36V charger blowing fuses, may have been hit by lightning?

[matnic]

I have an old Club Car Caroche, 36V and a Lestronic II Model 14100 charger. It has been charging fine, working fine for the past year+ that we've had it. The charger buzzes until charged, then turns off, but we usually leave it plugged in during the night and unplug it when we want to go for a ride.

Well, one morning after a strong storm a week or so ago, I went out to unplug it and noticed the fuse had blown. It was plugged into an outlet the has the built in surge protector, and it wasn't tripped, but the fuse was blown. That same time, I went to check the main house curtuit board and it was fine. There was a second outlet/surge protector on another circuit that had been blown, so I'm wondering if we got hit by a lightning strike the night before.

So, I ordered another fuse, installed it, plugged into the outlet, then went to plug into the cart and it sparked big-time! It also made a small weld/melt at the end of the plug at the cart end. Blew the fuse, too.

Any idea what is causing this? Also, any suggestions on charging the batteries in the meantime without the charger? I have a car charger with trickle charge, fast charge, and start modes. My wife & daughter miss their cart rides!

Thanks
Mat
ps may be getting rid of this one soon and upgrading to a gas cart with a back seat...anyone know anyone in the Northern Michigan area that wants a pre 1980 CC Caroche in good shape, with current charger problems?

[OLD MEC]

Contact the Lester people about your problem, as in years past they were very helpful. Take your 12 volt charger and hook to two batterys at a time this will bring them up enough to get by with until you resolve charger problem. I assume that the 12 volt charger is automatic, if not monitor often.

[shadowman]

i,m not certain but its possible if charger was plugged into cart that the surge went thur charger and into cart so you may end up with a charger and cart problem but as i said i,m not certain........i know we had a storm here a few weeks back and it took out my customm built puter, my new 42 inch LCD tv both my cable boxs and even one of the remote controls also a stupid fan........it blew the CPU into 3 parts................4 years ago it was just my whole house air cond. it got but this time it nailed me good.................check fuse in charger an in cart and check amp breaker in charger, i would also open up charger and check for any burnt wires around transformer.....................

[rabbitreborn]

When you replaced the fuse, did you check the diodes? anytime you blow a fuse on a charger, you should check the diodes as they are the #1 suspect for a blown fuse on a charger.

[matnic]

I did not check the diodes...how do I know if they are bad? I did read that somewhere when I searched here about replacing the diode/heat sink, but I can't tell if its bad or not.

Also, is there a fuse in the cart itself, too? Where?

When I hook up a car charger to 2 batteries, does it matter which 2, or just that its positive to positive, negative to negative?

Thanks for the help...Not an electric guy, should have got a gas cart, and the next one probably will be.

[OLD MEC]

As I stated before contact Lester people for help with diagnostic's as they have always been very helpful when I had problem.
When using auto charger on golf cart pack ( pick two 6 volt batterys in series ) and charge them in that matter. NEGATIVE ON ONE BATTERY TO POSITIVE ON NEXT BATTERY IN SERIES. You dont have to unhook any cables just clamp on to terminals with charger cables.

[dougmcp]

As OLDMEC mentioned, go to the Lester site: http://www.lesterelectrical.com/search/index.php
Type in your 5 digit model number for a complete wiring diagram.
They are also very helpful if you call them.

[shadowman]

there is a fuse under the seat on top of charge receptical.......clear plastic window with thin wire going thur it..................................

[matnic]

No fuse in cart.

I'll email Lester. I took out the diode last night, visually doesn't look bad...how do I tell if its bad? Visual inspection of the charger and cart show nothing looking burned/blackened.

[dougmcp]

You can't tell visually if a diode is bad. Check with a continuity tester, reverse the leads, power only flows in 1 direction in a diode.
Lester prefers phone calls, it takes them awhile to answer emails.