Power wise II question

[Walrus127]

For the last few weeks my cart would die after only 9-14 holes of golf. Before it was good for 27-36 holes. I have been testing my batteries thought I had a bad one. Today I had the charger plugged in and smoke started coming from the charger. I quickly unplugged it and removed the cover. I found the black wire going from the power outlet going to the charger relay had burned and the plastic housing on the relay slightly melted. I see I can buy this part but it is attached to the electronic charge controller board which cost $344. Is there a way I can check this board to make sure it is good. The relay board sells for around $55. I can purchase a new charger for $300. I would hate to buy the relay then find the controller board was bad also! I have a feeling this problem has been building and I was not getting full charge on my batteries causing them not to last as long as they should have.

[dvmartin]

Replace the whole control board. As noted they are not too expensive. Note that the newer control board is just one, replacing two in the older models of the powerwise.

[JohnnieB]

The PW-II is different than the earlier versions dvmartin is referring to.

The attached manual is for a Lestronic-II, but it is the same as the PW-II except in name.

The relay got hot enough to melt its case a bit, so the first thing I would do is remove the relay board from the sealed control module. The relay coil is fed via the connections made by the top and bottom screws, so make sure those contact surfaces are tarnish free.

Personally, I'd just go ahead and buy a DPI Accusense charger. http://www.cartsunlimited.net/chargers-36-48v.html

It will do a much better job charging your batteries fully and keeping them charged since it float charges after the regular cycle ends.

[mutant]

yep-i ditched my powerwise for a DPI and am very happy!!

[dvmartin]

JohnnieB, You are indeed right about the charger. I missed that he was asking about a II.