Battery Warning Light; The Charge Circuit - Club Car Gasoline Service Manual

PowerDrive System 48 Charging Features, Continued:
23B
• Off-Season Storage Charge
E
PowerDrive System 48 vehicles and PowerDrive Chargers are designed to be left connected, with AC
power to the charger on, during off-season storage. The on-board computer will automatically analyze
the batteries' state of charge every fifteen days, and if it finds the batteries low, will activate the charger
as necessary. To return the vehicle to service, unplug the DC cord from the vehicle, wait 15 seconds
and then plug the DC cord back in. The charger will come on. Allow the vehicle to complete one full
charge cycle before putting it into service.
• Charger Disconnect
The computer communication pin is shorter than the positive and negative pins in the charger DC plug.
In the event that the charger plug is pulled from the receptacle while the charger is in operation, the
computer communication link will be disconnected first and shut the charger off before the positive and
negative pins disconnect. This will help to prevent possible damage to the plug and receptacle due to
arcing.

BATTERY WARNING LIGHT

The PowerDrive System 48 vehicle features a dash mounted warning light (above steering column) which,
when the vehicle is in operation, indicates low battery voltage, or, when the vehicle is being charged, indi-
cates a charging problem. The Battery Warning Light is controlled by the PowerDrive System 48 on-board
computer.
When the batteries receive an incomplete charge because 1) the DC power cord is disconnected, 2) AC
power to the charger is interrupted, 3) automatic charger shut-off occurs after 16 hours of operation, or 4)
the charger malfunctions, the trouble light will indicate as follows:
• The warning light will not come on if the charge is 90% or more complete. The on-board computer will
retain in memory the amount of charge needed to fully replenish the batteries and will complete the
charge during the next charge cycle.
• When the charger is unplugged, the warning light will come on and remain illuminated for 10 seconds if
the charge is less than 90% complete but the car has enough power to complete 36 holes of golf. This
will alert the fleet operator that the car may be used, but that it must be charged to completion as soon
as possible.
• The warning light will come on and remain illuminated if the charger times out at 16 hours and the bat-
teries are not sufficiently charged. This indicates an abnormal charge cycle. The charger and batteries
should be checked by your Club Car distributor/dealer.
• The warning light will come on during a charge cycle (DC plug is still connected) if AC power to the
charger is interrupted. The light will go out when AC power is restored.

THE CHARGE CIRCUIT

The vehicle charge circuit consists of the charger receptacle, fuse link, on-board computer, and the batteries.
The negative terminal of the receptacle is connected to the on-board computer. The 10 gauge black wire
from the on-board computer connects to the B- terminal on the speed controller, and the 6 gauge black wire
also on the controller B- terminal goes through the on-board computer and connects to the negative (-) post
of battery No. 6. The positive terminal of the charger receptacle is connected to the positive post of battery
No. 1. The grey wire (sense lead) from the charger receptacle is connected to the sense lead fuse, which is
connected to the grey wire from the on-board computer. If the charger works with one vehicle, but does not
work with another, then it can be assumed that the problem is in the charge circuit of the vehicle. Check the
connections between the 10 or 18 gauge grey wire from the charger receptacle, the sense lead fuse, and the
18 gauge grey wire from the on-board computer. Also check connections of the fuse link assembly located on
the charger receptacle (Figure 23-20).
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