97 club car wiring issue causing no charge situation

[eprovenzano]

I have a 97 club car. Since I pulled it out of winter storage I've had issues with the cart not charging. I cannot get the charger to charge and now I'm starting to think I have a wiring issue. I even purchased a new charger, and it will not charge... To try and get the voltage up, I've manually charged each of the 8 volt batteries with a small 12 volt charger which is keeping the batteries voltage in the range of of 48 - 49. I've checked each battery, all are at 8+ volts, but when I check the charging receptacle I'm, only getting 36 or less volts. As a test, I added a jumper from the back of the receptacle (after the breaker) to the ground on battery 6 and now I have 49 volts at the receptacle. The chargers, both old and new will still not charge the batteries... This makes me think I have a wiring issue. The cart does move move fine, no issues there.

My question, why would I have a drop in volts from the batteries to the receptacle? I "think" my jumper proves I have a ground issue somewhere?? I'll be tracing wires (especially the ground) tonight looking for any issues... I've already cleaned all battery terminal connections, replaced any suspect ring terminals on the batteries. and now will be tracing and testing wires looking for the voltage drop.

Any suggestions / comments....

[NoleFan4Ever]

The voltage drop is normal at the receptacle because of OBC.

Have you bypassed the OBC to see if the Powerdrive would operate? Do you hear a click when you plug it in? If not, check the bullet fuse on the gray wire.

[eprovenzano]

I've done that, the relay is working. I'm thinking my best best is to bypass the OBC

[eprovenzano]

Worked on her tonight. Put all wires back to stock and unplugged the 48 to 12 volt converter. Now have 45 volts at the receptacle. Still will not charge. Inside of PowerDrive Charger I moved some wires bypassing the relay the charger is putting out 53 volts, but yet the cart is still not taking a charge... I am at a complete loss as to why I cannot charge the batteries....

Any suggestions... I’m ready to set fire to it...

[NoleFan4Ever]

Have you checked the DC fuse on the back of the charge receptacle? The one you cannot see the front of... (Use a VOM and check it for continuity)

[eprovenzano]

I've checked every component of the charger... so much so, I now know more than I ever wanted to know about a PowerDrive charger... I tested the charger (red lead on the middle post of the heat sink, black lead on the meter post) 1st with it plugged just into the cart, reading 49 volts. The also plugged into 110, it's putting out 53 volts.. The meter will not move, and I'd watch the digital meter on the cart... no movement...

[NoleFan4Ever]

Everything you are describing is pointing to a blown DC fuse. You did not answer my question. On the back of the charge receptacle there is a fuse. All you can see is the two (2) posts that have the black 19g wires connected to it. You need to place your probe on these two posts and check for continuity. If you do not have it, but the charger is running and the pack is not receiving current, then the fuse would be blown.

[eprovenzano]

Originally Posted by NoleFan4Ever

Everything you are describing is pointing to a blown DC fuse. You did not answer my question. On the back of the charge receptacle there is a fuse. All you can see is the two (2) posts that have the black 19g wires connected to it. You need to place your probe on these two posts and check for continuity. If you do not have it, but the charger is running and the pack is not receiving current, then the fuse would be blown.

I tested the fuse on the back of the receptacle, full continuity. I went through and removed cleaned all (ok almost all) connections. As it stands, the cart is at just over 48 volts. testing everything I can from the batteries to the solenoid. to the controller, receptacle to the batteries and vise versa. All test coming in within 1/2 of a volt of the total showing on the carts digital meter.

Chargers... I think my charger took a crap.. When Powerdrive charger comes on, there's a noticeable hum. Not with mine... it seem quieter then it should be. I purchased a different charger, but it came in DOA... replacement in being sent. I'll give more details when I receive the replacement unit

Again I think I have a two fold problem... an failing / failed OBC and a bad charger. I'm 95% confident I've tested / checked all connection and they all seem good. The new charger will be here in a few days. Until then, I'll keep testing, and retesting just to drive myself crazy...

[NoleFan4Ever]

All that is left is your heatsink/rectifier in the charger. Unless a primary/secondary transformer went out. In that case, it is a boat anchor now.

[eprovenzano]

Originally Posted by NoleFan4Ever

All that is left is your heatsink/rectifier in the charger. Unless a primary/secondary transformer went out. In that case, it is a boat anchor now.

I agree with you either the primary or secondary has gone bad.... at this point it's a boat anchor...