99 48 volt DS not charging (OBC DOA?)

[Fairtax4me]

If the relay clicks with the gray wire jumped, the charger should Hum and the ammeter needle should come up. Did the charger make any noise?

The next test is to run a 10ga jumper wire from the Fuse of the charge receptacle (black wire) to the main pack negative. Then jumper the grey to pack negative and see if the charger comes on and the ammeter should come up. Will probably almost top out. If it does, then the OBC is almost certainly bad.

There could be a poor connection or loose wiring at the OBC which can cause it to not work, and is worth giving a visual check before replacing or removing it.

[eprovenzano]

Went out to turn off the charger. I disconnected the jumper from the fuse. To keep things tidy, I put the fuse back together. Plugged in the charger and it comes on... I waited a few min and unpluged the charger... waited 10 min and plugged it in, and it turns on again... I turned it off for the night. I’ll plug it back in before I leave for work. If it turns on, I’ll do my happy dance as I’ll keep using the current charger and OBC.

[eprovenzano]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

If the relay clicks with the gray wire jumped, the charger should Hum and the ammeter needle should come up. Did the charger make any noise?

The next test is to run a 10ga jumper wire from the Fuse of the charge receptacle (black wire) to the main pack negative. Then jumper the grey to pack negative and see if the charger comes on and the ammeter should come up. Will probably almost top out. If it does, then the OBC is almost certainly bad.

There could be a poor connection or loose wiring at the OBC which can cause it to not work, and is worth giving a visual check before replacing or removing it.

I was getting no activity from the charger relay. When I jumpered the gray wire at the receptacle the charger relay would click. I then plugged the charger into the wall so I could charge the batteries for a bit. After I disconnected the charger, I reconnected the gray wire through the fuse, and now the charger works normally...

[eprovenzano]

I am happy to report that when the charger was plugged into 110 this morning, it started charging the batteries immediately... After thinking about the charging issues, I’m leaning towards a bad relay in the charger, and dirty connections. When I would plug the charger into the cart the relay was not clicking. It only clicked when I jumpered the gray wire. Of course during the diagnosis I cleaned all connections, and made sure all connections were solid. Did this fix my issue... I doubt it, but it couldn’t hurt.

I bought the cart late last year, so i have little knowledge of it history. Previously when plugging the charger into the cart, there was a delay before the charger would turn on... now it’s immediate... not sure what changed. I’ve not left it on to where it should reach a full charge and shut off... I’ll do that when I can monitor the charger and the batteries voltage

[eprovenzano]

Bad news... the charger did not shut off... I was watching and listening while I was reinstalling the rear seat that I removed to gain access to the OBC. The cart's volt meter was showing +52 volts, when something in the charger clicked, but did not shut off... I watched the charger's needle was at zero... so I believe the charging potion of the cycle was complete, but the charger was still humming... I let it run like that for another hour... still did not shut off, so I pulled the plug for the night. At this point the carts volts were +49, the same as this morning.

One thing I noticed... When plugging in the chargers plug into the receptacle, you have to wiggle it cord a bit to get the charger to turn on. I used my meter to check the voltage at the receptacle it was was +36, while the carts volt meter was +49... That has me thinking the receptacle needs to be replaced.

I'm stumped...

[Fairtax4me]

The voltage at the receptacle if you put your probes in the Red and Back terminals will show about 10V less than pack voltage because the reading there is going through the SCR circuits in the OBC.
If you test Red terminal (should be the bottom most) to Pack negative you should have full pack voltage.

When plugging in the charger there is a normal delay of anything from 5 to 15 seconds before the OBC commands the charger On. (provides negative for the charger relay)
It is possible there is a loose or frayed wire on the back of the receptacle which would require it to be replaced. Easy to check, just give them a light tug and see if any pull out of the receptacle or have obviously frayed or corroded ends.

The behavior you describe after the charger had been running sure sounds like either the main Fuse in the charger blew, or the OBC has failed. If the charger is humming it is still powered On, which is one function of the OBC. The other function of the OBC is current control (amperge) and if the OBC fails in a certain way it will prevent any current flow from the charger to the pack, which will show 0 amps on the gauge.
The same behavior will happen if the main fuse in the charger blows.

[Mooncarter]

How long did the charger run? Voltage should be 50.9 after 12 hours at rest. While charging voltage will be well above 52 near the end of the cycle. Your batteries are nowhere near charged and may take up to 16 hours.

[eprovenzano]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

The voltage at the receptacle if you put your probes in the Red and Back terminals will show about 10V less than pack voltage because the reading there is going through the SCR circuits in the OBC.
If you test Red terminal (should be the bottom most) to Pack negative you should have full pack voltage.

When plugging in the charger there is a normal delay of anything from 5 to 15 seconds before the OBC commands the charger On. (provides negative for the charger relay)
It is possible there is a loose or frayed wire on the back of the receptacle which would require it to be replaced. Easy to check, just give them a light tug and see if any pull out of the receptacle or have obviously frayed or corroded ends.

The behavior you describe after the charger had been running sure sounds like either the main Fuse in the charger blew, or the OBC has failed. If the charger is humming it is still powered On, which is one function of the OBC. The other function of the OBC is current control (amperge) and if the OBC fails in a certain way it will prevent any current flow from the charger to the pack, which will show 0 amps on the gauge.
The same behavior will happen if the main fuse in the charger blows.

I keep coming back to a bad OBC... I'm planning on a few more tests this evening, but I think the OBC has crapped out

[Fairtax4me]

The charger fuse should be visible on the outside of the charger if you have the old Powerdrive 1 charger.

It has a U shape. Make sure both legs of the U are in tact. It's usually pretty obvious if it's blown.

There is also a fuse on the back of the charge receptacle, make sure that is not blown. You will have the same behavior (charger hums, but no output) if the receptacle fuse is blown.
If the charge fuse and receptacle fuses are OK, but the charger still has no output, Run a 10ga jumper wire from the receptacle Black wire to the Pack main negative. Plug the charger in and see if it charges. If it does, that's a sure sign the OBC has failed and needs to be replaced, or it's time to upgrade to a smart charger.

[Mooncarter]

If the pack went from 47.3 to 49 how could it not be charging?

The 52 volts was with the charger running right?