LED Battery meter

[gcbm]

I occasionaly use a friends 2003 48V IQ club car and have just replaced the OBC due to intermittant issues with the charger not cutting off. Another problem has been that the LED battery meter runs down correctly when using the cart however, if you turn the cart off and let is stand for a few minutes the meter will show a full charge again. This is different to my EZGO where the meter retains its 'memory' after the cart is switched off.

Is the behaviour with the LED battery meter on the club car normal?? If not any suggestions on what may be causing the problem given that I have just changed the OBC??


P.S. I'm suspecting the OBC was damaged a while back when one of the batteries was shorted while trying to repair a stripped battery lug.

[scottyb]

This sounds like multiple issues... I'll try to tackle a couple and then let somebody else chime in.
The most common cause of the battery charger not shutting off is bad batteries. If the batteries can't be brought up to a full charge then the charging is never done and the charger won't shut off.
The Curtis LED bar meter resets each time it loses connection with the battery pack and each time the battery pack reaches a full charge. If it's wired incorrectly you could be losing connection with the battery pack each time the key is turned off. This would cause the meter to reset and think that the existing voltage is a full charge.

[gcbm]

Originally Posted by scottyb

This sounds like multiple issues... I'll try to tackle a couple and then let somebody else chime in.
The most common cause of the battery charger not shutting off is bad batteries. If the batteries can't be brought up to a full charge then the charging is never done and the charger won't shut off.
The Curtis LED bar meter resets each time it loses connection with the battery pack and each time the battery pack reaches a full charge. If it's wired incorrectly you could be losing connection with the battery pack each time the key is turned off. This would cause the meter to reset and think that the existing voltage is a full charge.

Thanks for the quick response. My friend has had the cart since new so unless it was wired incorrectly to start with ?? In any case, I might dig up a wiring diagram and check. I'll also check the individual battery voltages and pack after the next charge, though since the OBC has been replaced the charger seems to be cutting off correctly (ie, before 16 hours)
Intrerestingly the battery charge meter behaves OK if the ignition is only off for a few seconds. It only resets to full again after the ignition has been off for a longer period.

[gcbm]

Update:
The new OBD looks to have fixed the overcharging issue (finished overnight and batteries not cooking like they used to be). However, each time I remove the charger plug the orange battery light has illuminated for a few seconds which from what I have read indicates the batteries are not fully charged.

After the last charge the battery pack read 50.9 volts with individual batteries in the 8.46 to 8.49 volt range, so to me that looks like 100% charge was achieved.

Also while using the cart yesterday the yellow light came on occassionally when the battery meter got down around the 50% mark.

The battery charge meter still does the same. Runs down as the cart is used but resets to full after being turned off for a while. Next task will be to check the wiring to see if it loses connection with the battery pack when the key is off.

Interested though on feedback with the battery light coming on.

[ForBruce]

Originally Posted by gcbm

Update:
However, each time I remove the charger plug the orange battery light has illuminated for a few seconds which from what I have read indicates the batteries are not fully charged.
.

not sure about this but i think i read somewhere that if you pull out the charger plug while the cart is still charging...the yellow light will come on for a few seconds.

Eventhough the meter on the charger reads "0" the charge level might be so low as to not register on the meter but the charger's relay is still being activated by the OBC.

I put a pilot light on my charger so from far away i can tell if the charger relay is calling for charge...... (I.E...100volts applied to the primary of the transformia

[gcbm]

Thanks for the feedback. When I have removed the charger plug (with the yellow light coming on for a few seconds) the charge cycle has long been completed.

On the LED meter, I removed it today and saw a 'FAULTY' sticker on the underside. Guess that explains the erratic behavior of the meter. The really suprising thing is that this cart (bought new) was built with a known to be faulty part.

[scottyb]

That's a new one on me!
I don't feel so dumb now.....lol

[ForBruce]

see the photo for info on how battery warning light works