Scotty B, 30 amp reducer problem

[jamoore]

Anybody else have this problem or an idea what is wrong. I just finished wiring in my blue 30 amp reducer from Carts Unlimited. I followed the directions exactly. When I go to hook the reducer to the main battery pack I get a decent spark. Doesn't matter if I touch the pos or neg last. Still get the spark. I double, triple checked my wiring. I have yellow wire from reducer going to battery pack pos. Black wire goes to battery pack neg and also to the neg on my fuse panel I added. Red wire goes to pos side of my fuse panel. Green wire goes to key switch (power only on with key on side) I capped the blue wire since I do not have a radio. Everything else on the cart works as it should. I have e-mailed Scotty B but figured I would also check here to see if anyone had similar experiences.

[Andy4639]

If your using a 36/48/12 volt reducer the ground wires are separate. You shouldn't have them both going to the battery pack ground.

Black wire goes to battery pack neg and also to the neg on my fuse panel I added.

1 is pack negative and the other is 12 volts which should go back to the reducer negative.
At least all the ones I've done have them separate. Picture is general.

[jamoore]

On the one I have, the blue 30 amp only has one ground wire. The installation instructions state the 36/48v system and the 12v system share a common negative battery connection. Scotty B replied to my e-mail (thanks for reading and responding on a Saturday), he says they will spark when first connected and not to worry. I will give it a try tomorrow, fingers crossed.

[ojo]

When i installed my 30amp Reducer, same Spark. Manual says thats normal...

[coldair]

and now you know why we call electricians, sparkies

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by andy4639

if your using a 36/48/12 volt reducer the ground wires are separate. You shouldn't have them both going to the battery pack ground.



1 is pack negative and the other is 12 volts which should go back to the reducer negative.
At least all the ones i've done have them separate. Picture is general.

Andy,

The 30A one Scottie sells has 5 wires and B- is common to both input and output.

Don't remember the wire colors, but here are their functions.
1- B+ input
2- Remote turn on/off
3- Switched +12 Output
4- Constantly on +12V (radio memory)
5. B- input and output

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by ojo

When i installed my 30amp Reducer, same Spark. Manual says thats normal...

Originally Posted by coldair

and now you know why we call electricians, sparkies

The DC to DC converters chop the incoming DC and have a ton of filtering capacitors to reduce the electrical noise chopping DC generates. For safety reasons, the filter capacitors have a bleeder network to discharge the caps when power is disconnected from the unit so you don't get a nasty surprise if you touch the wrong places picking it up off the bench.

Same thing is true of speed controllers.

FWIW: I charge the filter caps via a 1kΩ resistor and clip leads when I reconnect my controller. Same technique would most likely work installing a DC to DC converter.

[Andy4639]

This is the one I use. It's only 25amp though but has served me well on my stuff.
Yellow is 12v out put
Black is negative out put
Thin Red with fuse is key switch
Thin black negative input
Red is battery 48 volts.

[jamoore]

I did as Scotty B said and ignored the spark upon hook up and everything seems to be working as it should. That is quite a spark, little unnerving but all good.

[2K6TBSS]

Originally Posted by jamoore

I did as Scotty B said and ignored the spark upon hook up and everything seems to be working as it should. That is quite a spark, little unnerving but all good.

The first time I hooked my reducer and got the spark I thought I fried my whole cart!. Just remember you're hooking up 36 or 48v, that's 3-4 times the voltage of your car battery, so about 3-4 times the spark you're used to seeing hooking up a battery.