New owner 92 EZGO runtime/charging problems

XSV

Hi all, sorry this is my first post but I am in need of some help here. I bought a 92 EZGO 36v a couple months ago for my parents to get around on. The problems I'm having with it are as follows.........

Cart seems to have a very short run-time. I'm not sure what the average run-time is but I know its not close. Batteries seem to drain very quickly, even after 10-15 mins of ride time.

When I plug it in to charge sometimes it will only charge for a half hour and shut off. Other times it will charge for 12 hours before shutting off.

I've cleaned all the connections and added water. I guess what I need now is where do I go from here? Does this sound like a battery issue or something else? How do I test the batteries individually to see which ones need to be replaced?

Thanks in advance!

BGW

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pggroves

How old are the batteries?
Check each battery with voltmeter for voltage and hydrometer for specific gravity.
What is pack voltage?
What is pack voltage near end of charging cycle?

Lots of questions I know but your problem does sound like battery issue.

Good luck and

XSV

Thanks for the quick reply. I am going to borrow a friends voltmeter to test the batteries. My dad used a hydrometer and they checked out ok, but that was after a full charge I believe. I will start testing tonight and tomorrow and see what results I can come up with. I know that some of this stuff should be really basic to check, I just needed some direction on where to go first. Thanks again.

scottyb

The batteries need to 'settle' for 45 minutes after charging before testing. This will give a more realistic test. Check it yourself test em after the charger shuts off and again in 45 minutes. Same thing for the specific gravity tests.
Also it is not recommended to add new batteries into an old pack.

PS: run time should be at least 1 hour of actual peddle time +/-

rusty

Welcome to the forum XSV...................

XSV

Ok tested batteries tonight then put on the charger to charge overnight. There was a lot of corrosion on the inside where the charger plugs in. Also, there was corroded posts where I have yellow arrows pointing to. Here are my results, hope the picture come out(sorry for quality)...bottom 2 batteries where its hard to read are 6.17 and the very bottom is 4.87

Attached Images

golfcart.jpg (60.6 KB, 22 views)

XSV

Thanks for the welcomes btw

scottyb

Okay. you have 5 good batteries. The 4.9v battery is likely a gonner. I am sure you have checked the water level in all of them? But as I said you are much better of finding a used battery at the local cart dealer or battery store? Bring your voltmeter when shopping for used batts. Find one that shows the same voltage as the rest of your pack and you should be good to go . I would guess to say that this cart would benefit from some new battery cables. Of course I recommend 4 gage welding cable. Good Luck

pggroves

The reason you would like to see pack voltage at the end of the charging cycle is to make sure the charger is putting up sufficient voltage to charge the pack. You should see somewhere around 45-46v at end of cycle. After pack settles you should be ~38v+. Each individual battery should be ~6.3+.

You have Trojan batteries. There is a letter and number stamped in to the positive post of each battery. Letter is month and number is year for their birthday. i.e. F4 is June of 2004.

Corrosion is a four letter word on electrics. CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN!!!! All cable and wire connections should be routinely checked, cleaned, and tightened.

For your further edification:

Study here! It will "pay" dividends on battery performance and service life.

XSV

Update...I called some local places today and nobody has a used battery. I will eventually replace the whole set, It's just not something I can do right now. Anyone around here have a good used battery they want to come off of? Thanks for all the help and good information. I will keep updating as I move forward.