Powerwise Charger works but doesn't fully charge batteries

[dwcampb]

I have 36v powerwise charger II. I have replaced the batteries in the last 6 months which are Trojan T105's. I have an digital volt meter that is attached to the pack and displays the volts all the time. After the charger turns off the volt reading will drop to 37.8 or 37.6 almost immediately. I never see the volts go up over 40 as was suggest should happen. The ammeter is not working on the charger. What I am trying to figure out is what is the most likely cause for the charger not charging the pack fully? Would the ammeter not working cause this issue? Do you think the control board is going bad or is the another likely culprit? I have cleaned all the battery terminals even though they are new. I have ordered new cables but they are still on their way. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!!

[JohnnieB]

Welcome to BGW!

If the ammeter is not showing any current flow and the battery pack voltage is not climbing into the 44-46V range before the charger shuts off, either the charger is not working, the battery pack is bad, or the charger is not connected to the battery pack correctly.


Since total charging current flows through the ammeter and you do not see the needle deflecting upscale, either the fuses in the little round window are blown, the ammeter is blown or the diodes are blown.

Here's the service and owner's manuals I use for my PW II. They're for a Lesteronic II which is basically a Powerwise II with a different label.

Lots of good info in them.

[dwcampb]

Thanks for the response, I will check out these testing procedures in the manual and see what I can find.