Powerwise QE melted connector

[kyleg]

Got a problem with my Powerwise QE. Came out a few days ago and heard the relay clicking on and off with a consistent rhythm. LED was blinking green as if normal charging. Took my cart over to neighbor's house to try his charger just to make sure it wasn't the connection on the cart side causing the trouble. His older Powerwise II gave no indication of problems. I then opened up the charger and found the black wire connector on the DC side had melted. I'm attaching picture of the burnt connection. Any suggestions on what might have caused this. I didn't know if it was simply a failure on the connector or if a resistor had gone bad. Should I even try to just replace the connection? I have no idea what I'm looking at to get this back up and working... I'm really tempted to just get a new charger.
Thanks for any advice.

[yurtle]

I don't know anything about those chargers. It appears you have three high amperage (10 AWG?) wires, white, black and green, and the black one failed. If it were mine, I'd try and clean up the plugs and give it a shot. It could have simply been a loose connection, which at high amperage, equals heat.

I'd take a look at the back of the board to see if I could straighten up the bent connector, then the one on the cord should be replaced.

You could also discard the connectors and simply solder the three wires directly to the board.

I'm making the assumption that the thing still works. Is there any sign that the melted connector came in contact with the chassis? I can't tell from the photos, but it looks like it may have bent over enough to come in contact with the case, although from your description it sounds like it may still work.

I'm assuming you can solder. If you can't, see if you have a neighbor who can, as a poor solder job will only result in more of the same.

If you decide to go this route, make sure to keep your batteries fully charged with someone else's charger. Don't want to lose your batteries and a charger.

[kyleg]

Thanks! It should still work ok. I'm guessing the fried connection is why the relay kept trying to turn over. Doesn't look like the melted connector got into anything else (don't think it touched the board or the cover). It wouldn't shock me if that one had gotten a little loose, the cord coming in is held to the body with a plastic compression nut that still can have a little give in it even when tightened. I'm hoping it's just that and not a failure due to another failure somewhere else... with my limited knowledge I could spend more time and money replacing parts than it's worth.
Thanks again!