Hello,

I posted about this a while back and this is a bit of an update. I have an
electric golf cart that has solar panels mounted on top the canopy. The
solar panels produce about 15V under load and the lead acid battery pack has
a voltage of 48V. My problem is to raise the panel voltage in order to
charge the batteries.

My first attempt was to build a boost converter using the LT1680
controller. I built the typical application circuit that is in the device's
datasheet and under workbench tests it operated fine, with the exception of
a bit of audible noise. The web page for the LT1680 is here:
http://www.linear.com/pc/productDetail.jsp?navId=H0,C1,C1003,C1042,C1031,C1115,P1597

My trouble is that I connected the converter ground to the battery pack and
then when I touched the positive wire to the battery terminal there was a
big blue spark and now the converter is no longer working. :( I haven't
repaired the converter yet, but I'm wondering if the converter design I used
is appropriate for this application?

I would appreciate any suggestions, insight, or questions.

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