Hi all,
I recently bought an M80 8000lb Cat forklift. Been running it for 3 weeks, very light use. I bought a charger for it the other day and got it hooked up but it won't charge the forklift. I've checked the power in/out and everything seems correct but when I plug in the forklift, nothing happens. I expect the contactor to click after 5-10 seconds but nothing. No amp draw on the charger either. Any ideas?
Background: Bought the forklift from a retailer, they fixed the brakes then gave it to me. Said they charged it fine, and even used it around their facility. It's a 48v.
Charger is 208v 3 phase charger. I have it hooked up to exactly that. I am getting 48v output. I've tested all of the contacts and they all show the proper voltages, and it shows 48v out when it's plugged in. The charger is a Hertner Auto Charger 1000. Model CTN-24-550. The previous owner of the charger said it worked fine, they just got a new forklift so they didn't need this one anymore. He was even kind enough to come take a look to see if I had everything hooked up properly. Him and my electrician both confirmed it was.
Thanks in advance.
Showing items 1 - 6 of 6 results.
And thanks to everyone who's replied. I'd like to get this charger working but I think it might be in vain.
I originally purchased a different charger, but it has an input requirement of 600v which I don't have at my shop. I reached out to the vendor who sold me the forklift and they suggested that I get a transformer to step up my 208 to 600v so that I can use the charger that I originally bought from them. It's an extra $500 but if it works, then great.
Unfortunately there's no change in status from the charger either when I plug it in, nor when I plug in the pigtail to the forklift.
When I plug it in, I get 48v from the output side even when it's not plugged into the forklift.
I've had 2 electricians take a look at it and as far as they can see, it should be working based on how I have everything hooked up.
It seems like the charger doesn't detect that the forklift is plugged in, it's just "hibernating". I searched online a lot as well and couldn't find much information.
There's a module on the contact board which an "override" contact. When I switch the plug to this second connector, then when I plug the charger into the wall then the contactor kicks in immediately. I hear a double click after a few seconds where the "on" light turns on, then immediately turns off. When I plug in the forklift, still no amp flow reading.
When I have the connector on the original spot, then nothing happens at all when I plug it into the wall.
if the charger powers on when you plug in the battery you should see it change status. Are you reading the output voltage while the battery is connected?
the reason i ask is if the charger is working you will read more than 48v, if 48 is what your getting on the vom then your just getting the voltage from the battery itself through the connection. If it is charging you should see that reading increase far above 48v.
have an electrician double check the connections, make sure the charger is setup correctly for 208v and all the line fuses are ok.
from the sounds of it you have it connected to power but the start relay is not kicking in when it senses the battery plugged in.?
i did a search for that charger but there isn't much info coming up on it other than one or two hits on ebay. I saw no hits on Hertner itself, they may not even be in business anymore.
Well sounds like if everything you said is correct than there is a problem with the charger hate to say. Some times in the front there is a manual to help trouble shoot the charger l would start with the three fuses than check the main contactor and step down transformer than check the three capacitors and dieoes if everything checks out it is possible the board is bad. If you don't feel safe checking than call a charger company to come out to check for you. Remember very hi voltage inside.
The forklift has seen little use since we got it, maybe 10 hours of light use total in the 3 weeks, and I haven't noticed the forklift being sluggish at all. I don't believe that the batteries are too low.
And no, I'm plugging into the battery pigtail side. One of my employees plugged it into the wrong side once so it's not unthinkable that someone might do that (on our other forklift). He plugged in the forklift 50+ times and one time he just blanked and plugged it into the wrong side.
Two thing when you hooked up the charger is the battery dead if the battery voltage is so low the charger might not turn on. If so you will need to get a timer charger and charge the battery up enough to kick on the auto charger. Also l know this sounds stupid but make sure you aren't plugged into the truck.
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