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Old 10-12-2013, 02:26 AM   #1
jlabs
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Default EZ-GO Golf Cart Battery Died in About an Hour

Hello,

I've bought a 2008 RXV Golf Cart from a local dealer of mine with 2 years and 2 month old battery. They are 3 12 Volt Trojan batteries. It's been about 5 days since I have purchased the golf cart and overall runs pretty smoothly. My only concern is that my battery dies really quickly in my honest opinion.


Now I do not know if this is normal or not, but I believe I only drove for around an hour going full speed (20 mph). I only drove on dedicated golf cart paths, since my city is a golf cart community. Also, before the battery died, I still had half charge, then it went down to "E" with a light indicator beneath it.

Please answer these following questions:
1. My golf cart died in about an hour, as in, it showed half charge, then it went down to "E". It slowed down in power but still had enough to get back home. Is this normal?

2. Should I be concerned that it reached "E"? My dealer has informed me that if it reaches "E", it's a bad thing. I looked at the batteries and it started smelling a little "chemically", and I see minor rusting on the cables that were not there before I believe.

3. Is the dealer responsible for this? We did have an agreement for 90 day warranty and it's only been a week. Was it my fault or would they be able to cover me on that?


-----


Thank you very much and any answer would be appreciated.
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Old 10-12-2013, 07:22 AM   #2
sportcoupe
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Default Re: EZ-GO Golf Cart Battery Died in About an Hour

1. Those bar type battery meters can be very inaccurate. We recommend a digital battery meter instead.

2. See #1

3. If you get an hours ride (full throttle) out of a set of 2+ year old 12v batteries that have questionable history you are doing decent. A brand new set would only last 2 to 2 1/2 hours full throttle depending on road conditions. I don't believe the dealer is liable for anything so far. Did the dealer talk to you about proper battery care and maintenance?
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Old 10-12-2013, 07:25 AM   #3
JohnnieB
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Default Re: EZ-GO Golf Cart Battery Died in About an Hour

For starters, an RXV has a 48V battery pack, which means it would have four 12V batteries instead of the three you mentioned.

Secondly, a 2008 cart is going on 5 years old and the batteries are a bit over 2 years old, so they are the cart's second set of batteries, which means the first set only lasted about 3 years. If the second set of batteries was as poorly maintained or abused as the first, they are approaching the end of their useful life.

Third, never, ever, discharge the batteries below 50% SoC (State of Charge)

Fourth, LED bar-graph battery meters tell more lies than politicians, so use a DVM (Digital Voltmeter) to determine what the battery voltage actual is.

Fifth, check the fine print on the warranty. It probably doesn't include the batteries, but if it does, discharging them below 50% probably voids it.

-----------
To answer your questions:
1. If the meter showed the battery pack to be half full, it should have been put on charge rather than driven. You are lucky to have made it back home, but you may have further damaged the batteries in the process.

Your 12V batteries very likely have a storage capacity rating of about 150AH (Amp-Hours) and when they are in perfect condition, can provide 56A for about 102 minutes, however that is totally discharging them and you don't want to go below 50%, so the cart will have an estimated run-time of about half that. Your specific cart may draw more the 56A while cruising or it may draw less, so the specific run-time for your specific cart depends on how many Amps are being drawn.

Put the cart on charger after each use or at least start out each day with a fully charged pack and never allow it to discharge more the 50%.

2. Your dealer is right. "E" is bad.
Lead-Acid batteries emit a foul odors while charging and discharging.
That is corrosion rather than rust and while it is normal, it is also bad.
The atmosphere in the battery compartment is corrosive and can be explosive (contains sulfuric acid vapors, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen), so the connections need to be cleaned periodically and sparks should be avoided.

3. This is between you and the dealer.
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Old 10-12-2013, 07:33 AM   #4
sportcoupe
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Default Re: EZ-GO Golf Cart Battery Died in About an Hour

Quote:
Originally Posted by jlabs View Post
My only concern is that my battery dies really quickly in my honest opinion.
I have to ask, what is the run time you expect or need from this cart? The RXV can be modified to hold 6 8v batteries instead of 4 12v batteries. The 8v would give much more run time then the 12v. Still, if you expect 4 hours run-time then that isn't going to happen without extreme mods.
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Old 10-12-2013, 07:52 AM   #5
JohnnieB
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Default Re: EZ-GO Golf Cart Battery Died in About an Hour

Expanding on run time a bit.

With an exception, run time is about the same how far a car will go on a tank of gas. It depends on how much fuel the fuel tank holds and the MPG.

Start/stop driving uses more fuel (shortens run time) than steady driving.
Jackrabbit starts uses more fuel.
Hauling more weight uses more fuel.
Climbing steep hills uses more fuel.

The exception: Unlike a car, when an electric cart stops, the motor also stops, so it doesn't idle and use fuel while sitting still.
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Old 10-12-2013, 08:29 AM   #6
kernal
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Default Re: EZ-GO Golf Cart Battery Died in About an Hour

I read this a little differently. I understand that you went for a ride with the battery gage showing about half and after about an hour the gage went to E and the cart slowed down but you where able to get home. Is this correct?

Does this cart have have a round battery meter that looks like a auto fuel gage or the aforementioned bar graph meter?

The cart slowed down because you used up the remaining charge and it went into "limp mode" allowing you to drive it awhile longer. This is normal for that model cart I believe.

As a general rule, charge the batteries fully when you are done with the cart for the day. Golf cart batteries don't tolerate resting at partial charge very well.

This sounds like you are in Peachtree city----true? If so the dealer probably didn't warranty the batteries if they were 2+years old but you might get something from him within 30 days of purchase if the batteries are proven to be worn out.

With fully charged good batteries the cart should easily do 20 miles before discharging below 50%.
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Old 10-12-2013, 02:17 PM   #7
jlabs
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Default Re: EZ-GO Golf Cart Battery Died in About an Hour

Quote:
Originally Posted by kernal View Post
I read this a little differently. I understand that you went for a ride with the battery gage showing about half and after about an hour the gage went to E and the cart slowed down but you where able to get home. Is this correct?

Does this cart have have a round battery meter that looks like a auto fuel gage or the aforementioned bar graph meter?

The cart slowed down because you used up the remaining charge and it went into "limp mode" allowing you to drive it awhile longer. This is normal for that model cart I believe.

As a general rule, charge the batteries fully when you are done with the cart for the day. Golf cart batteries don't tolerate resting at partial charge very well.

This sounds like you are in Peachtree city----true? If so the dealer probably didn't warranty the batteries if they were 2+years old but you might get something from him within 30 days of purchase if the batteries are proven to be worn out.

With fully charged good batteries the cart should easily do 20 miles before discharging below 50%.
Hello, no that is not what I meant. My golf cart was in full charge before I left and it was at "E" at around an hour and a half mark. It has a charge meter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnieB View Post
For starters, an RXV has a 48V battery pack, which means it would have four 12V batteries instead of the three you mentioned.

Secondly, a 2008 cart is going on 5 years old and the batteries are a bit over 2 years old, so they are the cart's second set of batteries, which means the first set only lasted about 3 years. If the second set of batteries was as poorly maintained or abused as the first, they are approaching the end of their useful life.

Third, never, ever, discharge the batteries below 50% SoC (State of Charge)

Fourth, LED bar-graph battery meters tell more lies than politicians, so use a DVM (Digital Voltmeter) to determine what the battery voltage actual is.

Fifth, check the fine print on the warranty. It probably doesn't include the batteries, but if it does, discharging them below 50% probably voids it.

-----------
To answer your questions:
1. If the meter showed the battery pack to be half full, it should have been put on charge rather than driven. You are lucky to have made it back home, but you may have further damaged the batteries in the process.

Your 12V batteries very likely have a storage capacity rating of about 150AH (Amp-Hours) and when they are in perfect condition, can provide 56A for about 102 minutes, however that is totally discharging them and you don't want to go below 50%, so the cart will have an estimated run-time of about half that. Your specific cart may draw more the 56A while cruising or it may draw less, so the specific run-time for your specific cart depends on how many Amps are being drawn.

Put the cart on charger after each use or at least start out each day with a fully charged pack and never allow it to discharge more the 50%.

2. Your dealer is right. "E" is bad.
Lead-Acid batteries emit a foul odors while charging and discharging.
That is corrosion rather than rust and while it is normal, it is also bad.
The atmosphere in the battery compartment is corrosive and can be explosive (contains sulfuric acid vapors, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen), so the connections need to be cleaned periodically and sparks should be avoided.

3. This is between you and the dealer.
How would I know if I actually discharged the battereis below 50% while on the road? As in inaccurate, do you mean that it's actually higher, or do you mean it's lower then the exact? Do you think one time incident of "E" will be fine if I manage my batteries well?

Thank you guys for your answers. Really helpful.
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Old 10-12-2013, 02:42 PM   #8
yurtle
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Default Re: EZ-GO Golf Cart Battery Died in About an Hour

The best thing to do is get a digital battery meter from here:

http://www.cartsunlimited.net/

While you're there, read everything about batteries. They're complex little beasts, if you're just used to a car battery, which you just use until it's dead, then replace. Buggy batteries can last just a few years, to more than twice that, depending on how you care for them.

Once you have that, folks her can provide a State of Charge (SOG) spreadsheet that you can print, laminate, and always know once you hit 70% it's time to head home. Of course, that depends on how far home is.
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Old 10-12-2013, 03:03 PM   #9
sportcoupe
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Default Re: EZ-GO Golf Cart Battery Died in About an Hour

Quote:
Originally Posted by jlabs View Post
Hello, no that is not what I meant. My golf cart was in full charge before I left and it was at "E" at around an hour and a half mark. It has a charge meter.



How would I know if I actually discharged the battereis below 50% while on the road? As in inaccurate, do you mean that it's actually higher, or do you mean it's lower then the exact? Do you think one time incident of "E" will be fine if I manage my batteries well?

Thank you guys for your answers. Really helpful.
A 1 1/2 hour ride full throttle is good run time for a set of 2+ year old 12v batteries.

Here's a chart that shows 50%, you will need a digital voltmeter to know for sure. You have a 48v cart so 48.40 volts is the lowest you want to discharge the pack. Volt reading is taken with cart stopped at least 5 mins.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg StateofChargeChart.jpg (53.4 KB, 0 views)
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Old 10-12-2013, 03:20 PM   #10
eflyguy
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Default Re: EZ-GO Golf Cart Battery Died in About an Hour

.. and you need to note the pack voltage at-rest, after you stop. I put a small label under my volt-meter that says DO NOT OPERATE BELOW 42V, so my wife and daughter won't damage the batteries.
..a
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