New guy in need of charger help

[Bow&Buggy]

Hi guys i just bought my cart 1 month ago so im new to all this but have been reading posts & learning alot from you guys. Let me start off by saying my batteries were a year old on July 10th 2011. My cart is a 36 volt & i bought a digital l.e.d. meter from scotty b so i could keep track of my carts volts. Well when i plug my charger in to the cart it charges for about 30-40mins & shuts off i will have to unplug & plug it back in a couple more times to get my cart to a full charge of 38.0 volts. My question is should i replace my charger or should i trouble shoot some where else?

[JohnnieB]

I'm new to carts also, but post the type of cart, type & number of batteries and type of charger you have and maybe some of the more experienced guys will chime in.

Immediately after charging, a wet cell battery will read higher than a full change, but drops off to a full charge reading in a few hours or with a little use.
A fully charged 36V battery pack will read 38.2 volts, so your batteries are only 90-95% charged, but I'm guessing since you didn't include the number to the right of the decimal point.

Beg, borrow or buy a DVM and measure the voltages of each battery. (By DVM, I mean a multi-function meter with test leads you can easily move from point to point. One from Wally-World or an auto parts store will work just fine)
If you have six 6V batteries, each should read 6.37V fully charged. If one reads significantly less, it may be bad and might be causing your charge to act strangely.

Also, check water level in all cells. Should be about 1/2" above top of plates. Use distilled water only to fill if low. Don't overfill, or it will boil out while charging and get sulfuric acid all over the place.

Hope this helps,
John

[scottyb]

That digital meter makes checking a charger easy as pie.
The charger cut off voltage is 42-44v ...
You are describing a bad circuit board on the charger. You can buy the board and switch it out (plug&play) or have it done at a local repair shop... both alternatives are way cheaper than replacing it or the batteries, so hurry and get those batteries a proper charge

[shadowman]

yes just about every internal part in charger can be replaced for a lot less than what a new or even used charger is going to cost................if your handy at all buy yourself a service manual for your cart and it sould have the charger in there also along with a how to on testing and repairing and diagnosing charger issues.............you,ll need a voltage meter and just some being able to follow directions..............good luck.........................