I have a Clarke 36 volt golf cart charger. When I plug the charger in it comes on and starts charging but in about 3 to 5 minutes it kicks off. I can un plug it and plug it back in and it does the same thing again. The batteries need charging because I put another charger on it and i started charging the batteries. Does anyone have a sugestion on whats wrong?

 

U have to show us and tell us more about ur problem

 

It is a Clarke 36 volt golfcart battery charger. I plug the charger into the golfcarts charging plug and the needle on the charger shows that the charger did see voltage and it turned on and started charging. When 1 to 3 minutes has passed the charger kicks off and stops charging. I can unplug the charger from the golfcart and wait about 30 seconds and plug the charger back into the golfcart and the charger kicks on but in 1 to 3 minutes it kicks off again. The batteries are not fully charged. Why does the charger keep kicking off? Please help.

 

Sounds like an overheating problem. Are things very warm after the three minutes of operation elapse?

Look for poor connections (suspect any crimped connections) and solder joints that are not shiny and smooth.

 

Are the batteries OK

 

You might have some batteries that have shorted cells. Some chargers will overheat when you try to charge such a battery.

Try measuring the voltage across each of the batteries that are in the cart using a digital multimeter. If you don't have one, Harbor Freight sells DMM's for just a few dollars. If you find batteries that are significantly lower (~2.1v less, or ~4.2v less) than the other batteries, they are most likely defective.

Golf carts use a number of different types of batteries. You might have nine 4v batteries, six 6v batteries, three 12v batteries, or other combinations.

Be certain to remove rings, watches and other jewelry before you start working near the batteries, as if you happen to cause a short across your jewelry, you will receive severe burns. If you don't wish to remove certain jewelry items (such as a wedding ring) then wrap it with electrical tape.

 

He said he put the cart on another charger and the batteries charged.

I would think that means no trouble with the Golf cart, but a problem with 'that' charger instead.

If its anything like my 48 volt charger, then open the case and examine the components and the connections to them. I had one that went 'goofy' because of a bad crimped connection to one of the rectifier diodes. Would work fine for a few minutes then would start going off and on at random. Classic intermittant connection, whereas yours seems to be heat related. Hope its not a transformer issue.

 

Thanks for all of help and I will check the chargers connections and take the cover off to see if anything is heating up. Thanks again.

 

If the rectifier stack is going out you will experience the same symptoms.