Batteries won't fully charge HELP!!

Jamesotn

36 volt 1997 Club car DS charger lestronic ( works perfect on other carts ) batteries are brand new from sams club ( I have used several sets of these before with no problems. With multimeter I am showing:

5.7 to 5.8 on each battery

35 volts thru the full circuit

Cables are on correct....no corrosion

charging with direction control in neutral ( my other carts show 37.6 )

Batteries are Duracell...load tester shows just barely 6 volts on each

3 show slightly weak under load

This one has me puzzled and I could use some pro advice....Thanks

BGW

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Stevegrmich

. . your batteries are less than 50% charged . . . are you sure you have all cables on properly, especially the positive connection from back of charger port to correct battery?

Jamesotn

Battery readings are with a multimeter, not a hydrometer. Red wire from charger port goes thru a fused link and then into forward/reverse controller...from there to the positive terminal of the 1st battery in the series. Al cables are clean and properly installed....the cart runs

Thanks

branson

unplug the charger and put the test leads in the charger port on the golf cart and see if there is voltage

scottyb

Quadruple Check the (+) to (-) series connections from battery to battery.
Check charge port reading as suggested, it should be very close to pack voltage.
Even new batteries should not read below 6v
Sounds like these batteries have sat for a very long since the initial activation charge. They may be damaged goods.

Jamesotn

Batteries purchased a week ago....fresh off the shelf at sams...I resell these carts at a modest profit and can't afford the Trojans. I do have a good friend that has over 4 years on his Sams batteries and no issues. Used the charger on another cart and it functioned perfect. I did change the battery cables awhile ago and re set the charger. Drove the cart and it runs well ???

Jamesotn

update: It is a club car 36 volt charger. I hooked it up last night to another club car and it worked perfect. Plugged it up to problem batteries an hour ago...charge meter showed 20 amps just came from checking Voltage at charge port 36.8 voltage from positive on series to neg of series 36.8 BUT the charger was still showing 20 amps after more than an hour

Jamesotn

rechecked and the voltage @ 4:22 is 37.6 but charger is not attempting to shut off

scottyb

It should not shut off until about 44-46 volts.

The fact you bought the batteries last week or that your friend got 5 yrs from his set has nothing to do with how long a set of batteries sits before they are actually sold. They could still be sulfated but, you know that and a SG test would tell the tale.

Jamesotn

Learnin a lot today Thank You !! Should the sidewalls bulge if sulfated? And what is an SG test ? Didn't know a club car charger doesn't shut off till it attains 44 volts ...I guess what is bothering me is it's been on several hours now and the gauge on the charger has hardly moved below 18 amps Oh my... at 70 my mind ain't workin too good...sg is a specific gravity test I bet. I don't own one of those but I better get one Thanks