99 Club Car DS 48v. Sometimes it charges, sometimes not.

[usmc4hire]

Good day all,
Long time lurker, first time poster. Great group of people on this board and I hope somewhere down the line I can add to the assistance you all give out freely.


We purchased a 99 Club Car DS 48v off of Craigslist last month and it has been great. One day after running it around to different playgrounds with my daughter I noticed it wouldn't take a charge. Unplugged main positive wire from cart (just to be safe) and found a batt. cell low on water. Decided to fill them all and reconnect the red wire. Not realizing that the desert heat (Arizona resident) would play such a factor, all batteries overflowed during charging making quite the mess.

Ever since that day it seems sometimes the charger will kick on and other times it wont. OBC has been reset per directions on this site. All batteries are filled to the proper level and read 8.5v. Cart will charge if main positive cable from cart is disconnected for 30 seconds and then reconnected. Charger tests fine. Have not Hydro tested battery acid. Batteries 7 months old.

So.....how say you? Did I loose all my acid goodies when it overflowed? Bad OBC? Desert heat effecting the batteries (average 110 temps during the day in my garage)?

Whatever the case, thank you for the help.

[usmc4hire]

Bummer, I was really hoping someone would chime in on this.

Lets try a different question. I'm 90% sure its a faulty OBC. Can someone please advise on the best route to go towards a replacement? Light on funds so the less the better.

[Stevegrmich]

. . . first, to BGW!

. . . see attached pic . . it shows how to bypass the OBC in the charger for testing purposes . . . however, monitor the charge cycle because the charger will not know when to shut off without communication from OBC . . . this will aide in diagnosing the OBC . . .

Attachment 86890


. . . and Semper Fi!

[usmc4hire]

Thank you!!!
Great information. I'll get back to you with the results.

Semper Fi indeed

[usmc4hire]

Originally Posted by Stevegrmich

. . . first, to BGW!

. . . see attached pic . . it shows how to bypass the OBC in the charger for testing purposes . . . however, monitor the charge cycle because the charger will not know when to shut off without communication from OBC . . . this will aide in diagnosing the OBC . . .

Attachment 86890


. . . and Semper Fi!

OBC bypassed and charger clicks on. Fuses checked, good. Confident that the issue is not in the charger. Hydro checked batteries as well, all checked fine.

Cart will still only charge when it feels like it but ALWAYS charges if the main battery pos cable is disconnected for 30 seconds then re-connected. Perhaps a hammer will fix it.

[Fishing Dude]

Originally Posted by usmc4hire

OBC bypassed and charger clicks on. Fuses checked, good. Confident that the issue is not in the charger. Hydro checked batteries as well, all checked fine.

Cart will still only charge when it feels like it but ALWAYS charges if the main battery pos cable is disconnected for 30 seconds then re-connected. Perhaps a hammer will fix it.

Or a new OBC

[usmc4hire]

Originally Posted by Fishing Dude

Or a new OBC

Is there one OBC that stands above the others when it comes to replacement? Best bang for the buck???

[Stevegrmich]

Originally Posted by usmc4hire

OBC bypassed and charger clicks on. Fuses checked, good. Confident that the issue is not in the charger. Hydro checked batteries as well, all checked fine.

Cart will still only charge when it feels like it but ALWAYS charges if the main battery pos cable is disconnected for 30 seconds then re-connected. Perhaps a hammer will fix it.

. . . if charger came on and began the charge cycle, this is pointing towards a defective OBC . . . as for OBC's, their purpose in life does not provide "bang for buck" as far as overall cart performance, ie, speed, torque, etc . . .