Loaded question on battery life ?

[hitmanharleyk]

Should '05 Trojan batteries be dead ? I posted in another thread I got about 3.5 miles and the battery meter was very low on the cart I picked up yesterday.

Would you buy a volt meter first or just send it back in for a new set of batteries ?

Fully charged what should I get volt wise ?

If one or two is well below the others, do I replace those or the whole set ?


Sorry for all the questions, but I'm a newbie !

[roady89]

A voltmeter is not the very best way to tell the condition of batteries but it will help. You could have a good voltage but absolutely no amp hours left in the batteries. Age is not a real good indicator either, it depends on how the cart was used. If it came off a course and they used it all day every day then they have been cycled many times in a shorter period of time whereas an average joes may take 5-6 years to cycle the batteries the same amount.

The voltage should be real close to each other. Post the numbers of each battery.

[Texasworkhorse]

See forum link below fro battery voltages.

Also, simply charge two together with a 12 volt battery charger in a 2 amp capacity to see if a slow charge will benefit them prior to charging them together with the cart charger.


http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...omparison.html

Originally Posted by hitmanharleyk

Should '05 Trojan batteries be dead ? I posted in another thread I got about 3.5 miles and the battery meter was very low on the cart I picked up yesterday.

Would you buy a volt meter first or just send it back in for a new set of batteries ?

Fully charged what should I get volt wise ?

If one or two is well below the others, do I replace those or the whole set ?


Sorry for all the questions, but I'm a newbie !

[hitmanharleyk]

Cart came off of a private golf course here in my home town and the hour meter under the seat has 275 hours on it. Don't know if this is high or not ??

Course terrain is pretty flat with only a couple of minor hills.

[roady89]

Does the hour meter work? Take a voltage reading from each battery and post the numbers. You could have 1 bad battery in the pack and it will drag the whole system down.

[Nate]

If a 6V battery cannot sustain a good amp load the voltage will drop fast. If a 6V battery drops below 5V under load quickly after a charge it is bad.
It is recommended to replace all batteries as a set rather than one at a time.

[hitmanharleyk]

how much is a volt meter ?

Walmart have them ?

[roady89]

Yes, Walmart has a couple of different ones. Buy a good one. If your going to work on your own electric carts it is a must have tool. I bought mine there, it was about $25. It was the most expensive meter they had, they do have some cheaper.

[hitmanharleyk]

These readings seem high, maybe I'm not using the meter right !

I ran to Walmart and picked me up one and it has settings for 1.5V, 9V and 12V, which should I use ?

I tried 9V and 12V, both gave me about the same #'s
#1 6.79
#2 6.70
#3 6.80
#4 6.81
#5 6.79
#6 6.80

I disconnected the cart from the charger and according to the power meter on the dash, it was about 90% complete or so. Charger was at about 3 or 4 amps when I disconnected it.

[roady89]

9 or 12 is fine. The second one.....6.70 is probly the culprit. The rest look ok. Take a reading about an hour AFTER it gets finished charging, thats why the numbers seems high. Waiting an hour will allow them to settle a bit and give you a better reading.