Bad Boy Buggy has been Very Naughty...Please HELP our Wheaton Lab Boots!

Granny Gravel Bitch took an assignment she's probably going to wish she hadn't...that said, it's proving interesting as she navigates new terrain.

Before I created this post, I did take some time to read other threads involving Wheaton Lab's Bad Boy Buggy but got a bit lost in the fray so decided to push through and make the post as asked. I have one short vid of the light pattern the battery is flashing upon plugging it in and then a little more info in the other photos...one of which is Bad Boy Buggy being sent to the corner (of the Berm) to think of how his behavior has affected the precious Boots at the Lab and how he can do better in the future. Ha!

'Twas a lovely pic of him and the Berm so I left it in.

I know not what the initial issues were that grounded his ass and I couldn't get far enough in to the other threads yet to ascertain what problems they were having.

YT Video of Light Pattern on Battery
https://youtube.com/shorts/WS1c274I7e0?si=twokUQN7w2PHDYJD  

I found a link to the service manual that might be of value to you.

https://www.batterystuff.com/files/manual-1_eagle_performance_series_man_after_10-1-10_rev_081213.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOoptZY16ydcdz_XC6WJhVl81Jh926YBeaO1KahlJBoA3E-L4v3GK

Page 7 talks about the lights and I believe this might be applicable to your case.

30% RED LED BLINKING ..................................................................NO BATTERY DETECTED
This indication occurs whenever the charger circuitry cannot detect a battery. The charger circuitry will not allow charge
current to flow under this condition. With the AC power supply cord unplugged, check the connection to the batteries for
proper polarity (black wire to negative or -). Also check for corrosion free secure connections to the battery.  

Bad battery or bad wire connecting the charger to the battery? Check if the terminals on the battery itself are corroded, corrosion can do funny things.

Timothy Norton wrote:I found a link to the service manual that might be of value to you.

https://www.batterystuff.com/files/manual-1_eagle_performance_series_man_after_10-1-10_rev_081213.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOoptZY16ydcdz_XC6WJhVl81Jh926YBeaO1KahlJBoA3E-L4v3GK

Page 7 talks about the lights and I believe this might be applicable to your case.

30% RED LED BLINKING ..................................................................NO BATTERY DETECTED
This indication occurs whenever the charger circuitry cannot detect a battery. The charger circuitry will not allow charge
current to flow under this condition. With the AC power supply cord unplugged, check the connection to the batteries for
proper polarity (black wire to negative or -). Also check for corrosion free secure connections to the battery.  

Bad battery or bad wire connecting the charger to the battery? Check if the terminals on the battery itself are corroded, corrosion can do funny things.

Ohhhh, beautiful! Thank you for this info/link. I had just popped down to the workshop to unplug the charger (I needed my e-bike charged for the ride home to Allerton this evening) and I had also just caught Uncle Mud's posts about our Bad Boy, along with the YT vids. I realized I'm going to have to take our poor Lad apart, same as they did, and check more circuitry and such. Really appreciate your response here, I'm going to spend some time on the link for the manual now! TGIF and hope your weekend goes smoothly!

Okaaaaaay...Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! We have a "Bulk Stage Shutdown" and we're running for cover...hahaha!

"30% RED & 100% GREEN LEDS BLINKING .................................. BULK STAGE SHUTDOWN
This indication occurs if the battery voltage does not rise properly during the Bulk Stage. This indicates that a possible battery
problem exists and that the charge cycle has been terminated at this point. Please call technical support for further
assistance"

When I went down to unplug the charger I noted the light pattern was the same and went back to the manual link that Tim graciously shared and this is what it said. I'm making some tentative plans for Monday with one of our new Boots, Lorenzo, to see how far we can get going under the hood...weather permitting. Lorenzo has way more experience with this than I so I'm looking forward to his assessment.

Hi Melissa,

It will be a 'labor of love', this nurturing of the Bad Boy into the Good Boy.... :-)

I don't know anything about the Bad Boy line,, but have a 48V 4X4 electric Polaris Ranger and the basic malfunctions may be similar.  As already noted, if the error lights on the charger are indicating "no battery", then it would be worth (a) finding the main + and - terminals of the battery pack as a whole (I'm assuming lead acid batteries, 12V arrayed to deliver 48V) and disconnecting them first for inspection, but also because it makes it a bit safer (?) to inspect the terminals of the other batteries in the bank.  The cables running from the charger to the main battery posts can be checked with a multimeter set for 'continuity' although I'm not sure how sensitively this will detect anything but a complete break in the wire. Now (b) although laborious, if the vehicle has sat for a while uncharged and unused, it will be important to check each battery for both charging ability (12V charger if these are indeed that voltage) and load tolerance using a load tester.  A battery can exhibit 12V status, but not pass a load test and will not appreciably contribute to the bank.  If either through battery replacement or passing the test and reassembling using cleaned and/or new connection cables, now see if the bank will accept charge from the charger.  If not, then use word-of-mouth to find a 48V charger through golf cart contacts locally....use *that* charger attached however possible to the main battery charging posts in the bank.  If your batteries are good, that should work....and if so, there is something wonky with the onboard charger and/or its connections.  If that's the case, you will be deciding on whether or not to replace that stock charger or just go with the many offerings out there of 48V golf cart chargers.  However....

If I'm not mistaken, Wheaton Labs has many skilled inhabitants in solar power and solar battery charging and I would encourage you to look into integrating a solar charging station with the perhaps not-so-Bad Boy.  Additionally, if there are bold LiFePO4 battery aficionados there locally, there are several kits out there for replacing legacy battery banks with newer LiFePO4 batteries....you will find these for Bad Boy as well.f

For additional hopefully helpful info, try   https://www.facebook.com/groups/606703396197242/buy_sell_discussion   if you are a Facebooker and also look for Bad Boy Buggy troubleshooting in the 'Cartaholics' and 'Buggies Gone Wild' golf cart forums online.  Good luck.....Let's hope we see a healthy Good Boy again at WL!

Edit:  If you can get an accurate Model-Year of this Bad Boy, there is often much tucked away on the internet in the way of owner's and shop manual as well as wiring and assembly diagrams.