Charger Not Coming ON

[ridged43]

First of all, thank you in advance for any info. I am trying to help a lady and her young daughter with their cart.
2004 Club Car 36 Volt Accu Power charger with crows foot plug.
The charger came on and went back off after 5 seconds and hasn't been back on since. I had access to another known working charger and tried it with the same results. I'm not cart savvy but I am electrically capable of troubleshooting and following directions. I do not have a manual or wiring diagram. I have read on here about the OBC. Does this model cart have one? If someone can get me going in the right direction I'd appreciate it. I'm thinking maybe a loose or bad connection on the cart itself but not sure where to look.
Another question once this is resolved is "How soon should you charge the batteries? I.E. she was told to run the cart until it was almost dead and then re-charge. I have read on here that if the batteries are to low the charger won't come on. I look forward to hearing from you guys.
Thanks.

[scottyb]

Wet cell batteries have no memory. You can run them down low but, deep discharges reduce the # of times the battery will cycle back to 100% when recharged.
There is no OBC on 36v carts.
The charger does need to see about 24+V when plugged in to come on.
Sounds like it might be a bad connection between the charger and the battery pack?

[ridged43]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Wet cell batteries have no memory. You can run them down low but, deep discharges reduce the # of times the battery will cycle back to 100% when recharged.
There is no OBC on 36v carts.
The charger does need to see about 24+V when plugged in to come on.
Sounds like it might be a bad connection between the charger and the battery pack?

So I should look at the charge receptacle on the cart for a loose or broken connection. Is there a fuse on the receptacle or between the postive and battery connection?
Thanks for the reply.

[scottyb]

Glass fuse on the backside of the receptacle. Charger won't come on at all if this is burnt. Could be a weakened relay in the charger? You just have to eliminate the possibility of a bad connection, then maybe jumper the charger relay and see if that keeps the charger on.... also does it have an AC circuit breaker on the charger? Those get weak and pop like corn kernels.

This will give you some areas to work ...

[ridged43]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Glass fuse on the backside of the receptacle. Charger won't come on at all if this is burnt. Could be a weakened relay in the charger? You just have to eliminate the possibility of a bad connection, then maybe jumper the charger relay and see if that keeps the charger on.... also does it have an AC circuit breaker on the charger? Those get weak and pop like corn kernels.

This will give you some areas to work ...

Do you know off the top of your head what the AMP rating of the glass fuse is? I'm 30 miles from the cart but plan on attacking it this afternoon. I could pick up a fuse in case. I had thought about jumping the relay, especially after the second charger does the same thing. If I measure voltage on the charger (cart) receptacle I should be able to see "Pack Voltage there, correct? If I see nothing then probably bad connection, blown fuse or bad receptacle. If I read less than 24 Volts then I know all is well except voltage to low to turn on charger, then I jumper relay. Also, it does not have a circuit breaker on the charger. It does have a fuse link. Since the second charger did not come on I assumed the charger is OK.
Again, I appreciate all your advice.

[scottyb]

The fuse is a CC part 30 amp. They rarely go bad. It takes a catastrophic event to blow it.

[ridged43]

Originally Posted by scottyb

The fuse is a CC part 30 amp. They rarely go bad. It takes a catastrophic event to blow it.

Checked all connections and didn't find a problem. Battery Voltages are:
5.8
5.8
5.8
5.8
5.8
5.7
Pack Voltage= 34.8
Bypassed relay-charger comes on and charges.
Tried second known good charger- worked fine.
I did not see the second charger "not work" this morning, I was told it did not.
I'm thinking relay on original charger is bad. Does not click when you plug charger in without AC connected.
Second charger works every time.
Replace Relay? Or is there another check I should do?
Thanks..

[scottyb]

Sounds like you got it

[ridged43]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Sounds like you got it

Thanks for sticking with me Scotty. I have a very happy little girl watching her cart charge and a happy mother knowing I can fix it for around $15-$20.00 in parts and no labor charge.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by ridged43

Thanks for sticking with me Scotty. I have a very happy little girl watching her cart charge and a happy mother knowing I can fix it for around $15-$20.00 in parts and no labor charge.

If I was you I would trade that labor for a fresh pie