Testing a Powerwise II charger

[kgsc]

Have a cart a friend brought to me for help. Would run sometimes and sometimes not. A a quick look at battery connections made some things very obvious.. They do not take care of them.. All corroded and a couple had the rings break off when I touched them.. Okay, clean everything and new cables and ends for a few wires.. Total pack was around 36.3. Plugged in PW II charger and the ammeter went to about 9 amps.. Seemed a little low but I figured I would let it run through a cycle and see what happened. Checked it after 24 hours and charger had shut off and pack voltage was a whopping 37.3. Cycled the charger and it went back to 9 amps again.. Felt all the wires and nothing was warm.. Did not check voltage while charging. I know, dumb. Being suspect of the charger I grabbed a fabulous QE charger and plugged it up. No ammeter but after about 10 minutes you can hear the batteries bubbling.. Did check this one's voltage and it was 44.x while charging. Going to check again tonight to see what the pack voltage is when it is done.

So now the questions. Is it possible I have a bad transformer or capacitor causing the low amperage when charging ? I have the manual for a PW I, should the testing diagrams in that be the same for the PW II ?

Cart is a 2006 PDS, 36 volt. Water levels are covering the plates and connections are good.

Thanks in advance.

[radioman]

I would suspect the capacitor or one of the diodes.

[JohnnieB]

Also, check each leg of the dual fuse link in the window.

Here is the manual I use for PW-II (It is roughly the same as a Lester model 19300 except for the nameplate.)

[kgsc]

Thanks jb, I guess if one of the fuse legs has blown only half the voltage is there on the coil.. Will check that first.. Or I may just tell them to go buy a DPI

[kgsc]

Well got some numbers. AC output of the transformer is 84 volts with Cap in the circuit. AC voltage of each output leg is like 39-40 disconnected from the diodes. Diodes test within specs. DC output with everything connected but not attached to the cart is 38. Connected to the cart starting with a 37.4 volt starting voltage and it puts out 40 volts but like 6 amps. Still wondering why the voltage is so low. Brought home another Powerwise charger and I am going to hook it up and get results from it. Will report what I find.

[JohnnieB]

There are two critical AC voltages to measure.

Jumper the relay so the charger turn on without being connected to a battery pack.

Measure the voltage between the two wires from the transformer to the diodes.

Without the capacitor connected, you should get 60VAC +/- 5VAC (55-65 VAC)
If not, the transformer is bad, or the voltage at the wall outlet is under 120VAC.

If your getting the 60VAC without the capacitor, reconnect the capacitor and you should get 90VAC +/- 7VAC (83-97 VAC)
If not, the capacitor is bad.

Be careful with the capacitor, it has nearly 500VAC applied to it and it holds a charge for a long time.

Sounds like you got 84V with capacitor connected, which is at the lower end of the spec, but the VAC on each leg was 39-40 VAC while it should have been 41.5-48.5 VAC.

What is the VAC at the wall outlet when the charger is plugged in and running?

[kgsc]

Cap connected it was 84. Not connected it was I believe 54. I haven't been able to try the other charger yet but I think the pack may have issues as well. Been charging it a bunch and best I get is 37.4 after resting with a known good charger.

[freemurray]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Also, check each leg of the dual fuse link in the window.

Here is the manual I use for PW-II (It is roughly the same as a Lester model 19300 except for the nameplate.)

Thank you for these. Helped a bunch. Now I need a electronic charge controller or something that will work. I replaced the relay($39) already but the ECC is over $200... no way I am spending that. I paid $50 for the entire charger.... Any help would be greatly appreciated...

on another note I did bypass the electronic charge controller using the wire trick and the charger hums like a champ so I know it works...

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by freemurray

Thank you for these. Helped a bunch. Now I need a electronic charge controller or something that will work. I replaced the relay($39) already but the ECC is over $200... no way I am spending that. I paid $50 for the entire charger.... Any help would be greatly appreciated...

on another note I did bypass the electronic charge controller using the wire trick and the charger hums like a champ so I know it works...

When charger is plugged into cart without being plugged into AC power, measure the voltage between the Red and Black wires in the two pin plug at top of control module.

You should read the cart's battery pack voltage.