Quote:
Originally Posted by RoySC
Great Post. I'm new to this world of golf carts and have the same issue with the charger that came with my cart.
A few follow-on questions: (1) Any suggestions on where to get a replacement control board at a reasonable price? (2) Are there any schematics on the control board that could be used for troubleshooting? (3) Comments on ROI for purchasing a replacement control board and repairing existing charger vs. purchasing a new charger (I've heard that some lower priced versions may do the job). Thanks!
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Welcome to BGW!
1. The BGW site sponsors is a good place to look.
http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/site-sponsors.php
2. For the control board? Not that I know of, but I haven't pursued it very hard because few people have the skills need to repair one and I haven't had or felt the need personally. Schematics for many chargers are readily available, which charger do you have?
3. Return on Investment (ROI) is a double edged sword since two investments are impacted by one decision.
The investment many people overlook when deciding whether or not to repair a high quality, reliable, time tested and proven, charger with a cheaper one with unknown or questionable virtues, is the replacement cost of the batteries.
The battery charging profile is contained within the physics of the Ferroresonant Transformer design used by the charger pictured above and the many versions that followed it and are still being sold today. Unlike the switching power supply types (both expensive and inexpensive), a catastrophic failure will not overcharge a battery.
Component failures in a Ferroresonant Transformer design charger either don't charge or undercharge the battery, which is bad, but very obvious and usually recoverable. Even if a control board fails in a constant ON condition, the intrinsic characteristics of the Transformer/Capacitor pair limits the current flow to a "Trickle Charge" in the upper regions of the maximum on-charge voltages they can produce.
On the other hand, if the regulating elements in a switching power supply type design short, only the batteries themselves limit the current flow and can be irreversibly damaged. Better chargers of this type have safe-guards built in to prevent this, but it is added manufacturing expense, so others leave them out. Unfortunately, pricing doesn't always reflect quality.
Bottom line:
A battery pack is a $600 to $1200 investment.
A
good charger is a $300 to $400 investment.
A control board is a $100 investment.
Do the math.
Also, the are features like Float charge to take into consideration.
This is what I use.
http://www.cartsunlimited.net/48v_Battery_Charger.html