Power Wise Charger & Programmable On/Off Switch

[catmcaw]

I have a cart at my vacation home and charging it during the Summer is no problem but during the Winter I'm never there. I need a system that can take care of charging on its own.
I know a charger with a float would do the job but what about just buying a programmable on/off switch ($20) and keeping my PowerWise charger. I'm thinking set it ON every Monday AM and OFF Monday PM.
A good charge once a week should carry it thru till Spring.
Has anyone used a simple timer switch with their charger? If so how did things work out?

[rib33024]

The DC power cord to the battery pack has to be unplugged from the cart and plugged back in to the cart to reset the relay in the charger for it to charge, so your AC power plug timer will not work, you would have to rid a timer to disconnect the DC power from the DC plug on the cart, and reconnect the DC power back to the cart for this to work.

did not know this in an ezgo ... see i learned something today

[catmcaw]

To bad it will not work. Would be a super simple fix for my problem. Guess its back to the charger with a float.
Thanks for the reply.

someone said don't forget the water
an auto waterier will work

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by catmcaw

To bad it will not work. Would be a super simple fix for my problem. Guess its back to the charger with a float.
Thanks for the reply.

A charger that goes into a float charge mode after the regular charge cycle finishes is definitely the best answer for long term storage (and maintaining the batteries during the rest of the year also), but the PW charger can be modified to work with a timer.

The control board needs to be reset for a new charge to be initiated.
Unplugging the charger from the cart, resets the control board by opening the battery sense circuit.
A set of relay contacts on either the Red or Black wires (Battery sensing wires) would also open the battery sensing circuit, resetting the control board.
Connect the added relay's 120VAC coil to the charger's AC power cord prior to the relay on the control board.

That way the added relay's contacts are closed (battery sense circuit enabled) when the external timer is supplying AC power to the charger and open (battery sense circuit open) when timer isn't sending power to the charger.

I've never tried it since I have a DPI Accusense chargers, but it appears to work on paper.

[yurtle]

Just be sure you are using the sense wire(s), and not the current carrying wires. If you choose to do the current carrying wires, make sure your relay is capable of at least 30 amps.

[Dave Box]

Would you not be better off with something like this?

Amazon.com: 36 Volt SLA Battery Float Charger, 1 Amp (1000mA), Alligator Clip, 36V Battery Tender: Automotive

Amazon.com: 36 Volt SLA Battery Float Charger, 1 Amp (1000mA), Alligator Clip, 36V Battery Tender: Automotive

Dave

[yurtle]

Depends on whether you wanna spend the money. For a couple of dollars worth of parts, or free if you're a hoarder, you can make a PowerWise charger initiate a charge as often as you like, such as once a week.

[catmcaw]

JohnnieB
Doing mods to a charger is Waaaay over my head. I wish I had your ability.
Dave Box
Have you had luck with the SLA charger? I would need a 48 volt charger (rxv) and the one I saw on Amazon was 0.5 AMP.