PowerDrive 3 Ampmeter faulty

[Stevegrmich]

. . . do not use the ohms function . . . use the Diode Test Function on the meter . . . post a pic of your meter so we can see if your meter has that particular function . . . not all meters have it . . .

below pic shows a meter in diode test function . . .

[Wes350x]

Awesome, retested just now before work...


Top with red in middle... 480 left and right. No readings with black in middle.

Side with black in middle ... 482ish upper and 478 lower.

Theses seem normal?

Thanks for all the help guys.

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Yes. That sounds fine. Clean up the connection where it looks crusty and see if that helps. This will go down in history as the first PD3 ammeter I've ever seen fail if this ends up being the case. Glad we tested the diodes though.

[Wes350x]

Originally Posted by TahoeDawgZ71

Yes. That sounds fine. Clean up the connection where it looks crusty and see if that helps. This will go down in history as the first PD3 ammeter I've ever seen fail if this ends up being the case. Glad we tested the diodes though.

I looked at it again this morning good and the purple wire has corroded about 1.5-2" up on the vertical heat sink to the left. I'm going to cut it at the top ring terminal and install new wire and ring terminal to is from the top heat sink down. Guess Ill be ordering me a new ammeter and see about it... Anyway to test the meter since the covers off?

[Laker_Dave]

Now this may sound goofy, but in looking at the video, it looks like the meter is showing a negative current ( never gets above zero). Is it possible the snubber that is in parallel with the relay coil is huffed and that’s why the meter is showing this movement?

[Sergio]

You may want to fix that wire first before ordering the meter. The part that does not fit with any problem is that you said it chargers fine.
If you had lost a diode or if the purple wire is broken (same effect as missing the diode), the charger would be running at 50% duty cycle and it should not be able to raise the pack voltage to the 60v required to properly charge the batteries.
When you lose a diode, 60 times a second the charger voltage output goes down to zero (half wave rectifier), when that happens, current flows from the +battery pack thru the charger socket, backwards thru the meter, thru the relay coil and back to the OBC. The relay coil needs less than 50ma to hold and the meter movement in the video looks a lot stronger than that.
If the wire does not fix the problem and the meter is not connected backwards, then it looks like the meter is the problem.

[Wes350x]

Ok, I did plan on replacing the wire tonight and trying before I order anything. I didn't see any breaks in the wire, mainly stiffness and corrosion.

Originally Posted by TahoeDawgZ71

Yes. This will go down in history as the first PD3 ammeter I've ever seen fail if this ends up being the case.

it's had to happen before , they sell replacements
i replaced a bad ammeter in a Lestor II last july

[Wes350x]

Think I found my issue. Switched out the corroded wire and plugged it up to check. Ammeter went to 15 for approx 1-2 mins then backed down to 10 with a small jumping of the needle. My pack was full so I'm guessing the charger backed down because of that. It's not as loud either, approx 1/2 now noisy.

Here's the wire..



Here's the carts meter while charging with the charger at 10..



Thanks for all y'all help on this issue! Hopefully it's fixed now.

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Looks like you got it fixed... And the streak continues of never having to replace a PD3 ammeter.