lifted club cars - lifted ezgo
Home FAQDonate Who's Online
Go Back   Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum > Golf Cart Repair and Troubleshooting > Electric Club Car
Electric Club Car Electric DS, and Precedent golf cars



Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-23-2015, 03:34 PM   #1
MDLNB
Gone Wild
Club Car
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: The Villages, FL
Posts: 552
Default Old batteries with desulfator

Last summer, my wife left me in charge of her golf cart while she traipsed North to visit family for a couple of months. Since I have my own cart, I completely neglected her cart, leaving it in the garage without even checking it or charging it. So, a week before she was to return, I suddenly thought about it and gave it a charge and took it out for a run. I didn't get very far before it was creeping along, barely making it home. I checked the water levels and much to my chagrin, they were almost dry, showing the lead plates So, I filled the cells up and charged it a couple of times before using the cart again, and it had revived a bit. The batteries are five years old now and still poking along. About a month ago, I saw some cheap Chinese made desulfators on sale on the Internet, and on a whim purchased two of them. They came with alligator clips so I removed them and replaced them with ring connectors, and then connected them to the batteries. My wife goes to the pool for water aerobics every morning and gives a ride to one of our neighbors a couple times per week. Yesterday, she asked me what I did to the cart because our neighbor told her that the cart seems to be faster than it was before. I took it for a test drive and sure enough, it seems more peppy. I realize that the desulfator could not make that much difference in such a short time, but apparently it hasn't hurt it either. I did notice that the battery gauge does seem to register a slightly higher reading (after 12 hours post charging) than it did before. I was planning on replacing her batteries soon, but now I think I am going to see if this thing prolongs their lifespan.

I haven't put the other desulfator on my cart yet. My batteries were replaced less than a year ago, so I doubt very much I would notice any difference at this point. I will probably install it just for maintenance purpose.

The reason I decided to try it was because my neighbor had one of the more expensive ones and he swore by it. I decided that since the ones I bought were cheap and on sale, and the fact that I was getting ready to replace my wife's batteries anyway, what could it hurt, right? Don't get me wrong, I don't put much stock in going cheap. I do like a good deal, but buying cheap usually means poorer craftsmanship. I guess time will tell in this case. If it turns out to be a plastic box with blinking lights and a voltage meter, then I am not out too much of an investment.
MDLNB is offline   Reply With Quote
Alt Today
BGW

Golf car forum Sponsored Links

__________________
This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members.
Register your free account today and become a member on Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum
   
Old 03-23-2015, 04:03 PM   #2
NDKoze
Not Yet Wild
 
NDKoze's Avatar
Club Car
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Fargo, ND
Posts: 44
Default Re: Old batteries with desulfator

If the batteries were that dry, is it possible that she was running with low water in her batteries for quite a while? Then after you refilled and charged it revived the batteries it worked better?

It sounds like you are lucky the batteries weren't damaged.

I am still pretty new to carts, but these are the questions that popped up in my mind.
NDKoze is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2015, 05:30 PM   #3
MDLNB
Gone Wild
Club Car
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: The Villages, FL
Posts: 552
Default Re: Old batteries with desulfator

Quote:
Originally Posted by NDKoze View Post
If the batteries were that dry, is it possible that she was running with low water in her batteries for quite a while? Then after you refilled and charged it revived the batteries it worked better?

It sounds like you are lucky the batteries weren't damaged.

I am still pretty new to carts, but these are the questions that popped up in my mind.
Who knows? But, it's been almost a year since that incident, and just recently since I installed the sulfator and the comment from the neighbor suggesting that the cart was swifter. My wife has a regen system and it's always been slow by my standards. I have an old series system that will get up and go, in comparison.
MDLNB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2015, 05:52 PM   #4
NDKoze
Not Yet Wild
 
NDKoze's Avatar
Club Car
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Fargo, ND
Posts: 44
Default Re: Old batteries with desulfator

Quote:
Originally Posted by MDLNB View Post
Who knows? But, it's been almost a year since that incident, and just recently since I installed the sulfator and the comment from the neighbor suggesting that the cart was swifter. My wife has a regen system and it's always been slow by my standards. I have an old series system that will get up and go, in comparison.
Awe, I missed that the low water issue was a year ago.
NDKoze is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2015, 09:29 PM   #5
passthru
Gone Wild
 
passthru's Avatar
Club Car
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Fort Worth, Tx
Posts: 500
Default Re: Old batteries with desulfator

There are a few threads on here regarding the use of these types of units. Lot's of positive feed back.
http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...aintainer.html
passthru is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2015, 04:25 PM   #6
MDLNB
Gone Wild
Club Car
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: The Villages, FL
Posts: 552
Default Re: Old batteries with desulfator

Quote:
Originally Posted by passthru View Post
There are a few threads on here regarding the use of these types of units. Lot's of positive feed back.
http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...aintainer.html
Actually, I am referring to a Desulfator, not a "maintainer." But, now that you mention it, I am thinking of purchasing a maintainer for my batteries. I wonder if having the desulfator hooked up, would I have any problem with it working properly? I wonder if the desulfator would confuse the computer chip in the maintainer and cause it to kick the charging operation on unnecessarily.
MDLNB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2015, 06:22 PM   #7
55BigBlock
Gone Wild
 
55BigBlock's Avatar
Club Car
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NC/SC
Posts: 1,012
Default Re: Old batteries with desulfator

The Save A Battery unit I have is a maintainer and desulfator.

http://shop.saveabattery.com/48-VOLT...48-2365-48.htm

All I can offer is anecdotal, but my batteries seem as good now as they were when I first started using it 18 months ago.
55BigBlock is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2015, 07:02 AM   #8
MDLNB
Gone Wild
Club Car
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: The Villages, FL
Posts: 552
Default Re: Old batteries with desulfator

Quote:
Originally Posted by 55BigBlock View Post
The Save A Battery unit I have is a maintainer and desulfator.

http://shop.saveabattery.com/48-VOLT...48-2365-48.htm

All I can offer is anecdotal, but my batteries seem as good now as they were when I first started using it 18 months ago.
Interesting. I found that same model on sale for $75+ shipping on another site. I think I might jump on it.
MDLNB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2015, 08:30 AM   #9
passthru
Gone Wild
 
passthru's Avatar
Club Car
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Fort Worth, Tx
Posts: 500
Default Re: Old batteries with desulfator

Well man post that site so others can save as well!
passthru is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2015, 10:10 AM   #10
MDLNB
Gone Wild
Club Car
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: The Villages, FL
Posts: 552
Default Re: Old batteries with desulfator

Quote:
Originally Posted by passthru View Post
Well man post that site so others can save as well!
Not sure if this is allowed:

http://www.jbtoolsales.com/save-a-ba...ainer-48v-50w/
MDLNB is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply
Go Back   Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum > Golf Cart Repair and Troubleshooting > Electric Club Car


Thread Tools
Display Modes


Similar Threads
Thread Forum
Desulfator on new pack? Electric EZGO
Desulfator ? Electric EZGO
Battery Desulfator 36V Golf Carts and Parts
Battery desulfator Electric EZGO
desulfator Electric EZGO


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:46 PM.


Club Car Electric | EZGO Electric | Lifted Golf Carts | Gas EZGO | Used Golf Carts and Parts

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This Website and forum is the property of Buggiesgonewild.com. No material may be taken or duplicated in part or full without prior written consent of the owners of buggiesgonewild.com. © 2006-2017 Buggiesgonewild.com. All rights reserved.