Yet Another Charger Question

[JohnnieB]

Plug into AC Power and turn timer to start, without plugging into cart.

The timer assembly shuts off the AC power to the transformer also. Timer is in series with relay on control board.

I don't have a schematic for a Green-face TC, but here is the wiring diagram I use to troubleshoot.
Follow the black wire from the AC power cord to the AC fuse, to the relay, to the timer and then to the transformer.

If the CC has the OBC charging system, I don't know how that will effect charging batteries in a cart the doesn't. It came on and is charging, so that's a good sign.

Another possibility would be charging two of the 6V batteries in series with a 12V charger. Should go above 15V if batteries are in reasonably good health. (Stay below 16.74V, which is 2.79VPC)


FWIW: The T-105 batteries that came with my cart would only charge to about 85% SoC. I charged the living daylights out of them with back-to-back charges and putting on charge after short trips and after a couple weeks, they were taking about a 95% charge.

[93yellowclubcar]

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EZGO charger seems to be wired right. The charger will not hum when you plug it in and turn the knob to start and leave the DC plug unplugged. You can hear the relay click when you plug the charger into the cart.

The old CC charger (last pic) predates the OBC system, it's a standalone unit. I call it "Old Faithful." It's not pretty, but it does a nice job.

Amps down to about 4 now, and the pack voltage is still going up. It is at 45.6 volts. Guessing it'll kick off at 46.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by 93yellowclubcar

On-charge voltage is 45.3 and rising, CC Accupower is at 6 amps and dropping. Now THAT seems normal (to me). Batteries are still probably getting weak, but looks like I'll be tearing into the EZGO charger and doing some testing, as soon as I see what goes on with this charge cycle.

Thoughts? I'd appreciate any guidance, chargers are not my strong suit.

Start at square one.

Disconnect the wire from the transformer to the diodes and connect AC Voltmeter between the wires from the transformer.

Bypass relay if need be and set timer to start.
Should get 90VAC with capacitor connected and 60VAC with capacitor disconnected (Be careful with capacitor, it'll bite you hard. Could be about 400V on it)

Check diodes with Ohmmeter. If either is bad, replace both. 1N1184 power rectifier diodes work. (40A or more - 100V or more will work)

The transformer, capacitor and diodes are the charger circuit, the rest of the stuff just turn the charger circuitry on and off or monitor the amps.

When we know the charger circuit is working right, then we can see if we can get ti to turn on and off like it should.

[JohnnieB]

That is a clean looking Green-face TC.
If you don't mind, I'm going to Shanghai your pictures for my stash and use them to help others.

Also, a in-focus picture of the faceplate would be most appreciated. (The one you posted earlier was a bit fuzzy)

Attached are the pictures I have in my stash, so you can see why I want better ones.

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Voltage is climbing on pack. That is good news for the pack.

The capacitor of the charger might be a little out of specs, which will drop the max output voltage a little.

Also check the voltage between the red and black wires on the upper right of the control board. The voltage on the push on terminals where they attache to the board ought to be identical with the pack voltage.

[93yellowclubcar]

I get 86VAC between the wires that were going to the diodes with the capacitor connected. Have not done the test without the capacitor because I want to ask if I just disconnect it, or do the wires going to it need to be connected together.

Also, here is the faceplate picture you requested and a couple others of areas that didn't show up well in the other pictures.

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[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by 93yellowclubcar

I get 86VAC between the wires that were going to the diodes with the capacitor connected. Have not done the test without the capacitor because I want to ask if I just disconnect it, or do the wires going to it need to be connected together.

Also, here is the faceplate picture you requested and a couple others of areas that didn't show up well in the other pictures.

No! No! No!

That would put a dead short across one of the transformer secondaries.
And produce a lot of spitzen und sparken.

Thanks for the pictures.

[93yellowclubcar]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

No! No! No!

That would put a dead short across of the the transformer secondaries.
And produce a lot of spitzen und sparken.

Thanks for the pictures.

Whew! Glad I waited. And you're welcome, glad to be able to do something to help in return for the guidance!

[93yellowclubcar]

86VAC with the capacitor, 69.8VAC without it. Diodes test good.

Also, the CC charger just kicked off, I'm assuming that's a good sign.

[JohnnieB]

The 69.8VAC is a bit high. What is the ac voltage at the wall outlet?

Without the capacitor boosting the voltage the output of the secondary ought to be roughly 1/2 the primary with 120VAC applied.

What bother me more is that the voltage isn't being boosted as much as it should be. Normally the boost is about 50%, so if the voltage without the cap is about 70 VAC, with the cap it should be about 105 VAC, so I suspect the capacitors value has drifted a bit with age.

The 86 VAC with cap is within the generic specs, but if I could find a motor run capacitor with the same µF value and voltage rating as the capacitor currently in the charger, at a local electrical supply, I'd give it a try.

What appears to be happening is the the max voltage the charger can put out, isn't high enough (under load) to shut the charger off.

On the other hand, the batteries may be climbing to a higher On-charge voltage after being charged back-to-back a couple times.

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Is there some way you can rig up the charger to charge a different set of batteries?

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Wish I had the charger on my workbench. It is an interesting problem and the symptoms could be caused by several things.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by 93yellowclubcar

86VAC with the capacitor, 69.8VAC without it. Diodes test good.

Also, the CC charger just kicked off, I'm assuming that's a good sign.

Let the pack rest for a few minutes, put the CC charger back on it and monitor the On-charge voltage to see what it cuts off at.

Just off charge that was automatically shut off, it shouldn't take very long to reach the shut off voltage again.