2008 pds state of charge meter install help

[bedrock]

hi,
i ordered a state of charge meter for my 2008 pds/txt electric golf cart (36 volt)
i also ordered the "accessory" harness.

1.the instructions ezgo gave me cannot be the right ones.first off it says the accessory harness has a black and green wire. (they are black and red).

2. they show hooking the green wire to something that looks like a solenoid.
(i cannot find anything the even resembles such solenoid)

3.it shows a key switch with 3 or 4 connectors on it and mine only has 2 prongs with 2 wires already attached. i abandoned that idea and was going to hook straight to the batteries (black ground, red positive) and STILL get nothing on the meter. no sign of life whatsoever.

i just installed brand new trojan batteries a week ago, and wanted this meter to let me know when to head back home.
i know this has to be a simple install....what the heck am i doing wrong?lol
Dino

[JohnnieB]

Welcome to BGW!

What type battery meter? (Analog, LED bar graph, DVM)
How many wire terminals on it? (2, 3 or 4)

Here are Accessory wiring and keyswitch diagrams for a PDS

This is the Battery meter I use: http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Digita...ry_Meters.html

[bedrock]

Hi, the meter is the one from EZGO.
It is a bar graph meter. And it has 4 prongs on the back
None of the directions they emailed me make no sense at all.
NOTHING looks like any of the pictures on the installation sheet

[JohnnieB]

Sounds like you got the instructions for installing it in a Series cart rather than a PDS.
What is the EZGO part number of the meter you have?

Pins 1(+) & 2(-) connect to the battery.
To get meter to light up, you have to connect Pin 4 to B+. It can be switched B+ from the keyswitch or tied to Pin-1 so it is on all the time.

Be sure your batteries are fully charged before connecting meter, otherwise it might not read right. (Some of them assume 100% SoC is whatever the voltage is when they are connected)

[bedrock]

Johnnie,
Thanks for the info, I won't get to look at the cart wiring until Friday afternoon,
So hopefully your info will help me out.
Thanks bro.

And I looked at the meter you said you have.
I may buy it and install it also. I got to use the one from EZGO since
I have already spent $85 on it. Lol
Wouldn't hurt to have 2 would it?
Thanks
Dino

[JohnnieB]

No, having two won't hurt at all.

When they work right, the LED bar graph type is a fuel gauge. (Approximate amount of fuel left)

The DVM type will tell you exactly how much, and what the voltage drop under load is and a lot more information once you learn what to look for.

[scottyb]

The bar graph meter resets at the end of each charge cycle. That means 'full' can be all over the map depending upon what condition your batteries and charger are in. The reason we all went to the DVM type meter was because the LED meter was inconsistent. It's meant to work in a golf course situation.
In my tests the pack was down 30% when the first bar dropped off, I had 4 more to go? After the light went out on the second bar the pack was over 60% depleted. That is more than 50% that Trojan battery recommends for their average discharge.

[ddeblance]

Should have bought ScottyB's meter.... Mine looks and works great!
By the way ScottyB. Have a quick question, I'm going to message you....

[bedrock]

Johnnie,
I was going to buy the meter you suggested and give me the link for.
It says his Paypal is down. Contact seller....

[JohnnieB]

His contact info is on the website, give him a call on his toll-free number.