Genie scissor lift 1930 charging question.

[kbaeta]

Hello and thanks in advance for any help. I have replaced my batteries 2 times over past 2 years. The charger is providing 25 volts but when we charge overnight, the next days use only works for a few hours at best before its dead. I also now have a dead motor controller and need to replace that first. Was wondering how many amps the charger should be putting out, if that's the problem or is there something else that commonly goes bad that I should check. Thank again

 

[BillG]

If this is a small scissor with 4- 6 volt deep cycle batteries the charger should start at around 25-30 amps and finish at around 5-7 amps if the batteries are in good condition. But the finish voltage is more important at the end of charge, you should see 30+ volts at the end just before the charger shuts off (2.5 VPC). If the finish voltage is low but the current is higher than expected you should first check the temperature of each battery, thermal runaway will cause a lower voltage and higher current and the battery(ies) will get hot and generally will gas much more.

 

[kbaeta]

So the motor controler is fine. It was that I had a battery reading 3volts. All the other batteries that are a month old btw, are reading 6+. I had an extra battery and replaced the bad one. It's working now. My concern is that the charger isn't fully charging. I will let it charge now and test the voltage like you recommend. I have never seen charger go over 3 or 4 amps. Is it possible the charger is bad, even though I'm reading

 

[kbaeta]

Sorry. So update. I checked battery voltage and found charger was not working. Never went over 24v. My new question is the new charger I have has a red and black output as well as a white and black. Where do the white and black wires go?

 

[kbaeta]

It was a hb600-24b charger that is supposed to be the genie replacement.

 

[kbaeta]

Thanks again for the help. It's priceless!

 

[BillG]

The black and white are used on some machines to prevent operation while charging. Some use it some do not.

 

[kbaeta]

Thanks so much. We aren't super mechanical so this helps huge! So when I installed the charger to check to see if the new one worked, it only read an increase of .5 volt increase. Is that enough?

 

[BillG]

You have to remember that the charge cycle for deep cycle lead acid batteries in this size when completely discharged (80%) is 12-16 hours. So to guess dvdt is impractical for such a short time frame.

 

[kbaeta]

New charger installed and running great. After 3 hours, it says it's at 75% and its reading on dvom 27.18 volts. New charger does not have an amp meter so I need to check it manually tomorrow. I have one more question I would love to ask. Why does it say not to operate the lift while it's plugged in? That's what was happening on rare occasions when old batteries were needing replacement.

 

[willie59]

Why does it say not to operate the lift while it's plugged in? That's what was happening on rare occasions when old batteries were needing replacement.

I can't answer exactly why you shouldn't operate the machine with the charger plugged in, I can only say you shouldn't have to do that if the batteries are good and the charger is working properly. If the charger and batteries are good, and you give it an overnight full charge, the question is irrelevant because it should work just fine for the next days work shift.

 

[BillG]

New charger installed and running great. After 3 hours, it says it's at 75% and its reading on dvom 27.18 volts. New charger does not have an amp meter so I need to check it manually tomorrow. I have one more question I would love to ask. Why does it say not to operate the lift while it's plugged in? That's what was happening on rare occasions when old batteries were needing replacement.

Two reasons, first, it is very hard on the controller running at low voltage. The charger is not capable of supplying enough current to operate the machine while the batteries are in a low state of charge. The charger is trying to make up the difference and it is just not designed for this, an early failure in the charger is a result.
Second, the power cord is still attached to the machine. To many scenarios of a trailing power cord and hazardous situation to list.

 

[norite]

I have spent many hours on such lifts and the genie is a good one. The reason why users want to plug in the lift and still operate it is that either the lift didn't get plugged in the previous shift or someone else unplugged that cord to get power for something else and neglected to re-plug it when done. On construction sites power outlets are usually at a premium. Typical use is not driving all over the place but long periods (up to breaktime to breaktime) where they may remain at height with no power used while workers perform their tasks. Workers and contractors cannot afford to wait while a discharged lift sits idle while it recharges, the workers need to do their work regardless. This is why being able to operate the lift while it is plugged in is an advantage. In a perfect world the lifts would be fully charged and good practice is for lifts to be plugged in whenever it is not in use. Chargers should have current limiting o/p to protect themselves when the lift is operated, because it is going to happen anyway.

 

[kbaeta]

Charged all night and before we left it it was charging at 27 volts. Checked it this morning and the charger was off and it was at 25 volts. That's still to low right?

 

[BillG]

Nope, a battery at rest (no load) a few hours after charging would be at 2.1 volts per cell x 12 cells =25.2 volts. Any variation could be due to ambient temperature or cells that haven't equalized.

 

[Delmer]

Presumably it reached higher than 27 volts before it shut down. See how the batteries perform. It sounds like they have been abused with undercharging, they might improve capacity as they're cycled. I'd turn the charger on again and let it do another quick cycle, then make sure they are fully charged after every use and occasionally when they're not in use.

 

[TommyJLG]

Hi guys, I searched the forums and cannot find an answer to why the right blade on my Genie 1930 charging receptacle is overheating and melting the extension cord. Any help greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

 

[Delmer]

Zombie thread alert!

Once it's overheated, it's corroded all the metal surfaces and will continue to melt extension cords. Take it apart and replace the plug. Cut any overheated wire back to clean copper and replace.

 

[TommyJLG]

Sounds like an excellent easy repair! Will get on it early next week. Thank you Delmer!!!!

 

[skyking1]

What Delmer said ^ I have cleaned up a burnt blade with a screwdriver and crocus cloth or sandpaper, but that is a temporary fix. It is cooked where the wires hook to it too.