Re: (ET) charger problem

[Garry & Terry Freese <tnlighthouse bellsouth net>]

At 08:08 PM 5/12/2009, you wrote:

> Jim,
>
>  
>
> I guess you didn't see my other email.  Battery B2 was actually in
> backwards.  All 6 batteries read 6 volts, but it's not clear to me
> how to determine the charge of the entire battery pack as a whole. 
> If I put the negative probe on B5 and then progressively read the voltage
> at the positive poles, I get B6 (12.66v), B4 (18.99v), B3 (25.34v), B2
> (38.01v), and B1 (31.67v).  So if I'm interpretting this correctly,
> the battery pack is currently at full charge (even after mowing this
> afternoon).
>
>  
>
> It's hard for me to believe there are any bad or corrosive
> connections.  I had this thing entirely apart and cleaned all the
> connections before reassembling.  I did replace two of the solenoids
> which I got from a local dealer.  They didn't come as a pair with
> the pin that goes in between them.  Could that make a
> difference?

Turn your main disconnect off and correct
this problem unless you want a much bigger problem!!!!!!!!!!  That
little pin turned one off as it turned on the other.

First of all you could not and did
NOT replace the push/pull solenoids with the correct solenoids because
they are no longer made, unless you were lucky and from someone that had
some old stock. Bill Gunn made a replacement kit that replaced these
push/pull with a new style.  It came with a wiring diagram and
jumpers

> Garry East
> TN I do have a couple of good push/pull relays.


>  
>
> If I had a bad main disconnect, would the tractor sometimes run and
> sometimes not?  How can I check if it's faulty?
>
>  
>
> Paul
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim Coate" <jbc_lists_NO_REPLY coate org>
> To: "Elec-Trak" <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 5:27:32 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: Re: (ET) charger problem
>
> Did you get a chance to check the individual battery voltages?
>
> Either there was a typo in your previous list, or something is very 
> wrong with battery B2:
>  > B5 to B6: 12.66v
>  > B5 to B4: 18.98v
>  > B5 to B3: 25.32v
>  > B5 to B2: 31.66v
>  > B5 to B1: 31.66v
>
> The other numbers are about what I'd expect for 2, 3, 4 and 5 batteries.
> But B5 to B2 should be all six batteries, for 36 volts (nominal) total.
> Should see around 38 volts across all 6 given what the other 5
> show.
>
> If you have a bad battery, that could be making everything else work
> harder and get hotter than usual. And taken to an extreme can make the
> bad battery spew steaming acid. Yuck.
>
> If the 6th battery is OK, then some really bad/corroded connections 
> somewhere? Or a bad main disconnect switch? Where were you measuring the
> 32 volts?
>
> Once get the voltage up to where it belongs, then can worry about the
> power use gauge being in the red... it may be fixed by getting the 
> proper system voltage, or may be the shut connections are bad, or maybe
> the meter is off. But batteries/voltage first.
>
>
> paul mitchell2007 comcast net wrote:
> > So I chargerd up my E12 and mowed my lawn this afternoon (less than
> 1/2 
> > acre).  The batteries are brand new and after charging all
> night on the 
> > 1-2 year setting, the charge of the power pack read 32 volts. 
> Any 
> > thoughts why it would be so low?  While charging, it was
> reading upwards 
> > of 38v.
> > 
> > After mowing, the solenoids are very hot, so I'm going to let it all
> > cool down before recharging.  Is it normal for these to get
> hot? 
> > 
> > Also, I followed the instructions in the manual and tried mowing in
> D1 
> > and in D2 with the throttle all the way forward.  It didn't
> seem to 
> > matter where I placed the throttle...the power use guage was in the
> red 
> > the entire time the PTO was on.
> > 
> > Thoughts?
> > 
> > Paul
> > 
> > 
>
> -- 
> Jim Coate
> *The Electric Tractor Store*
> http://www.ElectricTractorStore.com
>
> =