Charger seems to take forever to charge new batteries

eltesoro1

I purchased new Trojans last month. I have been attempting to follow the battery break methods mentioned in several post. The issue i have is last week the charger did not cutoff after at least two days. Put it on charge on Thursday at 10 PM, returned back to my camp on Saturday at 9 AM, and the charger was still charging with the 80% light on.

This was only the third time to charge the new batteries. I immediatly checked the water level in fear it had dried them out. Luckly only one cell in one battery seemed to have exposed the plates. Prior to this charging the water was correct in each battery.

Since then i have closely watched the charger. if it does not cut off after 7 hours or i hear what i think is heavy boiling i unplug them.

Three questions
Is my charger bad
did i ruin my brand new batteries ?
what charger is the best?

BGW

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Old3Leg

I would check the voltage of each battery and the whole pack. As long as you're in the range of fully charged, I wouldn't worry about anything.

Use a timer on your charger if it doesn't shut down. That's what I use at the baseball park to be more FOOL proof.. I've had cases where the charger was on all weekend and I'm the only one who seems to check the water level. Everything hot.. not good. A few plates showing.. still worked fine. Timer and Water.. Done. :-)

scottyb

It could be a bad battery OR a bad charger........ what charger is it? Most chargers are set to shut off at 16hrs regardless. The charger is set to shut off at a preset pack voltage of say 63v for 48 volt system. If you have a bad battery then the pack may not reach the cut off point. Don't mess around with your battery $ investment. Get a meter and find out what is going on here.
What is the pack voltage Now?
How long since it was charged?
Recheck the water.
Put in on charge, what is the pack voltage after say 2 hrs, 4 hrs, & 6 hours?
Post the results here.

Old3Leg

The charger we have for the baseball park doesn't shut off. Some of the older ones don't.

Get a hydrometer at the Auto store for $10 and check the chemical level in the battery.

Google "Battery Hydrometer" and click on "Images".. check out the yellow chart on page one.

If the voltage is around the level it should be, and the cart runs with power for a long period of time (being new batteries).. then I wouldn't worry much about it. Use a timer.

A voltgage / ohm meter is cheap at Hardware store and the hydrometer will tell you pretty much everything you need to know about new or slightly used batteries.

simple man

Double check your wiring hookup, especially where the charging taps are connected. Measure the voltage at the charging receptacle and make sure it matches the battery pack voltage! You wouldn't be the first person to err in a hookup!

rib33024

The last thing you want to do is unplug the charger before the charger is done, and turned off by it's self, if you unplug your charger before it is done you are hurting your batteries

scottyb

The Hydrometer is about as accurate as string line level. Most people don't know how to choose the right one or how to read it or what those readings mean.
If your charger is not automatic it is about 25 or 30 years old and you may be due for some new technology.
These batteries are very expensive and benefit greatly from an accurate voltage cut off charger.

eltesoro1

Will have to post it this week end when i get back to camp

Old3Leg

This is were the term K.I.S.S. comes in.

If you have a 36V cart and you read about 38V after charging your good.

If you have a 48V cart and you get about 51V your good.

When charging - you can check it and see what it is.. it will be higher.. you can look that up.

If the charger doesn't shut off and you have the proper voltage - you can either go out and spend a few hundred on another charger or you can put a timer on the one that's charging right now. A few hours if not used much or 3-4 hours a day if used everyday. The volt. meter can help guide you if necessary.

If you don't get the numbers you're looking for.. doing a voltage read on each battery will nail it down to a problem battery.

From there the hydrometer which reads (Good, Fair and Bad - pretty simple) will tell you if you have a bad battery cell in one of the batteries. A bad cell will be obvious.. it won't lift the dial much at all. Just sit there.

That happened to me once. My local mobile cart mechanic did exactly that and showed me exactly where the problem was.. simple.

Good clean cables and tight connections.

Have fun!

eltesoro1

My cart is 48v. all the batteries had a reading between 8.49 to 8.55 and the last time it was charged was Sunday night. The charger's 80% light was on when i unplugged it. I will have to use it this week end and bring the batteries down to re-charge to keep a closer eye on what exactly the charger is doing.