Battery Charger/ Winter Storage Question

[Rickochet]

I use an EZGO QE charger on my '07 PDS. I will be bringing it home soon for winter storage. Not wanting to burn my house down, I am hesitant to leave the charger plugged in all of the time if that is a valid concern. My cart charges to 38.2 and after sitting 4 weeks only discharges to 38.1 so I plan to charge it about once per month and check water levels then unplug the charger. Will leaving the plug in the cart socket do anything?

This is my first year with the cart. If anyone has any other comments that might help fire away.

Rick

[blewis46580]

Leaving it plugged in should not hurt the cart (as many people do). The QE chargers are NOT a maintain charger, meaning it will not kick on by its self when needed for a charge. I always recommend to my customers to unplug, and plug back in once a month to keep electrolite levels up in the batteries. Also, with your PDS vehicle, make sure you have the TOW switch flipped to tow when storing for long periods of time. Hope this helps.

[sprocket]

I am new to electric also, would it hurt to charge it once a week during winter storage? Thanks.

[JohnnieB]

I found this owner manual or brochure for a QE 915-3610 on-line a while back. It is hard to read due to the miniscule size and I'm not sure if it applies to any QE other than the 915-3610, but the highlighted paragraph indicates the charger re-initiates a charge cycle if the voltage drops below a predetermined point or 30 days have elapsed.

I also attached the entire manual without anything marked.

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The QE is non-repairable, so when it fails, replace it with something that can be repaired.

I use the 36V version of the DPI charger shown here: http://www.cartsunlimited.net/48v_Battery_Charger.html

IT goes into a float charge mode after the regular charge is finished and keeps the batteries at about 39.5V, which is well below the gassing stage.
Of course, some gassing occurs, but it isn't the "Boiling" type that occurs at 42V and above.

The charger stays plugged into AC power 100% of the time and in general terms, it is plugged into my cart when I'm not driving it.
I've had the DPI about six months and from what I can tell, it is designed for continuous unattended operation.
Of course, I will be checking water levels periodically this winter.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by sprocket

I am new to electric also, would it hurt to charge it once a week during winter storage? Thanks.

No, it doesn't harm lead-acid wet cell deep cycle batteries to charge them when they are partially or fully charged, if anything, it is good for them.

Just check the electrolyte level periodically. Once a month will probably be often enough, but batteries seem to have a mind of their own and some will go for months without needing water and then be low every month for the next few months.

[sprocket]

Really appreciate your help! THANKS!

[Rickochet]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

The QE is non-repairable

The QE came with my cart and it has worked very well for me. It doesn't seem to have a great reputation and it would probably be advisable go to a different charger if my QE croaks, but I wonder if this QE repair service is legit?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EZ-GO-915-36...item35c0bf9b80

Here is a link for their website also. http://charger-repair.com/home.html

[blewis46580]

The manual may say that it does re-initiate the charge cycle, but trust me it does not... We found that out the hard way (frozen batteries). I have seen hundreds of these chargers. Better safe than sorry, unplug, and plug back in.

As far as the repair service is concerned, a while back I had a bulletin from e-z-go warning everyone to NOT work on these chargers. As far as why, I'm not sure, but maybe there is someone out there that does work on them...

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by blewis46580

The manual may say that it does re-initiate the charge cycle, but trust me it does not... We found that out the hard way (frozen batteries). I have seen hundreds of these chargers. Better safe than sorry, unplug, and plug back in.

As far as the repair service is concerned, a while back I had a bulletin from e-z-go warning everyone to NOT work on these chargers. As far as why, I'm not sure, but maybe there is someone out there that does work on them...

Thanks for the real world info. I was just going on what the book said and like many advertizing claims, what it does and what it is claimed to do is often not the same.

Like most electrical/electronic stuff, the QE is a bunch of mostly off-the shelf components connected together. With a schematic and the proper test equipment and tools, a competent technician could probably repair it.
The trick is getting the schematic and other technical information.

If EZGO won't repair them and warns others not to, I suspect they have an Edsel on their hands.

[blewis46580]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Thanks for the real world info. I was just going on what the book said and like many advertizing claims, what it does and what it is claimed to do is often not the same.

Like most electrical/electronic stuff, the QE is a bunch of mostly off-the shelf components connected together. With a schematic and the proper test equipment and tools, a competent technician could probably repair it.
The trick is getting the schematic and other technical information.

If EZGO won't repair them and warns others not to, I suspect they have an Edsel on their hands.

Was just trying to help, not trying to say one thing, or person, is wrong, just what I've seen and had my hands on.