Cart bogs down on inclines

96rv

I recently purchased a 95 Ezgo 36 volt Medalist. This is my first cart. The cart does fine on level surfaces but the slightest incline bogs it down to almost a stop. The seller said the batteries were purchased new last year. They are Interstate U2200 Workaholics and they do look fairly new. I have not had them checked for age or condition. The cart needs a little work. The battery rack needs to be replaced and it leans to the driver's side which I'm hoping new springs will correct. I don't want to put a bunch of money into it if this is the best it's going to do. If the batteries are good is there something else that could cause this problem?

BGW

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JohnnieB

What is the battery pack voltage?
Should be 38.2V for a fully charged 36V battery pack when measured 12 hours after charger turns off.

A 95 Medalist could be a Series drive or a DCS.
If there is a Run/Tow switch on the controller cover, it is a DCS.

Springlake

When I bought my 95 it was supposed to have new batteries, too. I did not know about the stamp on the post to tell the year of the batteries. check yours out and see the year then you will know for sure.

I was pushing mine up hills during turkey season. I am lucky I did not burn something up. Try not to bog her down to a stop on those inclines, that's not good!!

Stay tuned here and you will learn a lot.. Enjoy your Medallist. My wife and I love ours..

Marc

DaveTM

Since you now own an electric cart, I strongly suggest (if you don't own one) to buy a Volt Meter: This one (I'm not recommending it in particular) I just googled and found at http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...FaXm7Aod4FsA7A Northern Tools.com.

But....someone else may chime in and have better options. These are not expensive and worth their weight in gold for DX-ing electrical issues on your cart!!

FWIW

Dave

Springlake

Good call Dave!

Also include in your purchases, the cart installed digital meter from scottyb

Attached Images

scotty battery meter.jpg (43.1 KB, 0 views)

96rv

There have been some ups and downs since my last post. I have installed a new battery rack and rear heavy duty leaf springs. I replaced all of the jumper cables and several other cables as well as cleaned the battery post and connections on the motor. I took the batteries to my local Interstate distributor. He told me the batteries were not purchased new last year like the seller told me. He said the gray top U2200 Workaholics have not been manufactured in at least four years and based on the date codes he believes they are much older. The up side is they all checked good. He used a hydrometer and load tester and said they were all good. But after everything I've done the cart still bogs down on inclines when going forward. I tried backing up a hill and I believe it has more power in reverse. Also the new leaf springs did not fix the lean. I think it helped but the cart still leans to the driver's side. I did not replace the front springs would this help? The tires are all the same size and I don't see any obvious problems with the frame. I could use some suggestions on what to do next.

mike777

so it sounds like you bought your cart from an obese liar. probably over loaded the springs and sacked them out or maybe a broken one, you probably need new batts

yurtle

You still haven't answered the first question posed above, whether you have a series or a sepex.

All buggies will slow down going uphill. My series with old batteries would really slow down, but it would still run all night long. I had a neighbor whose buggy did about the same, and even with new batteries, he was surprised at how little improvement they made on hills, though endurance and speed on flats were much improved.

I guess what I'm saying is it's hard to quantify subjective statements. There are many variables such as passenger weight, incline, possibly dragging brakes, speed decrease and voltage drop while climbing hills. Your golfcart rep said your batteries tested OK, so wait until you get a digital volt meter and get some readings.

96rv

My cart does not have the run/tow switch so I guess that makes it a series?

yurtle

Kewl. Now buy a digital volt meter, any cheap $10 - $20 one from Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, etc. will do. It will serve you for years.

One thing to check is the voltage of each individual battery and the pack 12 hours after a full charge. If that looks good, you can hook up the leads to the pack and monitor how low the voltage drops while climbing hills. If it's within reason, new batteries "may not" be necessary.