Powerwise charger issues even with new board

[Deshawnj]

Hi everyone, first post here because I am stumped.

Powerwise charger didn't turn on one day, no drops ,stays indoors, good condition. I ran through diagnostics with multimeter and charger came on when relay was jumped with screwdriver. Bought a new board and changed it out. Plugged in charger and it still won't turn on unless I jump the relay with a screwdriver or jumper wire. Tried another working charger and it works fine charges my cart with no issues so I assumed everything on my cart is fine.

Not sure where to start testing now. Starting to pull my hair out, any help or steps, or testing you guys can think of I am willing to try. Thanks.

[JohnnieB]

Clean/adjust the Auxiliary contact in the output plug.

It has to make good contact with the outside of the negative terminal in the cart's charger receptacle for charger to power up.

If that doesn't fix it, check the continuity of the smaller of the three wires in the output cable.

[Deshawnj]

Thanks, opened charger cord end and adjusted the metal bar attached to the red wire to be closer to the post. Still no go.

I may need some more help on the last step. The output cable is the cable from charger to cart that actually plugs in? If so the smaller of the three is a red wire, for continuity I would touch the red wire and what other location?

Thanks for the help.

[Deshawnj]

Thanks, opened charger cord end and adjusted the metal bar attached to the red wire to be closer to the post. Still no go.

I may need some more help on the last step. The output cable is the cable from charger to cart that actually plugs in? If so the smaller of the three is a red wire, for continuity I would touch the red wire and what other location?

Thanks for the help.

Also, in the diagram I don't have two boards. When I opened the charger the power input board was replaced and the control board with brown wires wasn't even connected.

[JohnnieB]

Take a look at your last post or two. Notice there is an "Edit" button in the bottom right. You can edit your posts for an hour or so after posting them to make revisions, additions and corrections.

Sounds like someone replaced the original two piece control board in your charger with a one piece control board and didn't remove the all the no longer used pieces.

One piece or two piece, the control board works the same. The Red wire on the control board connects to the heatsink (B+) and the Black wire connects to the outside of the negative terminal (B-) in the cart's charge receptacle via the Auxiliary contact in the charger's DC output plug. The third wire in the charger's DC output cable that the Black wire on the control board connects to, might be Red or some other color, but the other two (heavier) wires are always White (+) and Black (-).

----------
You should have continuity between the Auxiliary contact in the charger's DC output plug and the Black wire attached to the control board. The wire color between the two can be any color except Black or White.

-----------
With the charger plugged into cart, but not plugged into AC power, measure between the Red and Black wires on the control board with a voltmeter you should read the battery pack voltage.

[Deshawnj]

Sorry about the double post.

My auxiliary contact is a red wire when out the cord, which in turn connects to the black wire attached to the control board. I have continuity from aux contact in the cord handle to the end of the red wire. So no breaks in that wire. But the end of the black wire is soldered to the board how do I get a reading from aux contact to end of black wire attached to the board? Touch it where its soldered? If so I get continuity loud and clear.


How do I measure between the two wires on the board? Touch where they are both soldered? The red wire plugs into just a spot on the aluminum plate and the black is connected to the red wire from aux contact. If I touch where both the red and black are soldered to the board, I get zero volts with cord in cart but not in AC.

I did buy this charger used so that would explain the one board instead of two.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Deshawnj

.............
If I touch where both the red and black are soldered to the board, I get zero volts with cord in cart but not in AC.
...................

That is why the charger is not powering up. You should read the cart's battery pack voltage between where the Red and Black wires are soldered onto the control board.

Sounds like you have a good connection from where the black wire is soldered onto the control board to the Auxiliary contact, which you've cleaned and adjusted, and the charger charges the battery when the relay is bypassed, so the problem is most likely between where the Red wire is soldered onto the control board and where it attaches to the aluminum plate, which is the heatsink for the diodes.


Measure the voltage between the Black wire's solder joint on the control board and the aluminum plate. If you get pack voltage, fix the Red wire.

BTW, you old control board is probably good.

[Deshawnj]

Measured volts from black wire soldered point to heat sink where red wire attached it reads 0. Tried old board as well reads 0. Charger cord in cart but not plugged to AC outlet.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Deshawnj

Measured volts from black wire soldered point to heat sink where red wire attached it reads 0. Tried old board as well reads 0. Charger cord in cart but not plugged to AC outlet.

The boards are not turning charger on because they are not getting the battery pack voltage connected to the Red and Black wires soldered onto them.

Try touching the voltmeter's test lead on the heatsink somewhere other than where the red wire connects to it. The entire aluminum plate is connected to the cart's battery pack main positive terminal when the charger is plugged into the cart. The connector the red wire from the control board pushes onto may not have a good connection to the heatsink, or the red wire may be broken. (But that isn't likely since the red wire is hardwired to the board and you've tried two boards.)

[Deshawnj]

Thanks. Tried black wire solder point to multiple spots on heat sink plate. Where red wire connects to a wired slide terminal thing, tried the female spade at the end of the wire and the piece it attaches to, tried the top of the plate, also the extra plate where the diodes go through. All give me a zero.

The red wire touches the heat sink on a piece that looks like it is slid on. I removed it and re crimped the red wire made sure it slid tight and reattached little metal slide with red wire on it. Still reads zero.