• About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Contact Us
Trusted Golfer
  • Home
  • Golf Beginners
    how much is a golf cart

    How Much is a Golf Cart? Top golf cart brands

    best indoor putting green, best putting mat

    7 Best Indoor Putting Greens in 2021

    how to clean golf bag

    How to Clean Golf Bag: Essential Guide

    backyard putting green

    How to Build a Backyard Putting Green: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide

    golf hole size, size of golf hole

    How Wide is a Golf Hole? Golf ball hole size and why?

    how many golf clubs can you carry

    How Many Golf Clubs Can You Carry in a Golf Bag?

    clean golf clubs, how to clean golf clubs

    How to Clean Golf Clubs at Home: The Best Way

    callaway strata, callaway strata review, callaway strata golf club, callaway strata golf club review

    Callaway Strata Review: The Best Golf Club Set to Buy in 2020?

    Good golf score, what is a good golf score, average golf score for beginner, what is the average golf score, golf scores for beginners

    What is a Good Golf Score for Beginner Golfers

  • Clubs
    • All
    • Golf Drivers
    • Golf Irons
    • Putters
    best golf clubs for seniors

    Best Golf Clubs for Seniors in 2021

    best golf drivers for seniors

    Best Golf Drivers for Seniors in 2021

    taylormade r7 irons review

    TaylorMade R7 Irons Review & Breakdown

    taylormade m6 driver review

    TaylorMade M6 Driver Review – A Long and Forgiving Driver

    best driving iron

    Best Driving Iron: Reviews & Buying Guides

    best putters for beginners

    Best Putters for Beginners in 2020 : Reviews & Buying Guides

    wilson harmonized wedge review, wilson harmonized wedge

    Wilson Harmonized Wedge Review: Should You Go For This Option?

    golf hole size, size of golf hole

    How Wide is a Golf Hole? Golf ball hole size and why?

    how many golf clubs can you carry

    How Many Golf Clubs Can You Carry in a Golf Bag?

  • Golf Carts
    • Best Golf Push Carts
    • Bag Boy Triswivel II
    • Best Golf Cart Batteries
    • Clicgear Model 3.5 Push Cart
    • Clicgear Rovic RV1C
  • Golf Balls
    • Best Srixon Golf Balls
    • Golf Balls for Beginners
    • Golf Balls For Seniors
    • Wilson Titanium Golf Ball
  • Training Aids
    • Golf Putting Aids
    • Indoor Putting Greens
    • Golf Training Aids for Swing Plane
    • Golf Training Aids
    • Golf Launch Monitors
    • Golf Alignment Sticks
    • Golf Swing Analyzers
  • Golf Accessories
    • Golf Shoes for Walking
    • Golf Umbrella
    • Winter Golf Gloves for Cold Weather
    • Golf Travel Bags
    • Golf Bags for Push Carts
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Golf Beginners
    how much is a golf cart

    How Much is a Golf Cart? Top golf cart brands

    best indoor putting green, best putting mat

    7 Best Indoor Putting Greens in 2021

    how to clean golf bag

    How to Clean Golf Bag: Essential Guide

    backyard putting green

    How to Build a Backyard Putting Green: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide

    golf hole size, size of golf hole

    How Wide is a Golf Hole? Golf ball hole size and why?

    how many golf clubs can you carry

    How Many Golf Clubs Can You Carry in a Golf Bag?

    clean golf clubs, how to clean golf clubs

    How to Clean Golf Clubs at Home: The Best Way

    callaway strata, callaway strata review, callaway strata golf club, callaway strata golf club review

    Callaway Strata Review: The Best Golf Club Set to Buy in 2020?

    Good golf score, what is a good golf score, average golf score for beginner, what is the average golf score, golf scores for beginners

    What is a Good Golf Score for Beginner Golfers

  • Clubs
    • All
    • Golf Drivers
    • Golf Irons
    • Putters
    best golf clubs for seniors

    Best Golf Clubs for Seniors in 2021

    best golf drivers for seniors

    Best Golf Drivers for Seniors in 2021

    taylormade r7 irons review

    TaylorMade R7 Irons Review & Breakdown

    taylormade m6 driver review

    TaylorMade M6 Driver Review – A Long and Forgiving Driver

    best driving iron

    Best Driving Iron: Reviews & Buying Guides

    best putters for beginners

    Best Putters for Beginners in 2020 : Reviews & Buying Guides

    wilson harmonized wedge review, wilson harmonized wedge

    Wilson Harmonized Wedge Review: Should You Go For This Option?

    golf hole size, size of golf hole

    How Wide is a Golf Hole? Golf ball hole size and why?

    how many golf clubs can you carry

    How Many Golf Clubs Can You Carry in a Golf Bag?

  • Golf Carts
    • Best Golf Push Carts
    • Bag Boy Triswivel II
    • Best Golf Cart Batteries
    • Clicgear Model 3.5 Push Cart
    • Clicgear Rovic RV1C
  • Golf Balls
    • Best Srixon Golf Balls
    • Golf Balls for Beginners
    • Golf Balls For Seniors
    • Wilson Titanium Golf Ball
  • Training Aids
    • Golf Putting Aids
    • Indoor Putting Greens
    • Golf Training Aids for Swing Plane
    • Golf Training Aids
    • Golf Launch Monitors
    • Golf Alignment Sticks
    • Golf Swing Analyzers
  • Golf Accessories
    • Golf Shoes for Walking
    • Golf Umbrella
    • Winter Golf Gloves for Cold Weather
    • Golf Travel Bags
    • Golf Bags for Push Carts
No Result
View All Result
Trusted Golfer
No Result
View All Result

When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
Home Golf Tips & Guides

How to Test a Golf Cart Battery Charger

How do you know if golf cart battery charger is bad and need to replace?

by Ruhul Amin
March 29, 2021
How to Test a Golf Cart Battery Charger
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Pinterest

Owning a golf cart often requires you to upgrade and maintain your cart in a number of ways.

For example, you need to make sure your golf cart battery is fully charged before riding it.

However, this unit may experience problems that decrease its effectiveness over time.

Therefore, you must understand how to test a battery charger to ensure that it is working as efficiently as possible.

Fortunately, this process is relatively simple and shouldn’t take too long.

We’ll cover the testing process here, as well as why testing is smart and what problems it can uncover.

Table of Contents

  • How To Test A Golf Cart Battery Charger
    • Determine if the Battery Charger is at Fault
    • Test the Batteries
    • Check the Timing Mechanism
    • Check Charging Cable
    • Check Fuses and Diodes
    • Charge the Batteries Individually
    • Check Output Voltage
    • Open the Case
    • Testing the Capacitor
    • Test All Transformer Windings
  • Final Word

How To Test A Golf Cart Battery Charger

The most common problem with an electric golf cart is its start-up. The battery powers the car’s engine.

If you continue to recharge the battery without routine maintenance, it will eventually no longer hold a charge.

There are cables that need to be cleaned and checked for fraying if the golf cart battery is to be fully charged and received.

The battery charger cannot charge a battery that is low on acid or has a leak.

How to test a golf cart battery charger? Make sure the golf cart battery charger is working and you have voltage at the battery charger plug using a multimeter or voltage tester.

Let’s go over some of the simple basics and get the battery charger working as it should.

Determine if the Battery Charger is at Fault

Did you know that most modern battery chargers will not even start charging batteries if the original charge on the batteries is not high enough?

The automatic battery charger needs a minimal amount of voltage across the batteries to start working, say around 20 to 35 volts total.

Test the Batteries

Take your golf cart battery voltage measure and tester the output voltage of all the batteries together. See if they measure the voltage required to activate your charger.

If the batteries do not match the minimum voltage or higher, then you have found the problem. What are you doing at this moment?

Check the Timing Mechanism

Your golf cart battery charger will have either a manual mechanical timer or an automatic electric timer. If it’s a manual timer, it’s pretty easy to test.

Turn on the timer and check for power coming from the timer. With an electric timer, you just have to trick it into turning it on.

The other possible problem is that your timer has failed and you leave your charger always on. To verify this, turn off the timer and check the power. If you are still getting power, replace your timer.

Check Charging Cable

You can verify this by testing the power at the end of the cable, and if there is no power check the power where it connects to the golf cart battery charger.

If there is power at the charger but not at the end of the cable, then it is as simple as replacing the cable.

Another easy way to test a wire, if you have an ohmmeter, is to check the continuity of the wire. This is done by measuring the resistance in the wire, which should be slightly above zero.

If your ohmmeter reads zero or infinity, then the wire is broken and needs to be replaced.

Check Fuses and Diodes

If you don’t have power on the cable connection, don’t worry too much just yet. Hopefully, it’s just a wick.

These are pretty easy to find, and once you locate them, just remove them and look for wear. If you can’t see the wear, recheck your ohmmeter for continuity.

If the fuse is broken, you need to check a couple of things before replacing it, if not, reinstall it. Sometimes this will fix the problem by draining the capacitors and restarting the machine.

If your fuse is blown, it is very possible that one or both diodes have blown. Check that both have continuity in both directions. A diode is like a gate, so it must have continuity in one direction, but not the other.

To check for continuity, completely remove the diode from the machine and use your ohmmeter to check resistance the same way you checked the wire, then change the direction you are testing.

If both are continuous or neither is, then you have a bad diode. You may need to replace both if one fails.

Once you’ve checked and possibly replaced your diode, replace your fuse and check if your golf cart battery charger is working now. If not, start the isolation process again, there may have been more than one fault.

Charge the Batteries Individually

If the batteries are too low, charge them individually with a normal old car battery charger, usually the 12-volt type.

You can charge them to full capacity or just high enough to meet the minimum required voltage. If your cart has 12-volt batteries, this will be an easy procedure, but if you have 8-volt batteries, you have two options.

  1. You can use the 12-volt setting but connect a 4.5-ohm 10-watt resistor in series with the charger. This will limit the current when fully charged to about one amp.
  2. The other method would be to set the car battery charger to a 6-volt setting and charge the individual battery for one hour and see if it reaches 7.8 to 7.9 volts. This will be a sufficient voltage for each battery collectively to activate the golf cart battery charger.

Check Output Voltage

How do you test a golf cart battery charger with a multimeter?

No clicking noise from the relay followed by a buzzing or slight vibration in the case is a good indication that the battery charger is not receiving power, so before opening the case, let’s test the voltage at the charger plug.

With the battery charger off, set the multimeter to measure voltage and connect it to the output contacts in the socket, then turn the timer knob to “on.” If there is no voltage, it’s time to try one more thing.

Unplug the charger and connect the continuity tester leads to both blades of the power cord (8 and 9) and then turn the timer to “go on”. There should be continuity at this point.

Open the Case

Once you have access to all the internal components, first use the continuity setting on your multimeter and check the timer switch.

Besides the fuse, this is the most common point of failure in a charger. If your charger has an automatic timer, then there won’t be a rotary knob on the front.

Connect the wires to both contacts (6 and 7) and turn the dial. there should be continuity at this point. If the meter indicates no continuity, then you have a faulty timer switch.

The next step is to measure the continuity between the end of the charger contact (10 or 11) and the Termination Point inside the box (12 or 14).

Check both the positive and negative as well as the ground and if they do begin testing the connections between the components on the front of the battery charger.

Check for continuity through the meter and the connections leading to the fuse.

Testing the Capacitor

Good capacitor

The ohmmeter is first set to read resistance and the capacitor leads are disconnected from the transformer.

In a good capacitor, when the ohmmeter leads are connected to the capacitor terminals (4 and 5), the meter needle jumps to the center of the scale and moves rapidly to higher resistance.

Open Capacitor

When the ohmmeter leads are connected to the terminals, the meter needle remains with high resistance. If the condenser has failed to “Open”, there may be a visible bulge at the top.

Shorted Capacitor

When the wires are connected to the capacitor terminals, the meter needle immediately jumps to zero ohms and stays there.

Test All Transformer Windings

In the illustration above, the primary winding is the two white/brown wires, while the secondary windings are the light brown wires.

If you’ve checked everything and everything seems fine, but your golf cart battery charger still isn’t charging the batteries, then the last thing to check is the transformer.

The transformer should be buzzing if it’s working, so if it’s not buzzing, it’s not getting power, or it’s broken.

Check your connections to the circuit board, and if everything seems fine, then the only real way to test it is to replace it with a good transformer.

Unfortunately, this is very expensive and requires very special soldering or replacement of an entire circuit board.

You may need to take the golf cart battery charger to a shop if you suspect the problem is the transformer.

Also, this repair can be very expensive and it may be wise for you to consider a new golf cart battery charger.

Final Word

With an automatic battery charger, the batteries must be connected before the charger will turn on.

Wait 3-4 seconds for the delay time to elapse. And if there is no click and hum from the transformer, we need to make sure there is a proper connection between the battery charger and the batteries.

Check the public art of the plug-in receptacle on the cart for corrosion or dirt, and if in doubt, clean it and try again.

ShareTweetPin
Previous Post

How to Practice Golf at Home

Next Post

10 Best Golf Grips You Should Consider

Related Posts

gas vs electric golf carts
Golf Tips & Guides

Gas vs. Electric Golf Carts: Which is Better?

April 3, 2021

Choosing a golf cart isn't an easy decision. Check out the comparison of gas golf carts vs electric golf carts....

Read more
How to Practice Golf at Home
Golf Tips & Guides

How to Practice Golf at Home

March 28, 2021

In this article, we'll cover some great ways you can practice golf at home. We cover ideas to help you...

Read more
how to charge golf cart batteries
Golf Tips & Guides

How to Properly Charge a Golf Cart Battery

March 12, 2021

Learning how to charge golf cart batteries when your battery charger won't turn on is an important skill to learn...

Read more
How to Calculate Golf Handicap
Golf Tips & Guides

How to Calculate Golf Handicap: How Handicap System Works

January 30, 2021

Do you ever want to know how to calculate golf handicap? This article lays out step-by-step how to find out...

Read more

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Post for You

golf cart batteries replacement, golf cart batteries last,
Golf Beginners

How long do Golf Cart Batteries Last

March 13, 2020

A golf cart is an important part of the golf game, as it offers a convenient way to get around...

Read more
custom golf carts, build your own golf cart, diy golf cart

How to Build Your Own Golf Cart (DIY)

March 26, 2021
how to charge golf cart batteries

How to Properly Charge a Golf Cart Battery

March 12, 2021
how wide golf cart, how wide is a golf cart, golf cart dimensions

How Wide Is A Golf Cart?

March 26, 2021

Best Sellers

Bestseller No. 1 Performance Tool W54274 Battery Filler with Auto Shut Off and Drip-Free Valve, 2 Quarts
Performance Tool W54274 Battery Filler with Auto Shut Off and Drip-Free Valve, 2 Quarts
Check Price
Bestseller No. 2 Liquid Solution Refurbish Fix Repair Renew Golf Cart Batteries Battery Kit
Liquid Solution Refurbish Fix Repair Renew Golf Cart Batteries Battery Kit
Check Price
Bestseller No. 3 ML35-12 Gel - 12 Volt 35AH Rechargeable Gel Type Battery - Mighty Max Battery Brand Product
ML35-12 Gel - 12 Volt 35AH Rechargeable Gel Type Battery - Mighty Max Battery Brand Product
Check Price
Bestseller No. 4 CocoMocart 48V LED Battery Indicator Meter Gauge for EZGO Club Golf Cart Yamaha Car Marine Jet Ski
CocoMocart 48V LED Battery Indicator Meter Gauge for EZGO Club Golf Cart Yamaha Car Marine Jet Ski
Check Price
ADVERTISEMENT

Most Post for You

best golf umbrella, best golf umbrella reviews, golf umbrella, golf umbrella reviews

Best Golf Umbrella (Review) in 2020

April 1, 2021

Are you looking for the best golf umbrella reviews for 2020? Here is our review of the top 10 umbrellas...

TaylorMade SpeedBlade Irons Review

TaylorMade SpeedBlade Irons Review: Should You Go For This Option?

April 5, 2021

The SpeedBlade irons have great feel and balance. A comprehensive TaylorMade Speedblades Review examines key features and expected performance of...

center shafted putters, center shaft putter, best center shafted putters

Best Center Shafted Putters Reviews: Should you use a centre-shafted putter?

The best putters for golfers looking to try out the center shaft putter build. You can easily compare and choose...

best golf bags for push carts

The Best Golf Bags for Push Carts in 2021

January 7, 2021

Looking for the Best Golf Bags for Push Carts? There are so many to choose from in 2020. Don't sweat,...

Recent Posts

  • Gas vs. Electric Golf Carts: Which is Better?
  • 10 Best Golf Grips You Should Consider
  • How to Test a Golf Cart Battery Charger
  • How to Practice Golf at Home
  • How to Properly Charge a Golf Cart Battery
  • Best Golf Clubs for Seniors in 2021
  • 10 Best Disc Golf Shoes in 2021 – Men’s and Women’s
  • How to Calculate Golf Handicap: How Handicap System Works
  • Best Golf Drivers for Seniors in 2021
  • Best Golf Alignment Sticks to Improve Your Game
Trusted Golfer

Trusted Golfer is a guide for becoming better golfers. Its list of the best gear of golfs, buying guide, and reviews. Reviews are based on research and hands-on testing by veteran golfers, and researchers.

Follow Us

Do You Like Trusted Golfer?

If you are looking to make a great choice. Trusted Golfer team spending hours researching and testing to recommend products. All our suggestions based on our experiences and we hope the same for our readers.

Search from Trusted Golfer

No Result
View All Result

Affiliate Disclosure

Trusted Golfer is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

*Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates…

Trusted Golfer contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
  • Home
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Contact Us

© 2021, TrustedGolfer.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Golf Beginners
  • About Trusted Golfer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Contact Us

© 2021, TrustedGolfer.com