2006 EZ GO PDS --- 2.5 year old batteries seem to die?

[dankfoot]

Hey guys,

I have a 2006 EZ GO PDS with battery's that are about 2.5 years old. Yesterday, I charged the cart and went around the block 1 time and on my second lap the cart died. LOL, I had to push it home.

( it was doing this over the summer also )

It's garage kept. Almost always have it plugged in. Plenty of water in the battery's.

Issue: When going down hill it has no problem; however, when going up hill it seems to kill the battery's very fast. ( My neighborhood has "slight" hills. )

Notes:

I don't have any lights or anything else running off the battery's.

When I plug in the charger it only seems to charge for 1 hour to 1.5 hours. (I'm timing it now) (Seems like it should be charging longer?)

I do have a speed jumper wire installed. I also have bigger gauge cables.

Each battery was just measured at 6 volts

Any opinions or help?

#### On accident, I do leave the key in the on position a lot. Is this a big issue? ####

Thanks

[beach cart]

Charge it until the charger shuts off, wait 12 hours and use a hydrometer to check each cell. Just reading 6 volts means notta. It does sound like they are shot.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk

[dankfoot]

Beach Cart,

Thanks for your reply. I'm trying to borrow a hydrometer today to test the battery's.

Doesn't 2.5 years seem like a short battery life? I thought I would get around 5 years. I try to take care of them. (They were brand new interstate)

Does leaving the key in the on position hurt them?

[JohnnieB]

Unless you have a charger that float charges after the regular charge cycle, having it plugged into cart almost all of the time doesn't keep batteries charged.

What make/model charger do you have?
What model Interstate batteries do you have?

The controller in a PDS cart is powered up all the time unless the Run/Tow switch is in the Tow position, so the keyswitch being on or off doesn't make much, if any, difference.

For the most part, just measuring battery voltages is sufficient for troubleshooting battery packs and chargers. What is the battery pack voltage and individual battery voltages about 12 hours after charger shuts off?

How long it takes to charge a battery pack depends on what there storage capacity is (AH rating), how much they are discharged and how many amps the charge puts out, plus some lessor factors. unless they are nearly at full charge when the charger is connected, the charging time will most likely be a lot longer than 2 hours.

[dankfoot]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Unless you have a charger that float charges after the regular charge cycle, having it plugged into cart almost all of the time doesn't keep batteries charged.

Johnnie, I try to every so often unplug the cart and then plug it back in. I do this even if the cart has not been driven. Sometimes I do this once a week to sometimes I will go maybe 3 weeks.

It the cart has been driven I try to always plug it in. Of course I forget sometimes.

What make/model charger do you have? I will confirm ASAP.
What model Interstate batteries do you have? I will confirm ASAP.

The controller in a PDS cart is powered up all the time unless the Run/Tow switch is in the Tow position, so the keyswitch being on or off doesn't make much, if any, difference. Thanks

For the most part, just measuring battery voltages is sufficient for troubleshooting battery packs and chargers. What is the battery pack voltage and individual battery voltages about 12 hours after charger shuts off? I will check again. Each battery was measuring 6 last night after a charge

How long it takes to charge a battery pack depends on what there storage capacity is (AH rating), how much they are discharged and how many amps the charge puts out, plus some lessor factors. unless they are nearly at full charge when the charger is connected, the charging time will most likely be a lot longer than 2 hours.

Yea, I'm confused by this. I charged it up last night and it took about 1.5 hours "give or take". Then I rode up an down the street a few times and on my last trip going slightly up hill it basically started crawling like the batteries were dead. I plugged it in and I think it only charged for 1 hour and then shut off.

[JohnnieB]

For battery pack voltage measurements, one digit to the right of the decimal point is typically enough. A fully charged 36V set of Interstate batteries should be 38.2V

For individual batteries two digits to the right of the decimal point is needed. A fully charged 6V Interstate battery should be 6.37V.

At 6.00V they are less than 50% charged.


The symptoms of the cart not traveling very far before it starts to crawl indicates the batteries aren't being fully charged, or aren't holding a charge if they are being fully charged. Could be battery issues or charger issues or both. Cold weather is also a factor, batteries don't have as much storage capacity when cold and produce fewer amps.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by dankfoot

Yea, I'm confused by this. I charged it up last night and it took about 1.5 hours "give or take". Then I rode up an down the street a few times and on my last trip going slightly up hill it basically started crawling like the batteries were dead. I plugged it in and I think it only charged for 1 hour and then shut off.

I suspect you have an older style charger (ferroresonant transformer type) which shuts of when the on-charge voltage climbs into the 44V-46V range.

There are some battery faults that will allow the on-charge voltage to rise rapidly without actually taking a charge and excessive resistance in the cables and connections can also cause this issue.

I've gotta take my wife to a dental appointment this afternoon, but I'll check back later.

[dankfoot]

Johnnie,

Once again I really appreciate all the help.

I have done a little more investigating. At this time I do not have a battery hydrometer. I will try and get one tomorrow.

Its been almost 24 hours since my last charge. When I got home from work I measured all of the batteries and they were ALL right on 6 volts. The battery pack is 36.2

My charger is a power wise. Looks almost new.

My batteries are all interstate deep cycle. They were purchased from a local golf cart store in July 2015.

That is basically the same time I bought my cart. When I was looking for one I specifically wanted the cheapest cart with the newest batteries.

I really hope it's not the batteries. I really try to take decent care of them. BTW, my cart is garage kept.

One more question. My neighbor has an EZ GO 36 volt also. Should I try his charger?

[JohnnieB]

A digital voltmeter is all that is needed to diagnose most battery pack problems and far easier to use than a hydrometer. Figuratively speaking, it is akin to using an electron microscope when a magnifying glass is adequate for most tasks.

Powerwise is a trade-name and there are at least half a dozen different models of Powerwise chargers. I suspect you have the model 28115 pictured below.

Interstate has at least six grades of deep-cycle batteries that fit golf carts and range for 208AH up to 251AH. The standard 6V battery for a 36V battery pack is 225AH.

Your batteries are only 50% charged.

Yes, try your neighbor's 36V charger. That should tell us if the problem is in your cart or your charger.

[dankfoot]

Maybe this will help some.

It looks like the batteries are 208 AH