DC Converter Install 2015 Club Car Precedent

C

Capt. Kirk

Member
I thought I should maybe make this a separate thread.

2015 Precedent 48V
DC converter install,
Well got the converter all connected. (spent most of the day running cables nice & neat) and when done turned it on and it wouldn't power the lights at all. Checked voltage at output on converter and it was 13V. I have all LED lights. Headlights, signals and tail.
Converter puts out 13V but not enough push to power the lights. Headlights would only use 0.8A at 17V (when connected to 2nd battery)
I figure that to be 13.6 watts. So using that and Ohms law at 13v and 13.6 watts then that should only be 1.04 amps.
I would think this thing would be able to handle that. Everything is connected correctly and It has an internal trigger which seems to work well. It just doesn't want to push any load. I will have to get a replacement but now am leery of this type. (Yes, bought it off Amazon) it claims to be a 30A, 12V, 350W converter. Has this happened to anybody else where you show 13V and won't operate anything? BTW just to get this out of the way, I did not ground or is anything else grounded to the frame of the cart. Ground reference is the first battery in the bank.
 
Most LED lights work off 12-48 volts. Did you read the directions? Did you even need the voltage reducer?
 
Yes,
When I bought the cart it was set up with the lights connected to the 2nd battery (17V) and it had halogen headlights. When I ran the lights in the evening for over 30 minutes or so it would pull the voltage to a point where it was triggering the low voltage cutout on the controller and would go into limp in mode.
I changed the halogen headlights to LEDs and took a huge load off. I wanted the converter to equalize the load on the battery bank and not stress the 2 batteries.
Yeah, I read the instructions. It is connected correctly.
When powered up it shows 12-13V on the output of the converter but will not operate lights, signals or horn. Lifted the wire for those and reconnected to 2nd battery and everything works. Put back on converter, nothing works. Ground is common to new fuse box and 1st battery on the bank. Connected a separate battery charger to the lighting lead and lights work. Checked between pos. output of converter and grd. at the fuse box and it reads between 12-13V. But will not supply current to load. I have already sent back this converter and they are sending another one. If this one is bad I will get a refund and buy another brand. This one is off Amazon from 10LOL , 30A, 320watts. (Blue)
Thanks.
 
After doing some research I think I may have sent back a good converter.
I never checked the 12-13V coming from the converter to actually work any lights other than just connecting the wire that was on the second battery to the positive output of the converter. Nothing, no lights.
Now I find out there is a 16-18/12VDC reducer under the cart., which is regulating the voltage being applied to the lead coming from the second battery (17V) down to 12V. ... A 5 volt drop. (29%)
So if I then connected that same lead to the converter with 13V and it gives me a 29% drop in voltage then the voltage would drop to 9.2V going to the lighting, which now is all LEDs. That will probably not be enough for LEDs.
Clear as mud? ...lol
So it looks like I have to remove the reducer from the circuit to get the lights to work. OEM reducer apparently is where the lighting circuit is connected.
Looks like a ground connection on one end and 2 leads from the other. (OEM part #101810801)
So if I connect the 2 leads together, then connect the pos. from the converter to the lead which went to the 2nd battery I should be good?
I can't find a wiring diagram which shows how this OEM reducer connects to the lighting.
Anybody else that may have one?
Thanks.
 
If it is the factory converter it should have a jumper harness behind the dash you would just unplug the jumper harness and connect the two plugs on the golf cart directly together. Not sure what all this talk about the second battery is for, input for a 48-12v reducer is connected across 48v and output goes to the accessories there shouldn’t be any other battery connections besides the 48v input.
 
I am referring to the second battery in the bank. It's the lead that sends 17V ...blue lead. (see thread 3)
I am putting in the converter make the load of lighting go through entire bank.
Currently (I guess from the factory) there is a 16/12VDC voltage limiter on the cart.
Yes the new converter is connected across 48v.
I think the factory 16/12v limiter (which is still connected) is dropping the voltage from the new converter down too low.
 
Looking at the wiring diagram it looks like Club Car either had the lighting supplied by a 48V-12V converter (connected across entire 48V bank), OR used the method of tapping the second battery (17V) and using a "voltage limiter" as the diagram refers to it.
Mine has the "voltage limiter" setup.
I am trying to change to the converter setup.
 
I pulled the 2 inside batteries to get a better feeling for this thing and it is connected in series with the ground terminal at the controller and the white lead going to the dash. There shows no continuity through it. It sort of resembles OEM part #10181001 but it isn't quite the same.
I would think maybe at one time that it was a limiter however with the lighting lead (from the 2nd battery) connected to the battery it shows 17V at the dash. (taken from the light switch) Same as at the battery. So at some point when load is applied it makes continuity to grd. but does not reduce voltage to 12V.
I can bypass the thing by connecting the white lead to the dash to battery grd and lights work but I want to be sure what I am removing is in fact a voltage limiter.
 
I guess they just used a large resistor for voltage limiting through ground. And somehow this one allows a ground but doesn't reduce anything.
In other words, failed.
If I bypass it and supply the lighting with another source (new DC-DC converter) I would think this would work.
 
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