Re: (ET) Battery Charger

["Eric and Tracie Miller" <ewmiller erols com>]

Dave,
  I'm not familiar with any Lester charger that has a finishing rate of 8
amps? All the golf car style chargers I have ever seen have a finishing 
rate
of 4 amps. Are you sure your batteries were not old (or bad)? As the
batteries tend to age their finishing rates will be 6 to 8 amps instead of 
4
amps. To properly check your finishing rate, when the charger shuts off 
plug
it back in. Wait about 15 minutes and then take note of what your amp
reading is. A reading of 4 to 6 amps is considered good with your voltage
above 42 volts.


> I don't consider this an advantage. Most Lester chargers I've seen have
> too high a finish rate (8 amps typical), causing excessive water use and
> shortening service life.  I've heard that they can be ordered with a
> lower finish rate (4 or 5 amps, I think) but dealers seem to seldom stock
> them that way.
>
> Also, their DV/DT charge controllers are a good idea, but they often
> don't shut off soon enough.  They are supposed to shut down the charger
> when the voltage increase levels off, but sometimes don't do so until the
> battery has heated up enough for the voltage to actually drop.

    It sounds like your controll board or relay is bad if it is not 
shutting
off when the voltage levels off. You can just buy the relay if needed and
not the whole automatic shut-off unit.  No battery charger will last 
forever
just like our ETs; they need parts replaced eventually.
     Eric