Marithon jerking

[Helirich]

Thanks, I think both my chargers don't go up but a few amps. The one is just like your picture. That one plugs in to my new cart. It runs good, but maybe we don't run it down much. The other charger with the knob has a different kind of plug for my Marithon.

The Marithon is the one I have been working on. The two batteries that I had on the 12volt charger now test 6.7 volts. All the others are about 5.9 to 6.1. Currently I'm charging another pair with the 12volt charger.

Is there any thing that would make the Chargers go from the 15 anps to 2 amps? It seems weird. I would have thought the charger would either work or not. (Nothing in between) also hard to believe both chargers failed the same way when neither has been plugged in to the same cart. (Different plugs)

[Helirich]

Correction, both of my chargers say "EZGO powerwise II" and they don't have the silver on the front. I took the Marithon one apart and it is obvious to me that I installed the timer knob. I had bought the charger on the bay and I changed the plug to fit the Marithon. I guess I installed the timer at the same time. (I don't remember why)

Anyways it did work good for several years. Now I just confirmed both chargers only go to about 2-3 amps when plugged into the carts.

Your test instruckions will not blow up. Meaning, when I click on them, they get bigger, but not big enough to read. When I try to expand them further, they get small. I can read the diagram, but not the printed page. Is there another place I can see it?

[JohnnieB]

The actual battery charging part of both of your chargers are essentially the same. A ferroresonant transformer and capacitor whose AC output is rectified into DC by a pair of diodes on the way to the battery.

Most of this type charger has an ammeter in series with the DC output and some have fuses or circuit breakers as well, but other than how the AC power to the transformer's primary windings is turn on and off, they more or less work the same way.

Even if the battery pack isn't discharged very much, most of them will put out 15A or more when they first come on and then taper down to 5A or less as the on-charge voltage of the batteries rises. The amps out follows the attached charge curve, which is designed into the matched transformer/capacitor pair.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Helirich

Correction, both of my chargers say "EZGO powerwise II" and they don't have the silver on the front. I took the Marithon one apart and it is obvious to me that I installed the timer knob. I had bought the charger on the bay and I changed the plug to fit the Marithon. I guess I installed the timer at the same time. (I don't remember why)

Anyways it did work good for several years. Now I just confirmed both chargers only go to about 2-3 amps when plugged into the carts.

Your test instruckions will not blow up. Meaning, when I click on them, they get bigger, but not big enough to read. When I try to expand them further, they get small. I can read the diagram, but not the printed page. Is there another place I can see it?

A PW-II is a slightly different animal. I have one and when I was using it before going to a charger that float charges (and going from 36V to 42V), I did notice it only put out a few amps (<5A) almost immediately after it came on when the battery pack was near fully charged, but it did charge the batteries as fully as it did when the pack was discharged more and it put out about 20A when it first turned on.

Try discharging the pack(s) more and see what they do.

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[Helirich]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

A PW-II is a slightly different animal. I have one and when I was using it before going to a charger that float charges (and going from 36V to 42V), I did notice it only put out a few amps (<5A) almost immediately after it came on when the battery pack was near fully charged, but it did charge the batteries as fully as it did when the pack was discharged more and it put out about 20A when it first turned on.

Try discharging the pack(s) more and see what they do.

Both my chargers have a fuse in front. (They look good) On my newer cart, I have not discharged it much. We don't drive it much and it always feels like it has lots of power. We just plug it in every few days anyways.

The Marithon was defiantly discharged. I'm getting it charged now with the 12v charger. We'll see.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Helirich

Both my chargers have a fuse in front. (They look good) On my newer cart, I have not discharged it much. We don't drive it much and it always feels like it has lots of power. We just plug it in every few days anyways.

The Marithon was defiantly discharged. I'm getting it charged now with the 12v charger. We'll see.

Here are some troubleshooting guides and service manual for a Lestronic II which is what the PW-II actually is and the 19300 appears to be a variant of the Lestronic-II, Or at least these are the manuals I use for a PW-II.

If the capacitor turns out to be bad, be sure and replace it with the same µF value as the one that is in it.

[Helirich]

Reading through those guides, it sounds like on of my diodes is shot. I've never messed with much electronical stuff. But I guess I can run a solder gun if that's all it takes. Do you know where I can get diodes?

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Helirich

Reading through those guides, it sounds like on of my diodes is shot. I've never messed with much electronical stuff. But I guess I can run a solder gun if that's all it takes. Do you know where I can get diodes?

Google is your friend.

Here's three, there are probably more out there.

https://shop.ezgo.com/products/Heats...erwise-II.html

Amazon.com : EZGO 603208 Heatsink Rectifier Assembly for Powerwise II : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Amazon.com : EZGO 603208 Heatsink Rectifier Assembly for Powerwise II : Patio, Lawn & Garden

https://www.franklingolfcar.com/Bolt...11122_a_7c6749

[Helirich]

Now that it's all charged, the old cart works great. It measures 37.9-38.1 at rest. If I plug in the charger, it goes to about 32. Go figure. How could it go lower? I need to check my other charger. How could both chargers fail the same way at the same time? One leg on the fuse on the new charger looks a little funky. But the old one looks fine. I guess I can tear in to the new cart now. But I still got a problem with two non working chargers keeping my old cart usable. (it's a pain to charge with the 12v.)

[JohnnieB]

If a diode is shorted, the charger will draw amps from the battery, so the battery voltage will decrease, but shorted diodes typically burn open when a lot of amps pass through them.

I have no idea why both chargers failed at the same time, or even if they are both bad.

Start from square one on both and measure the AC voltage at the wires going to the diodes. (The wires should be disconnected from the diodes when measuring the AC voltage.) You should get about 60VAC when the capacitor is disconnected and about 90VAC with it connected.