Powerwise Charger doesn't work

[Paxdad]

Make a jump wire that connects from the positive on the receptacle to the red and white stripe wire that goes to the controller. There should be a spade connector where you can jump to. This I commonly referred to as bypassing the reed switch and if you do a search you can find photos to assist.

[bigstik40]

As yurtle posted previously, the reed switch doesn't affect charging ! The reed switch "locks out" the cart so you can't drive it away with the charge cables attached. Did the charger hum when you bypassed the relay?? Johhnieb should be along to help sort this out.- RAY

[Paxdad]

As TeaFreak35 previously posted when the relay in the charger was bypassed there was still no activity out of the charger. Do you have anything to add that would assist the OP??

[bigstik40]

Bypassing the relay in the charger should have the charger transformer humming as soon as it is plugged in to the AC, even if not plugged in to the cart. No humming from the charger (with by-passed relay) when plugged in to AC would indicate problems in the charger or the AC receptacle. I would first make sure your AC outlet is "live". Next see if you can locate the wiring/schematic for your charger. Johnnieb has posted these many times, so a search should turn something up. Also, there are a lot of posts telling how to test. Check to see if the charger has a blown fuse somewhere in the AC line side. It appears that you are not getting AC power to the charger transformer. If you open the charger up be very careful as dangerous voltages are present (especially on the large capacitor). Good luck - RAY

PS-You asked about checking the fuse in the cart. Although it seems unlikely that this is the problem, you can check it this way. Just check the battery voltage present on each side of the fuse. If fuse is good, voltage will be present on each side of the fuse.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Teafreak35

I have a 2002 ez go txt. Batteries are testing a full 36 volts at the charge connector. However, when I plug in my power wise charger nothing happens. No click from the charger relay...nothing. I tried bypassing the charger relay and still got nothing to happen. Does it sound like the fuse is blown? I looked at the fuse, but couldn't see any visible damage. Anyway to test that? The charger worked fine up until a couple of days ago and then it just wouldn't charge anymore. Any ideas would help. Thanks.

What model charger do you have?

With the relay bypassed, the transformer should hum when AC power is applied to it.
It might be something as simple as a dead wall outlet or a bad power cord.

Make sure you are getting AC power to transformer primary and we'll go from there if it still doesn't work.

Those old chargers are built like tanks and are 100% repairable, but if the transformer is bad, it's cheaper to by a new DPI charger.

[Teafreak35]

There was no hum when I bypassed the relay. I checked my cable from the charger to the cart and it is good. The receptacle is hot that I had the charger plugged in to. I have not checked the ac cord on the charger. Will do that tomorrow. If the 50 amp fuse in the charger were blown, would that keep the transformer from humming when I bypassed the relay?

And...do I understand correctly that the red/white wire coming off of the charger receptacle in the cart ONLY has the function of keeping the cart from being driven while plugged in to the charger?

[yurtle]

You are correct.

Dunno if you have a series or sepex, but here's the wiring diagram for my series buggy. You can clearly see that the reed switch, which I've gone through two of before bypassing, can NOT prevent the charger from charging the batteries. The reed switch plays the same role, regardless of which drive system you have (series, DCS, PDS).

It's the switch which is labelled "interlock" on the attached.

[yurtle]

Originally Posted by Teafreak35

And...do I understand correctly that the red/white wire coming off of the charger receptacle in the cart ONLY has the function of keeping the cart from being driven while plugged in to the charger?

Actually, it also serves the function of preventing you from driving when it fails. It's simply a small glass magnetic reed switch, which is normally closed, but opens when the charger plug - which has a magnet in it - is inserted. When the glass breaks, it will probably run until you charge it, then the broken glass will fall between the open contacts, preventing them from closing.

[Paxdad]

Teafreak35,
Do you have a 60A fuse coming off the positive lead (white wire) of the charger receptacle and connected to the B+ of your battery pack? Or is the white wire running directly to the B+ of the front passenger side battery? If you have this fuse and it is bad the it is on the same circuit as the reed switch and will therefore not recognize the charger and begin charging, regardless if the reed switch is bypassed as it does not allow power to the J1 pin 4 plug on the controller and does what yurtle has stated in his reply above. I assume that your cart is running fine correct? If so then ignore the above items.

Yes. If the 50A charger fuse is blown the charger relay will not work.

Once you have determined if the charger has power to it and the fuse is good I would check to see if you have you have continuity of the charger diodes? These need to be removed to do the test.

[Teafreak35]

Yes, the cart is running fine. There is no fuse on the cart wiring.

To check the 50 A fuse on the charger, do I simply need to use an ohm meter to see if it ohms out?