voltage climbs above about 40V, decreasing to about 3A to 8A when charger automatically shuts of at about 45V. (See attached charge profile)

What is the Make/Model of your charger?

tlottman · 07-14-2018, 04:03 PM

So turned off charger for an hour plus. When I turned back on the charger went to 43.6V and minimal amps before it went to about 2 amps after a couple seconds. Pic of charger attached.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JohnnieB · 07-14-2018, 05:33 PM

Something isn't adding up; 43.6V on a 36V battery pack after sitting for over an hour with the charger disconnected is unlikely.

The at-rest voltage for a fully charged 36V battery pack is a bit over 38V and whatever the battery pack voltage is when the charger is connected is the output voltage of the charger when it is first connected. In order for the charger to put out ~20A, the output voltage (aka on-charge voltage for the battery pack) has to be less than 40V.

-----------
Please post a picture of the battery pack you are trying to charge with your model 20484 charger.

-----------
There is one possibility, extremely bad cables and connections between charger and battery pack.

tlottman · 07-14-2018, 07:20 PM

That’s my bad I thought you meant turn the charger back on and then check voltage. I’ll turn the charger back off and check the voltage. Not sure the batteries are fully charged though. Having cart problems too that I have been checking so ran the batteries down some.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

tlottman · 07-14-2018, 07:24 PM

Yeah when I checked the batteries they were at 34.92 and going down so need to continue charging. Slow going at 2 amps now

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

tlottman · 07-15-2018, 09:26 AM

Checked voltage this morning and it was 32.8v. Went to turn charger on and just got a click click click. Not sure if it was the relay or something else.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JohnnieB · 07-15-2018, 12:12 PM

With the battery pack at about 35V, the batteries were only about 20% SoC, so the charger ought to have put out about 20A for the first hour or more.

At 32V, the batteries are completely discharged and the voltage might not be high enough to turn charger on.

Get a 12V battery charger and charge the batteries 2 at a time and see if they will take a charge.

-----------
At this point. I'm more inclined to believe you have a battery problem rather than a charger problem.

What is the Make and Model of the batteries?

07-13-2018, 04:36 PM	#1
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19	36V EZGO charger Quick question. I was getting 0 current on my charger for my cart. Found capacitor in charger rusted out so I replaced. Got cap with same specs as original , 20uF, 370V, etc. Got it and put it in and have current now but only 5 amps or less. Diodes test good so was wondering, the new cap although same parameters as the old one is about half the size of the old one. Believe it is a run cap for an ac. So finally to my question, will the physical size of the cap being smaller produce less output current? Thinking I may need to order an actual golf cart charger cap? Thanks for any advice you can give. Troy
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19

07-13-2018, 05:49 PM	#3
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19	Re: 36V EZGO charger I am getting around 44 volts out of the charger across the batteries. Takes forever to charge at 5 amps. I am reading like 64 with the cap disconnected and about 86 with it connected.
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19

07-14-2018, 04:03 PM	#5
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19	Re: 36V EZGO charger So turned off charger for an hour plus. When I turned back on the charger went to 43.6V and minimal amps before it went to about 2 amps after a couple seconds. Pic of charger attached. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19

07-14-2018, 05:33 PM	#6
JohnnieB Techno-Nerd Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Virginia Posts: 19,654	Re: 36V EZGO charger Something isn't adding up; 43.6V on a 36V battery pack after sitting for over an hour with the charger disconnected is unlikely. The at-rest voltage for a fully charged 36V battery pack is a bit over 38V and whatever the battery pack voltage is when the charger is connected is the output voltage of the charger when it is first connected. In order for the charger to put out ~20A, the output voltage (aka on-charge voltage for the battery pack) has to be less than 40V. ----------- Please post a picture of the battery pack you are trying to charge with your model 20484 charger. ----------- There is one possibility, extremely bad cables and connections between charger and battery pack.

07-14-2018, 07:20 PM	#7
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19	Re: 36V EZGO charger That’s my bad I thought you meant turn the charger back on and then check voltage. I’ll turn the charger back off and check the voltage. Not sure the batteries are fully charged though. Having cart problems too that I have been checking so ran the batteries down some. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19

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07-14-2018, 07:24 PM	#8
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19	Re: 36V EZGO charger Yeah when I checked the batteries they were at 34.92 and going down so need to continue charging. Slow going at 2 amps now Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19

07-15-2018, 09:26 AM	#9
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19	Re: 36V EZGO charger Checked voltage this morning and it was 32.8v. Went to turn charger on and just got a click click click. Not sure if it was the relay or something else. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
tlottman Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 19

07-15-2018, 12:12 PM	#10
JohnnieB Techno-Nerd Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Virginia Posts: 19,654	Re: 36V EZGO charger With the battery pack at about 35V, the batteries were only about 20% SoC, so the charger ought to have put out about 20A for the first hour or more. At 32V, the batteries are completely discharged and the voltage might not be high enough to turn charger on. Get a 12V battery charger and charge the batteries 2 at a time and see if they will take a charge. ----------- At this point. I'm more inclined to believe you have a battery problem rather than a charger problem. What is the Make and Model of the batteries?

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