EZGO Powerwise What's in the charger plug?

[philm99]

I'm dealing with an EZGO Powerise 36A '97 charger that suddenly went dead. Charger won't work on my other car, other chargers work on the original car. So the charger is the problem. The relay does not pull in when plugged into the car. Based on some reading in this forum, I decided to pull apart the plug on the end of the cable to see if the reed switch was defective (BTW diodes check out, fuse checks out).
When I pulled it apart, there was indeed a magnet, but no reed switch! The red wire goes to a spring tab in the center of the plug and obviously compresses when plugged into the car. But how does that do anything? Can anyone explain how this works, what I need to do, and whether I can manually close the relay to see if the charger comes on? The relay is a black box on the side circuit board (potter and brumfield T9AS1D22-24 NO 30A). Can I pull this relay off the board, or does the cover come off?
Thanks

[rabbitreborn]

ok, first, welcome to BGW!

now then..... DO NOT pull the relay off the board.

Unplug the charger from both the cart and the wall.
pull the 2 black wires out of the relay
hook the 2 black wires together (make sure they are not touching anything else)
plug the cord into the cart
last plug the cord into the wall.

Does the charger come on and show that the cart is taking a charge?

If so, either the PC board is bad or the thin red wire in the DC cord is bad.

Do a simple continuity test on the red wire. If there is continuity, the wire is fine and the PC board is bad.

[gornoman]

Also, the Reed switch is INSIDE the Cart Charge Receptacle. The magnet in the charge handle acts on the Reed switch when the charge handle engages the receptacle. The Reed switch is a safety interlock that prevents the cart from operating when the charge handle is plugged into the cart, so you don't drive off while still connected. This circuit has NO EFFECT on the charge circuit.

[philm99]

Aha, now I understand, thanks for the explanations. But what does the red wire do (the one that terminates on the spring connector in the plug end? It doesn't seem like it can connect to anything, because when plugged in, it would slide alongside the insulated connector inthe car, and thus not connect to anything??
When it's light out tomorrow will perform the checks described. But am still really puzzled about the red wire.

[rabbitreborn]

the spring connector actually does make contact. It is the signal wire that tells the charger PC board to turn on.

[philm99]

Got it! Found that the red wire was broken (at the plug end, right where the strain relief pinches it. Opened it up and twisted the ends together and with some fiddling and electrical tape, she came on and works perfectly!
Thanks guys, you saved me a bundle!!

[scottyb]

Pretty clever that wascally wabbit

[gornoman]

Great! Just make sure the connections you made can take some heat as that plug can get a bit warm each time it's used. Electrical tape and heat don't mix well.

[philm99]

Yeah, might just buy a new cable... however, this must be a common problem.. I think someone was disconnecting the cable from the cart by yanking on the cable, rather than the handle.
So thanks again

[rabbitreborn]

That cordset isn't cheap, but it is a lot cheaper than replacing the cart if it were to overheat and catch fire.

http://www.nivelparts.com/pages/product.aspx?sku=5539

ScottyB is a site sponsor, why not shoot him a PM and ask what kind of price he can get you one of those cordsets for?