Power Drive battery charger shows no AMPS

[Foscho88]

I have recently been given a 1997 48v DS Club Car from a family member.

It was running last about 5/6 years ago. The cart was backed into the shop and left alone. I know the cart was working fine because I have used it in the past when visiting.

All the batteries are dead with one completely disconnected. I have not purchased new batteries yet but I was trying to make sure the charger was still functional before I drop money on the lift/tires.

I plugged in the charger to see if I would get any activity to indicate its "trying" to charge. When I plugged into the cart, the amp dial did not move.

Is this because the batteries are completely dead or should the charger be "trying" to juice the dead batteries?

This is a Power Drive charger.

Any comments would be appreciated.

[Gazoo]

Yeah, when the batteries are DEAD the PowerDrive won't kick in. I believe you need about 36 volts on the pack for it to kick in. You can use a regular charger to charge the batteries individually to get them up to the point where the Powerdrive can take over.

[Foscho88]

Thanks for the info!