Cable passing through that hole?

[scottyb]

The functions of the OBC have changed over the years. When the system works - it works good. But the failure rate is notably high. If my OBC went bad I think I would have to weigh the replacement cost against a smart charger.

OR if you are an electrical genius (like some of these guys) maybe you could put a control circuit board on your dumb charger?

[DJBlade]

The hole in the OBC is a Hall Effect Sensor. It senses voltage in BOTH directions and stores this info. It knows how much Regen you got and how much voltage you used....then depending on your charger/OBC combination, uses that info during the charging process. Pretty cool little device. With the new E.R.I.C charging system now out with Club Car's 2014 lineup, the OBC has been eliminated.

[scooterman]

Originally Posted by lockman1

Geez... ease up a little bit SC!

I'm not saying a CC OBC, and Power Drive charger are better then a DPI charger,
OBC's are usually the first thing to go bad on a CC sparky, and they're expensive to replace, right?
BUT... if you have a perfectly good OBC, and PD charger, why not use them?
Yep... you could remove and sell the OBC and charger to offset the cost of a DPI charger, but, some people just don't want to do that!

scooterman just wants to upgrade his cables, and use his existing stuff,
If, and when his OBC goes out, it'll be his choice to either replace the OBC or get a DPI charger.

.02

Originally Posted by scottyb

The functions of the OBC have changed over the years. When the system works - it works good. But the failure rate is notably high. If my OBC went bad I think I would have to weigh the replacement cost against a smart charger.

OR if you are an electrical genius (like some of these guys) maybe you could put a control circuit board on your dumb charger?

There are a lot of details and variables to consider, think about this and what Scotty & lockman1 is saying I have to agree. To talk performance difference it would take an extensive test to get good results and after all that we need to consider cost over the life of batteries and OBC over the years to see if there is any real value. So for being practical unless there was some major cost savings and or performance increase, as long as it is reliable I'm with leaving well enough alone.
That said, If you want to get the absolute longest life out of your batteries no doubt a DPI or a long slow trickle charge would be optimum and probably make an extension to your batteries but is that practical? The biggest benefit would be long term storage, once fully charged a trickle would be very beneficial IMO. From my understanding the OBC uses the pass through as a guide to how much is being used and then uses some formula to tell the charger how much it needs but I think also the charger has some smarts in it as to the rate of charge it gives off but maybe the OBC is doing all of that, either way as long as it is being controlled (monitored) it should be fine. I personally don't like the rate it charges at first, I'm thinking it charges very fast, I'd like to see that charger have variable charge rates like a switch to cut the charge rate in half, take twice as long to charge but would extend the batteries, this is probably an option somewhere but not on the stock chargers. This way I would have a choice depending on my needs, I may have enough time between charges to let it charge slower.

As soon as the weather warms up over here I'm going to do a complete upgrade, (emailed Scotty today) I'll take notes and document the show results here.

[scooterman]

Originally Posted by DJBlade

The hole in the OBC is a Hall Effect Sensor. It senses voltage in BOTH directions and stores this info. It knows how much Regen you got and how much voltage you used....then depending on your charger/OBC combination, uses that info during the charging process. Pretty cool little device. With the new E.R.I.C charging system now out with Club Car's 2014 lineup, the OBC has been eliminated.

That there is a good example but being practical and cost effective what I have in place works well can't justify a change. Now if it all went cu-put then maybe I'd weigh the cost of one system over the other, maybe by then we can buy and aftermarket E.R.I.C. or something similar.

[lockman1]

It's Ka-put...

It's great your thinking this through scooter!

[Speedchaser]

Oops, sorry a little too spirited aftet a few brews. Way off topic too. Point is either use a stud or leave existing cable in obc, either will work, decide what is best for you. I would not remove a working obc and switch to dpi, wait til obc takes a dump.

[Farm Buggie]

GREAT Info everyone!!!! I am going to hook mine back up. (I'm sure it will help me sleep better). Hey Scotty, I couldn't find the obc stud kit on your site could you supply the link to it?

[scottyb]

Research wet cell charge algoritms. and manufactures charge rate recommendations before you cut the bulk charge rate ( phase 1) in half or by some percentage. Typically GC batteries (which are different than cranking or deep cycle) require 10% of their capacity for the first 80% of replenishment.
This initial high amp charge is an important part of the recharge cycle and EXTENDS the battery life.

[Olman]

http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Batter..._Upgrades.html

[scooterman]

Good to know Scotty, batteries these day shave so many characteristics their requirements are all different.