charger not shutting off...

[UberDan]

I have a 2000 DS, I was gone for a month and when I got back I drove to the grocery store, about a mile then plugged it in and it charged for almost 24 hours and never shut off.

I unplugged it and it showed a full charge topped off the batteries through the watering system, and drove a couple miles and plugged it in overnight and normally it is done in the morning, but it's still charging at 5 amps. Everything was working fine before it sat for almost 4 weeks.

What's going on?

I made sure it was fully charged and batteries topped off before I left. Batteries are Interstates and about a year and a half old.

[gaminde]

Hi Dan 4 weeks is a bit of time if one battery is / was going bad it will draw the whole pack down. so put your meter on each battery and measure the voltage then drive it and check voltage of each battery while accelerating the same amount for each battery and note voltage of each then post we may just find the weak link.

this will be our starting point and we can move on to OBC and charger later

[UberDan]

Went over to my dealer and they checked all the batteries and they checked out good, even the load test. I made sure all the batteries were full, the watering system is functioning properly. It seems to charge ok, but just doesn't shut off.

[gaminde]

Plug in the charger and when it gets down to 5amps do a voltage check should be 58 to 62,if it is, let it charge for 17 total hours if it still does not shut off most likely bad OBC

[wthompson]

If you have the powerdrive charger (NOT THE POWERDRIVE 2).

After riding the cart to drain the batteries a little, plug the charger in and if the amp meter does not read over 10 amps i would replace the diode assembly. Just had this problem with mine and part was around $20.00.

[UberDan]

So...drove it to a couple dealers yesterday, prob' about 6 miles on the street (25 mph) plugged it in last night and this morning it was shut off!!! YAY!

Yesterday morning when I unplugged it and it was still at 5 amps, I heard a loud click in the back, wondering if that was something stuck or resetting?

[wthompson]

on/off relay in charger stuck on.

[UberDan]

I was just thinking, just before I left I think I unplugged the cart from the charger when it was still charging but almost done, so I could fill the batteries...

[wthompson]

If it's powerdrive or powerdrive2 the charger has a relay that could be stuck on(closed) or there could be a problem with the diode assembly. which charger do you have?

[UberDan]

If it's powerdrive or powerdrive2 the charger has a relay that could be stuck on(closed) or there could be a problem with the diode assembly. which charger do you have?

It's a PowerDrive...all is good now I guess.

[UberDan]

drove it a couple miles today, plugged it in and it charged and shut off fine. Guess it fixed itself? Some switch must have been stuck or something?!?!?!

[UberDan]

so, now I'm still having the problem intermittently. Is the on/off relay readily accessible and replaceable by me? I'm mechanically inclined, but not electrically.

Wonder if it charges fully, a couple days ago, it didn't shut off but appeared to be fully charged, drove to the store, then to the golf course for 18 holes, then home and to the store again (about a mile) and barely made it home!

[gaminde]

If you can plug in the charger to 115 and not plugged into the cart, if there is no hum the relay is not stuck

[UberDan]

there's no hum if it's not plugged into the cart. Last time I charged, it's working fine.

[gaminde]

also remember if there's ever a power failure the charger will restart. You will need to keep an eye one it or maybe mess up your battery's. Clean all connections in the charger circuit.

[UberDan]

then, it charged for 22 hours and was still at 4 amps, I unplugged, went golfing, last night it charged fine and shutoff before morning.

[gaminde]

Well you can think about a new OBC or replace the charger with one that does not use the OBC sell the old charger for 100.00 and come out ahead. guess you could check all the wires first and remember the charger OBC will reset itself if power is turned off and back on

[UberDan]

So, as an update, I took the cart to the Club Car dealer, they checked it out and said the batteries are bad and that's the problem. I'm sure they are, just hope that's the only problem. The charging issue has been intermittent for the last year. The batteries are Interstates and I maintained them meticulously, I would not recommend them. Think I will go with Trojans.

[UberDan]

Update...got new Trojan T-875's today. When the battery guy took off my watering system, the batteries were almost empty!!! The Club Car place didn't even check before they ran their battery check!?!?!? Anyway, I guess the watering system wasn't working properly. The first couple months, I checked to make sure it was working and since then I really don't remember checking it. That might have been the whole problem all along? I filled and maintained the batteries as recommended (I thought). I filled them every 3-4 weeks and it seemed it was working, it would take water and I would stop when the water in the jug quit going down. Anyway, as hindsight, make sure your watering system is working properly! It was the Pro-Fill system...now debating on whether to get the manifolds for the Trojans or get a new system, or get the Trojan system.