Club Car OBC Bypass Guide
What is a Club Car On-board Computer (OBC)?
Electric Club Car Golf Carts manufactured from the mid 1990’s up to about 2013 use an On Board Charger (OBC) to manage charge current received from the charger.
Why Bypass your OBC?
The OBC is designed to switch off the charger when the ‘full charge’ voltage is detected. This voltage is based on the original lead-acid battery voltages and as a result is not suitable for use with Lithium Batteries and will need to be bypassed.
If you do not bypass your OBC in your Club Car and fit Lithium Batteries you may experience:
- Short range - Batteries not fully charging
- Charge cycle stopping randomly
- Batteries not charging at all
Which Club Cars have an OBC?
Generally, most Club Cars from the mid 1990’s up to around 2013 have an OBC however there are some exceptions to this rule. It’s best to check your serial number to determine whether your Club Car has an OBC. Please check our serial number prefix (first two letters of serial number) guide below:
Club Cars fitted with OBC that require a bypass for Lithium:
AA, AQ, PQ, PH, CE, PD, PE, PJ, PU, PV
Club Cars with NO OBC and do not require a bypass for Lithium:
JE, BN, BR, BU, BV, JH, JA, JN
Finally, there is another way to tell whether your Club Car has an OBC. If your Club Car has a large and heavy POWERDRIVE branded charger, it DOES have an OBC. If your Club Car uses the smaller, lighter charger, usually with a yellow cord, branded as ERIC, it does NOT have an OBC.
Locate and identify your OBC
The OBC location is also in different locations for different year models. The easiest way to locate your OBC is to trace the main Battery negative wire.
Later Club Car OBC:
Earlier Club Car OBC:
How to bypass your OBC
The exact process varies depending on the model and year however the objective is the same, that is to connect the vehicles main positive and negative leads directly to the battery, thereby, not allowing the OBC to sit between the main battery/controller circuit.
In this video we show how the OBC bypass is completed in a 2005 Club Car Precedent with 4 x 12 volt Lead-acid batteries. In Club Cars with 6 x 8 volt batteries, the OBC is in a different location.