DPI charger died.....ScottyB, HELP! LOL

[Knothead]

Update: Just got off the phone with Rick @ DPI, who told me they would ship me a new board ASAP, & would have a return-shipping label in the box so I could then send them the faulty board back. Very helpful & informative folks! He told me that it was a small resistor that had gone bad, they have had a few do this, & that different resistors were now used to correct the problem. I'm happy!

[Knothead]

DPI rocks!! I called them Monday, they shipped the replacement PCB (with a prepaid return-shipping label for the defective board) that day, & I got it today. Got it installed & everything is working great again. I panicked when I first plugged it up, because the bottom two red lights started blinking an error code, but as soon as I unplugged it & plugged it back up it started it's test sequence, then started humming away. Not sure what that was all about, but it has dropped back to @ 10 amps & meter on buggy shows 56.3 volts right now (was only run down to 49.8v when I plugged it up).

[JohnnieB]

Maybe it thought replacing the PC Board was an "Abnormal Shutdown".

Glad to hear it is working again.

56.3V and 10A sounds about right for the absorption phase in Mode-2 (Trojan)
What brand batteries do you have?

[Knothead]

These are NAPA batts.....I set it to Mode 3, since NAPA batts are supposed to be manufactured by Exide. I think you are the one who told me this.....

It's down to 5 amps & 56.7v now......

Edit: It is sitting on float-charge now, with the meter showing 52.2v......I'm happy happy happy!

[mike777]

Originally Posted by Knothead

These are NAPA batts.....I set it to Mode 3, since NAPA batts are supposed to be manufactured by Exide. I think you are the one who told me this.....

It's down to 5 amps & 56.7v now......

Edit: It is sitting on float-charge now, with the meter showing 52.2v......I'm happy happy happy!

just curious how you've been hooking your charger up? always the same way? plug chrgr into receptacle then plug in to ac? when done unplug from ac then cart or???

[Knothead]

Originally Posted by mike777

just curious how you've been hooking your charger up? always the same way? plug chrgr into receptacle then plug in to ac? when done unplug from ac then cart or???

I usually just unplug the charger from cart, then plug it back into cart when I'm ready to charge it. I never unplug the AC power. Pretty sure JohnnyB said he did the same thing. My manual says to unplug from cart 1st in one place, then says to unplug from AC 1st in another place! It makes no difference which way you do it, it does the same thing.....it blinks the red light 3 times to indicate Mode, then the yellow light blinks while it senses voltage, then yellow light stays on constant while charging.

[JohnnieB]

Other than relocating it a few times as I figured out the best place for it, my 42V DPI charger has always been plugged into AC power since I've had it. I unplug it from from cart and hang the DC cable on a hook before getting on the cart and plug it back into cart when I return from wherever I went on the cart, or when I put the cart away at night if I know I'm going to make numerous trips during the day.

Basically, the charger is plugged into AC power 100% of the time and plugged into cart when cart isn't in use.

[Knothead]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Other than relocating it a few times as I figured out the best place for it, my 42V DPI charger has always been plugged into AC power since I've had it. I unplug it from from cart and hang the DC cable on a hook before getting on the cart and plug it back into cart when I return from wherever I went on the cart, or when I put the cart away at night if I know I'm going to make numerous trips during the day.

Basically, the charger is plugged into AC power 100% of the time and plugged into cart when cart isn't in use.

Exactly the same here......

[remac]

Does the charger draw any juice from the AC when it is not plugged into the cart? Maybe a little parasitic drain?

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by remac

Does the charger draw any juice from the AC when it is not plugged into the cart? Maybe a little parasitic drain?

I unplug mine when not in use. I have seen the damage to both cart and charger when lightening strikes a nearby power pole. In the event of an uncontrolled voltage spike such as a lightening strike the Charger, the OBC, and the Batteries can take a hit.