DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

When I started doing a complete overhaul of my Precedent, I knew that when the batteries finally needed to be replaced I would probably bite the bullet and do the 4x12 volt to 6x8 volt battery conversion.

That time came. And just like Driver33b in a post dated from 2009, I could not fathom paying over $480 for a conversion kit, which in my opinion, looks like crap when it's done. So here is my story about doing an *Almost Free* conversion. I created it on a separate thread to make it easier to search, though I will tell you I did everything that Driver33b did in his conversion with very little change. The tools I used were about the same, though I did not use a hack saw, I found that a Dremel with a cutting disc attached worked better for me in the delicate cuts.

Because the cost of 2 new (additional) battery cables was only $4.95/ea, I decided to just buy two additional cables. I also decided on replacing my batteries with Crown CR-190 batteries. I'm a HUGE fan of Crown batteries mostly because I have a lot of experience with them in industrial machines.

Tool List...
Small angle grinder
Dremel tool with a cutting disc
Chalk
Standard Pliers
6-inch Flat blade screw driver
Paper templates
Flat metal or wood file
Bench Vice, Vice grips, and a Propane Torch (all for bending the hold-down hooks)

The jist of this whole conversion is that you are cutting into the battery tub on the front-facing side to allow the batteries to protrude into the space between the tub and the body panel. Only one battery per side will protrude from the tub into the body cavity.

1) Flip the RUN/TOW switch to TOW.
2) Remove all of the battery cables, tape up the positive terminal connected to the OBC to prevent discharging the capacitor in the OBC.
3) Remove your old batteries.

Make three paper templates, or footprints, the size of your new batteries. Use these to determine your placement. A short block of wood, or short level will help determine if the "floor" of the battery tub has been sufficiently cut/ground down properly - use this as your check to determine that you have flattened the floor of the tub where it needs to be flat.

On the rear interior of the tub there are two molded-in angles, each about 2 to 3 inches long and about 1 inch high. One angle is on the rear, bottom. One is on the side, bottom. These have to go. As Driver33b pointed out in his article, there is a wiring loom running along the front and sides of the tub, between the tub and the body wall. Be careful, cut shallow.

Along the inner side on the floor of the tub, next to the center “console”, there are two protrusions that used to serve as the retainers for the 12volt batteries. Both of these have to go. Grind them down flat with respect to the floor of the tub. In all, there really isn’t a whole lot you have to cut on the rear and the sides of the tub.

Turning to the front of the tub, you will cut a window just slightly larger than the entire long side of the battery. Mark your cuts in chalk first. Because there is a wiring loom on both sides of the battery tub front, I decided to just cut the first 3-4 inches from the top... then across the battery length. This gave me the chance to reach down through the area I cut and safely move the wiring loom out of harm’s way. Then continue to cut down the remaining amount and across. Grind your cut as flat to the floor as possible. Here is where I found the Dremel tool (with a cutting disc) was great for the tough to reach areas. If you’re using an angle grinder, be careful of how deep you cut, you don’t want to touch the inside of the outer body panel with your cutting disc. Use a file to clean up and rough edges.

Repeat all of this for the opposite side.

On the passenger side, there is a large wiring loom between the tub and front panel. There are also molded features on the rear of the actual body panel that prevent the wiring loom from sitting flush. You will need to cut notches into these molded features, just enough to allow the loom to sit flush within the notches you cut. Using the Dremel here makes these cuts a snap. Cut carefully.

Shop vac the whole mess. You will be covered in sticky plastic dust... but it is worth it.
At this point I cut up thin pieces of wood trim to place on the bottom of the tub to level out batteries that would otherwise not sit flat. I suppose I could have ground the heads off of bolts but I didn’t want to cut any more than I had to.

Place the new batteries in, positioning the front batteries first. For simplicity of wiring, and getting all of the battery poles lined up properly, you will want to position the front batteries with the posts closer to the front wall. It seems counter-intuitive, but you’ll see why when you go to wire it all back up.

If you cut both sides of the battery tub properly, there will be plenty of room between the batteries to not only reuse the hold down hooks, but also the same plastic keeper from the 12V cells. So let’s modify those...

Bending the hooks is a snap. You’ll need a large pair of vice grips, a bench vice and I used a torch. Mount one hook in a vice, hook-side up. Using your torch, heat the area just below the hook until it glows cherry-red. Then using your vise grips while the metal is cherry-red, gently and carefully twist 90 degrees. Plan ahead. You want the kink of this hook to point to the rear of the cart, and you want each hook end facing the outer side of the cart. That means one hook is bent 90 degrees to the left, the other is bent 90 degrees to the right. Heating the metal cherry-red before bending makes bending them effortless, it also causes much less stress on the metal. Allow them to cool after you bend them. Brush off any scale with a wire brush. I gave both of mine a shot of fresh enamel paint to prevent rusting.

For the two plastic battery retainers (I call them “keeper bars”), I flipped each one over and cut the protruding rib flush about 1/3 of its length. This will be the portion that contacts the top of the front battery. The remaining portion of the rib sits between the two rear batteries. That one little mod will allow the keeper bar to sit between, and Flat on top, of each 3-battery group.

Now stop for a moment...
Did you have any 12 volt accessories that were powered by just one of your 12 volt battery before? How about your lights? If you did, you can’t just simply hook it up. I have seen a few people suggest that you could wire it across two of the 8-volt batteries, and that most things will tolerate 16 volts. I HIGHLY recommend against this idea. When you charge the battery pack the voltage will rise even higher than 16 volts across any two of the batteries. Sorry if I’m insulting anyone... but that idea is just “hack”, and very amateur.

You have choices. You can choose a 16 to 12 volt converter, a 48 to 12 volt converter, or a separate 12 volt battery just for accessories. In my mind there are only two real choices: the 48 to 12 volt converter or a separate battery. Remember this: unless you wire an on/off switch for the converter - it will draw a slight amount of current even when no accessories are on. It’s negligible, but it is a draw.

If you choose the converter route, choose a converter that has enough current. Twenty (20) amps would be a minimum in my mind. If you power lights and a horn, possibly a stereo... 20 amps will be plenty **except** when you draw short bursts of current... like using the horn, at night with your lights on. (amazing how much current a horn draws momentarily!) Some stereo systems are sensitive to a current sag, and may “reset” if you use the horn and there is not enough current available.

I have a deep-cycle 12 volt battery on board just for accessories, mounted up under the space behind the battery tub. Sure, It’s a bit of a pain to use two separate chargers (one for the cart and one for the accessory battery) but we’ve gotten used to it, and I’ve installed a second charger plug, just to make it simple.

Back to the pack...
Rewire the whole pack, pay special attention to polarity.

<Continued in Part 2>

DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 2)
 

<Continued - Part 2>


Did I change my OBC?
No. Here’s why, and it’s a long story so hang on...

The dealers will tell you that anything less than version 5.0 is really designed for the 4-12V pack setup and will cause charging problems.

The amateur builders (I’m one of them) will say that 48 volts is 48 volts, it still has the same number of cells.

We’re both wrong - sort of. True, 48 volts is 48 volts, and the batteries still have the same number of cells, BUT the cells have a larger plate area and are capable of a bit more energy storage (hence the higher amp-hour rating). As for the rest of the "sort of" - read on.

It took me close to two weeks of contacting different people at Ingersoll Rand, I was honest during each call explaining my background and looking for information. To make a long story short I was finally put in touch with a programmer that works on the team which supports the code in the OBC eeprom. Persistence pays off. Here was the bottom line...

(some of it maybe you knew, some of it maybe you didn’t)
His story:
The OBC controls the charge rate of the battery pack both with the PowerDrive charger, AND with the Regen feature. Where the programming of the version 5 or higher OBC will make a difference in charge is if you have not disabled the regen of the motor/controller. It has a slightly different algorithm for the Regen when you have the (6) 8-volt batteries as opposed to the (4) 12-volt batteries, mostly to control current and HEAT that can be realized when in the brief periods of Regen. With regard to the A/C PowerDrive charger; when you first plug it in to a pack that needs to be charged... the charger runs at max regardless of the (4) 12v or the (6) 8v set up. And will continue to charge at the normal rate, but may hold that rate slightly longer with the (6) 8-volt batteries than with the (4) 12-volt batteries. The “taper charge” at the end, switches to a constant voltage anyway.

His words:
You’ll not notice any difference in charging with the A/C PowerDrive charger. Unless you are using the Regen feature (meaning, if you have not modified your cart for high-speed and disabled the Regen feature), there is no difference. The changes affect the algorithm and charging of the Regen function. There is no significant difference between the version 3 and the version 5 or higher OBC that affects the A/C Charger. There are, however, some slight differences for the computer with regard to fleet management - but those don’t affect functionality of the A/C charger.

I know, I know... As I write, I know there are going to be people arguing about this. All I can say is: It’s your choice, believe what you choose. I don’t care. I’m not Moses. And this is not Mount Sinai. This guy’s explanation at Ingersoll Rand was good enough for me. I’m just sharing what I learned, do with it what you want.

So what’s it like? How does it work?
Break in your batteries following the advice that is repeated on this forum and by many dealers and experienced “modders”. Carefully use them for the first 25 or so cycles, never going beyond 50% depth of discharge. What you are actually doing is “growing” the plates with each charge, as the substrate becomes a little more spongy. This is a good thing, as it is creating slightly more surface area on each plate. It is by design.

The first full charge is a little odd... it appeared my OBC had to re-learn what was considered “full charge”, though I don’t really know what it was actually doing. The charger ran much longer than expected. However, after that the performance has been outstanding. The charger operates normally after the initial charge. Since I’m a big math freak, I also calculated out what my actual increase in capacity has been (using a hygrometer as my point of reference... a volt meter or state-of-charger meter does not have that fine of a resolution.) I have obtained about a 21% increase in overall range. What is important about that is NOT that I can go 21% further, although I can, ... but is that with each use, I discharge the pack 21% less deeply. This means you will realize a much longer overall battery life, given the same distance travelled.

I have zero regrets. I saved a ton of money, and a lot of work. Cutting the tub carefully is actually less work than removing rear seats, the body panel, the tub, rewiring harnesses and mounting electronic assemblies. With the money I saved, I bought the brand new, high quality batteries I wanted. And I’m thrilled with the performance. I would recommend this type of “garage” conversion to anyone who is handy and mildly knowledgable. As with any handy work... the quality of appearance and performance is directly proportional to the care you put into it. Think first, plan it out.

Pictures are attached, though I did forget to snap a shot of the front tub cut-outs prior to installing the batteries. But look carefully at the "finished AFTER" photo, you can see where the two front batteries nest. The last picture is the cart (a buddy of mine went to pick up beer!)

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Nice job and great write up. Also, good info on the OBC..:thumbup: I had just replaced my batteries in May and thought about doing the 8v conversion but for what and how I use my cart the 12v serve me fine......for now..:wink:

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Thank you.

You're not alone. Many people I've met use the 4 x 12V batteries just fine.
It really depends on how you use it.

Ours is Florida registered Street Legal (with a VIN#, tag and title). We use it as an actual LSV. My goal was to reduce the "depth of discharge" with each use. And since the 4x12V and the 6x8V (190AH) batteries were *approximately* the same price, the answer was right for me.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

I couldn't find the thread..:shock: WOW, it made it to the sticky quick..:thumbup:

I agree like many that the 8v conversion is a no brainier if and when new batteries are on the list and the cart gets alot of seat time.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

I've been honored with Sticky... (uuuh, wait that doesn't sound right. :lhmo:)

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 2)
 

For people's convenience, I have formatted this into a PDF document.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Fantastic write up:thumbup: Only wish you could have added some detailed pictures of the cut outs before the battery install. Certinly deserves to be a sticky!

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

There's a bit more detail in the PDF uploaded (above). Really the only thing missing is the picture of the cut-out for the front batteries... but no imagination is really necessary - the cut is just slightly larger than the size of the entire battery. :-P

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Well I did a lot of reading and decided to do this as my cart is torn apart waiting for a new motor and controller. I have a pretty good roto tool and it zips through thsat plastic like melted butter. I cut smaller pieces out rather that the whole rectangle for the battery so I could really see what I was cutting into and make sure I did not hit any wires. About 45 minutes and done with one side. Looks like this is gunna work darn good. Thanks for posting this.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Congrats on making the move... and good luck.

Yeah - thats what I did (and wrote about)... cut a piece (in this case the top section) first, before cutting the entire space for the battery. That allows you too move harnesses out of the way. Glad you picked up on that.

Best wishes. You won't regret it!

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Just an up date: put batteries in. Did not have access to a torch so I just took the hold downs and put them on concrete and mashed them straight with a sledge. Then I went underneith the cart and slid them up between the batteries. Perfect. Easy and took about 5 minutes.

Why is that armature curved anyway?

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

So now i have about 1.5 hours into this modification and I have batteries in one side, just waiting for controller and motor til I finish the other side, but it is all grinded out and ready for bats.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Here is my build so far

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

:thumbup:
Looks Awesome!
Looks like you're using Trojan Batteries.
I hope you went with the T-890 's. (rated at 190AH at the 20hr rate)

You have to be cautious, Trojan sells a T-860 that will end up not being significantly different than the 12V packs because they both have a 150AH current rating at the 20hr rate, and only marginal difference in their overall capacity. The T-875 is better, but not by a whole lot.

They all look identical on the outside and even have the same case dimensions. The difference is in their plate design. They slightly modify a waffle-like pattern on the plates that yields a high surface area of lead composite. The general rule of thumb I've seen printed often is "more lead is better". This is true, but less important than surface area is. More surface area = higher capacity.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

They are 875's they did not have 890's or I probably would have got them.

The rating is the same as the US Batteries I have in my other cart and they perform great. The 12's I had were junk, my bat light would come in at about 18 holes.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Which brand of 12's? Also how old were they?

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

They were Trojans, but I do not know how old, I never looked at a date code on them.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

If you were only getting 18 holes then I would say they were at the end of there life.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Age is a factor, for sure, but not the only factor. A previous owner can improperly use and maintain a 2-year old set of batteries and render them all but useless in that amount of time. Especially by continually taking them to 80% or more depth of discharge.

I agree with erict, you should definitely get more than 18 holes on even a decent set of 12v's... unless your course is on the side of the Alps, I suppose.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

I would have to agree discharging them 80% of a state of charge is the call of death for any battery...:|

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Well, just got back from vacation, and installed my new motor, controller and batteries. Everything looks like it went in well, everything works.

Not sure about the old bats but they were junk, and I am sure the new system will be much better. Thanks for posting this Canine Pilot, it is an awsome upgrade.

I still think my way for the battery hold downs is easier than torching and bending, just flatten with a sledge and shove them up from underneath.

Anyway, thanks again!

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

I did the conversion, (thanks Canine) absolutely no problems, until a friend that was helping fried my lights and horn. Somehow it did not blow the fuse. My question, am I going to have to get new light kits and horn.? The front bulbs exploded, pretty sure he hooked them up to 48 volts without a converter, the rear lights are led....any ideas?

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Wow, that sucks that he did that to you.
First thing is first... make sure your 12V system is correctly wired to 12V or a 12V converter.

The light "shells" are still good (light bar in front). So just replace those bulbs and you're good to go.

The rear LED lights may or may not have survived. Take each assembly out of the cart (they are simple to remove). And connect it directly to a 12V battery to see if it survived. If it lights, you're good. If not... just replace the whole tail light(s) assembly. They are inexpensive enough, and you probably won't find the replacement LEDs as easily as you can just replace the whole light.

The horn is a similar story. Pull it out (or leave it in, depends on how much access you have to the connector). Hook up 12V to it directly and see if it still works. If it does, good. If not... well, you get the picture. If it works outside of the cart, but won't work when connected to the cart... then you also fried the horn relay. It is located behind the dash panel that holds the key switch.

Now there are some other problems to consider. If he connected your 12V system across the 48V pack, there are also flashers and a brake light "time-out" timer that could have been damaged. I would replace your front bulbs, and be sure your tail/brake lights work (after repair or replace)... return them to the cart.

I assume you have a Club Car Precedent... When installed back in the cart, If the tail lights work, but the brake lights do not, you probably fried the timer. This is located under the floor board, roughly behind the pedal box. You'll probably need to replace that.

If your front lights work, but the turn signals no longer flash... your flasher is probably fried too. That is located behind the dash panel that also holds the key switch.

It's no surprise you didn't blow a fuse. Fuses protect against over-current... not over voltage. I'm sorry your friend made it more difficult for you. The good news is that the most expensive item: the light bar, is the one item that won't be seriously damaged. You'll just need new bulbs. I'm glad you didn't have a stereo in there!

Your friend owes you several beers. I recommend Cigar City Pumpkin, or even better... Cigar City Jai Alai.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Thanks for your post regarding the conversion to 6 x 8V batteries. I have completed the conversion without a hitch and it looks great. My question is in regard to the charging. I have a 2007 CC Precedent. I did not change out my OBC and I have a Powerdrive 2 charger. I put it on the charger all night and when I checked it in the morning it was still charging at 5 amps and it did not shut off even though my voltages across the board read full. 51 volts for all/ 8.4 per. I have not modified to high speed so the regen is still active. Is this my problem? If I modify to high speed will the charger shut off "normally"? I am worried about burning up brand new batteries.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Just let them charge you do not have a problem. The first couple uses just dont over use the cart and drain emdown too much, more like a light use and then a shallow charge to bring them up to full.

Your obc will probably be just fine, I have had no problems.

Also, my bats read 68 volts toward end of charge with charger attached and running. After being off the charge awhile my pack drops to 51.9 which is normal.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Techraid... Speedchaser is right. Just let it complete it's full charge.
Your OBC is fine, and does not need to be changed for this at all. (read original story).

That high-voltage/low current float at the end of every charge is intentional. This is where the charger is tapering with a slightly higher voltage to prevent battery stratification. Always let it fully complete every charge cycle.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

I just bought an 05 CC Prescedent and have several "upgrades" planned. this is my first regen cart so I do not know the ins and outs of the regen feature. I plan on installing a larger motor and controller for increased torque, any increased speed is nice just not the goal so I do not intend on disabling the regen feature...so my question is what is the definition of "disabling the Regen feature" and how is that done.
I guess i am testing the waters to see if this modification to the 6 batteries in some way increases the difficulty of installing the larger motor and controller by not disabling/or disabling the regen feature.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

This mod has nothing to do with regen and will not effect it whatsoever, and will not change anything to the cart function whatsoever except a better battery pack.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

I have the speedylink installed on my cart ('04 Precedent). Will I be ok with doing this conversion or will I run into any issues with anything as far as the OBC goes?
Thanks!

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Will not cause any problems, go for it.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

i forsee problems with this setup. 1. that bucket does not provide adequate ventilation. the re-style does but still not best.
2. you do need to change your OBC. that obc was made to charge 4x12. not 8x6. there is a difference. trust me. id hate to see someone POTENTIALLY ruin batteries by doing this. i'm all for home brew remedies, but this is an area you shouldnt skimp on.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Been fine for four months and no problems, but you probably know more than us.

There is more ventilation cuz i cut holes in bottom and sides of bucket, try it and see for yourself.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

U know what bothers me bout posts like this is they are alays pushing new parts on us, obc, new wires etc, etc.. I will let you know if there are any problems with this setup.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

My only reply to the comment is this:
I know for a fact the conversion is electrically safe. Where's my fact come from? I have over 25 years in the power conversion / RF industry and two degrees in the field.

This said, I do NOT know the details you may know about the club car. I make no claim to be an expert in that field and I will consider the advice of any person with experience in that realm. I know that I can make decisions based on empirical measurement such as temperature readings (via IR probe or thermocouple)... and I can take measurements on current and graph them over time. And since I have these capabilities... I'll do that. Because the last thing I want to do is make a post that would contain bad information.

Here's what I will do:
I'll thermocouple the controller and OBC and see how the temperature fairs over normal usage. (Since their configuration is no different than they were from the factory, I wouldn't anticipate a problem... but I'll do it just to confirm). And,
I'll connect the data port on the controller to the handheld programmer (which I've recently acquired.) The CC OBC records energy units used and then returned to the batteries during charging. At the same time, I'll use a Fluke datalogger to measure the voltage curve over the charge / discharge cycles.

Understand... my intention is not to start a "post" argument. None of us have anything to gain from that. But I accept your concerns, and your knowledge on the topic. And I appreciate your position. I want to make sure my statements are ALL accurate. I will post what I learn.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Interesting indeed. Especially the unique attitude that somebody is trying to get rich tricking somebody into buying something they don't need or that 4 months and it still works is a conclusive battery life-cycle test.

I'm curious as to why the Club Car and the Lestronic engineers would make a different OBC for 4/12 batteries and 6/8v batteries. I assumed the algorithm or total cell count to voltage shut off point was different. (pretty sure that's it)

I have no horse in this race but will wait to read your results CRP :thumbup:

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

Scotty - I don't know. As you well know, the Total "cell count" is the same regardless of the battery configuration. Basic chemical physics: a single lead acid cell produces a given voltage, and that voltage is always the same. So to achieve a total voltage of 48... the number of cells is the same. (whether you do that using 6 8v batteries or 4 12v batteries... the number of cells, in total, is the same).

Now the cell capacity is a different story. Larger plates= higher capacity.
As I mentioned in the original post, the software guy at Ingersoll indicated to me is the OBC firmware revision changes accommodated different current demands in REGEN mode. So, if your cart was programmed to disable REGEN, then the version difference from OBC 3 to OBC 5 wouldn't make a difference under that condition. So GolfCartThing's comment has merit, but I'm being told by Ingersoll that situation would only apply if my REGEN function was active. I have programmed mine off.

However - I'm not so pig-headed that I wouldn't consider another expert's opinion. SO... I make all of my decisions based on test and data. I'll let you know what I learn from the measurements. I question the "ventilation" logic mentioned above... considering the computer and controller position haven't changed from the original factory locations. And since that portion of the tub wasn't modified, and remains within the enclosed plastic channel... it doesn't seem reasonable that the temperature would be any different. But, in fairness I'll measure that and post what I find.

There's no race here. I think we are all wanting the best information to get the most performance, cart/battery life and safety for the most reasonable amount of time and money. I'm a big advocate of "you get what you pay for", but at the same time, I'm also a big advocate of cautiously not wasting money and materials when it's not needed... We have become a disposable society and some of it can easily be avoided with a little knowledge.

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

LOL - here's a laugh...
My better half just walked by the desk and read my post on the screen after I wrote it, then looked at me and said: "I thought you were doing this because it was a fun hobby?" :lhmo::violent1:

I'm glad there's someone in my life to balance the "nerdiness"!

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

CRP, that would be great:thumbup:

Scotty, I was referring to the charging cycle and whether it is charging the batteries, I think 4 months is sufficient.

My pack is at about 66-68 volts during last pase of charging.

My last charge was Saturday, and pack voltage this morning was 50.7

Re: DIY - 4 x 12v to 6 x 8V Conversion (Part 1)
 

The obc is programmed to charge the batteries that came in the car from the factory. The algorithm for one brand to another is different. I know on the DS car the obc can be 2 different ones depending if it came with Trojan or us batteries. Not 100 percent sure on the precedent. What I do know is that the charging algorithm for 4x12 is different than 6x8. You should be using a power drive 3 charger with 6x8 because the pd2 doesn't have enough amperage. Or use a power drive 1 charger