Battery Trouble on a Caroche?

srsteve02

I have a 1980 Club Car Caroche that we got just over a year ago. The batteries (Duracell Ultras) were new in March of 2014, and not spent the winters outside. The cart worked fine all last summer, but in the fall, one day they slowed waaay down. All of the sudden I couldn't even drive through mowed grass, let alone any kind of an incline. I brought the batteries home from up north, brought them back to Batteries Plus, they tested them, and also put them under load and said they looked good.

Fast forward to the spring, I put them back in the cart, same thing. I charged them individually, and together, for quite a while thinking maybe they were just that far down. Tried it again, made it 200 feet on level ground before we started to crawl to a stop.

The odd thing is, when I crawl to a stop, take my foot off the accelerator, and then push it down again, it jumps off like normal for another 50 feet, then crawls to a stop again.

So when I was taking the batteries back out this past Sunday (I'm getting sick of lugging 60 pound batteries around!), I notice one of the battery cables is a little melted around the end. I look at all of the cables, and the rubber seems to have "pulled back" from the metal ends.

For good measure, I had the batteries tested again yesterday, and they said again they look great. Could it really be as simple as new battery cables? If it is, which ones do I have to replace? Just the ones going from battery to battery, or do I have to figure out the solenoid ones and stuff as well?

Someone else thought perhaps I had it wired wrong, and that I was only using one or two batteries, but I triple checked that, and I don't think that is the case.

Any thoughts?

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BGW

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mrgolf

The cables don't look like they are wired correctly at first look to me. Is the red cable the main pack positive.

On edit those cables are sure sad looking.

meangreenmachine72

I cannot see picture clearly but I would get new wires only after you isolate problem. I guess you don't have a digital meter but if you do check each battery and then make sure you are getting 36 volts to motor. Check all connections throughout cart. Go to vintage golfcarts they may have schematic. If not I will check my files for you.

srsteve02

Total newbie question...as I "check" connections, am I just looking for corrosion and if they are tight? Should I look for anything else?

Also, when you edited that my cables are sad looking, does that mean they are indeed hooked up wrong, or that they need to be replaced?

I bought this as a Frankenstein cart, so I cannot guarantee which color of wire goes where, since I found when looking at my headlights that he used any color he could find for wires.

mrgolf

The red cable is connected to a negative battery post. They are hooked in series but if the red cable is suppose to be the pack positive then you have the whole pack hooked up backward. I'm not familiar with you model cart so I'm not sure on that.

The cables look to be in bad shap the ends look week and worn, if it were my cart I would be changing them, but I am a little picky.

srsteve02

I know the red cable is going to the master solenoid if that matters. Should that have been on a positive terminal for some reason?

meangreenmachine72

Hope this helps

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Volt_Ampere

Check out your wiring and check the volts on each battery. Make sure that they are all charged up in the correct polarity! I have seen batteries reverse charged because they were hooked up wrong.

teecro

Main Negative ---[- +]---[- +]---[- +]---[- +]---[- +]---[- +]--- Main Positive

It does indeed happen so as suggested look your hook up over carefully...

mrgolf

Like I said I don't know much about you model cart, but I think the master solenoid would be positive battery.