Rookie with Hopefully Easy Question

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MulberryG

New Member
OK Wiz, starting to understand. Can a shop do a bench test of the OBC or do i need to take the cart in? If bad, is there a downside to bypassing it and is there a particular charger u would recommend?

NSS, if my OBC is good, would any generation Power Drive charger work on this cart. Yeah the charger looks kind banged up. Ironically, the previous owner was a commercial electrician ,so I don’t doubt a little modification was in the mix

Sorry for being a PIA, guys. I really appreciate your help
 
Notsoslim

Notsoslim

Well-Known Member
I couldn't swear to it but I think they can be interchanged. My neighbor is currently using the Powerdrive 3 charger from my 08 DS on his 02 DS and it seems to be working fine. His cart would have come with the powerdrive 2. His charger stopped working 2 weeks after he had someone install a new OBC. I changed to lithium and my OBC went directly into the trash can. Now I don't have a buzzer or that stupid little low battery light but I don't care about those things. I have a great gauge that came with my ECO battery bundle. The gauge shows how many amps the battery is pulling from the charger when charging. It also shows how many amps the motor is drawing from the battery when driving the cart. You can browse the threads here and find a myriad of different issues and different symptoms of a bad OBC or powerdrive charger.
 
M

MulberryG

New Member
sorry for going dark for a while, got busy at work and no time to work on cart

83S0o50l.jpg


I was a little suspect of the other charger and , as pointed out, not the one for this cart. i got a power drive like the original. I also had replaced the charge port with an Amazon will fit. it seemed to do ok, but i was not comfortable with the way the plug was seating in it. I took the original apart and soldered the grey wire back on and reinstalled it. the cart seems to be charging ok now.

The cart still won t move, I hear the solidoid in the rear click when i try F or R..

Does the OBC just control the charging or will it affect running also
 
Notsoslim

Notsoslim

Well-Known Member
The OBC can shut your cart down. IMO the OBC and charger combination on these carts is the biggest and almost only design flaw with these carts. The charger is a dumb charger. It does not think. It only turns on or off when the OBC tells it to unless someone has altered it as GCW has suggested:clap:. If the charger is really charging but the charge is not recognized by the OBC (it wouldn't be the first time) it will shut your cart down to stop you from murdering your batteries by total discharge because it thinks you haven't charged at all. IMO you are better off with a bypass on the OBC and a new smart charger. In the mean time your batteries are suffering.
To be more clear i will say that if your charger and OBC combo is working correctly when you plug the charger to the cart.....
1)The charger will kick on for a brief period to analyze the state of charge and then turn off
2)A short time (maybe 15 to 30 seconds) later the charger will kick on and most likely read close to 15 amps.
3)The charger gauge will slowly walk it's way down as the battery is charged and draws less amps.
4)When the OBC senses the battery is fully charged it will turn the charger off. Mine turned off when the gauge hit 4 amps or shortly thereafter.
 
M

MulberryG

New Member
i think it is charging ok It's doing exactly what u described. I watched few videos about bypassing the OBC and using a smart charger. It looked like all they did was remove the negitive lead to the charging port Does this remove the OBC from the equation as far as running?
 
Golf Cart Wizard

Golf Cart Wizard

Cartaholic - V.I.P.
I do not think the solenoid would be clicking if the OBC was shut down. Looks like a regen 2 cart, you should make sure the solenoid has continuity when on and that you have continuity through the motor terminals. The solenoid is activated by the controller so it clicking would suggest all the controls are working but power isn't getting to/through the motor.
cartaholics.com

Club Car Wiring Diagram 48 Volt Regen

Club Car Golf Cart Wiring Diagram Club Car Wiring Diagram - 48v Regen :clubcar:
cartaholics.com cartaholics.com
 
M

MulberryG

New Member
Thanks guys, weird thing is,after the first overnight charge, I unplugged it hopped in and road it around the yard. Pulled it back in the shop, cleaned tools and junk off the back , got back on and no go. That seems to suggest a loose/dirty connection.

I’ll check the solenoid and ohm some stuff

Thanks again
 
Notsoslim

Notsoslim

Well-Known Member
GCW Wouldn't that A in the serial indicate a series cart? I don't know exactly when they started the separation of models in the serial. I certainly am not trying to second guess you I just thought a regen cart would have an AA serial


1714086715449.png
 
Golf Cart Wizard

Golf Cart Wizard

Cartaholic - V.I.P.
MulberryG said:
Thanks guys, weird thing is,after the first overnight charge, I unplugged it hopped in and road it around the yard. Pulled it back in the shop, cleaned tools and junk off the back , got back on and no go. That seems to suggest a loose/dirty connection.

I’ll check the solenoid and ohm some stuff

Thanks again
Click to expand...
Definitely could be a loose or dirty connection, may as well check all that as well.

From the picture of the golf cart looks like it has the square rocker switch FNR which would be Regen. I don't think they started separating the serial for electric until the early 2000s.
 
Notsoslim

Notsoslim

Well-Known Member
GCW you definitely have some good eyes. I couldn't see that rocker switch in the photo without copying it and blowing it up. Its sucks to have 63 year old eyes that have had metal fragments drilled out on much more than one occasion. You would think I would have learned to wear safety glasses years ago.
 
M

MulberryG

New Member
Thanks for the link, you truly are a wizard. This cart does have the square FNR rocker switch. I’ll try to get some better pics of the inside components.
 
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