Noob to carts, Bought 08 Precedent

[ripdis85]

Hey guys,

First off, I'm new to this golf cart thing and I live in Hawaii.. I just bought a 08 Precedent (Electric) two seater for my lot. I has 4 12v batteries and the SN starts off with PQ0801 (dont know if this can tell anyone anything)

I have been lurking the forum and was wondering if anyone could tell me if there are some things I should check?
Are there any things that I should replace that are known to go bad on precedents?
Should I clean certain contacts?
Any tests that I should run?

Overall the cart is in good condition, minor wear and tear and no issues so far. Some of the tie rods up front look rusty and some of the bushings for the shocks and leafs look like they need to be replaced.. I don't know how old the batteries are (is there a way to tell.. sorry noob)
The cart runs good I guess.. Idk how fast its supposed to go. The accel is not as strong as expected.. kind of slow off the start.. It will take two people up a long driveway hill (about 30 degrees or more) but slowly.

My plan is to add a rear seat and maybe a 6 inch lift later.

I have read about upgrading the battery cables to 4 guage and that looks like a good idea.. where is the best place to get these?
Also what else can I do to help with cart go up the hill quicker since I'm gonna be adding a rear seat?

I want to try and get the most out of this motor before changing it out since its still running.. what else can I do guys?

Sorry so many questions... like I said I'm still a noob at this

Aloha,
Brandon

[GLEEMO]

click on site sponsors at the top of the page for cables and other parts.

Bigger controller , or spend $225 on motor upgrade and get both speed and torque.

[OLD MEC]

FIRST WELCOME TO THE FORUM.
The bushings are a fairly easy task for you to replace. Minimum is simple wrench set and a good jack ( cart weight is close to 1000 pounds so be careful ) and 2-4 auto type adjustable height jack stands. On the tie rod ends if you mean rust is coming out of the boot area its time to replace because they are already worn beyond safe usage, OR if only minor rust a GOOD GREASE JOB may solve that problem?
On a 2008 CC you most likely have original batterys, but look on surface of battery posts where cables connect you should find stamped there like J8=January 2008? The life of 12 volt batterys is much shorter than 8 volt batterys and power and range are 25%-35% LESS? So you may be looking at possible new set of batterys? If you have 30% or more of grade to climb I would strongley recommend the replacement of you 12 battery pack with 8 volt HIGHEST QUALITY batterys available with highest amp hour rating available, Like ( Trojan T-890, Crown?, US? brands ) ( a conversion kit is available from Club Car and simple to installation ) and the installation of 4 guage multi stranded welding cable MINIMUM cables throughout. Then if your CC dealer will perform the change get the IQ controller set for maximum setting ( 3-4 ). With a battery cart you need a few supplies, digital volt meter ( 0-60 volts minimum I use a cheap Harbor Freight units $4-$7. ), Some type of battery distilled water dispensing unit ( flex hose to reach close to wall batterys ), house baking soda and a soft brass brissel brush for cleaning cables and contacts, a small grease gun, a low pressure tire guage ( 0-20 pounds ), a good single float temperature correcting scale hydrometer ( NOT A MULTI FLOAT ANTIFREEZE TESTER ). All parts needed are available ( except for CC only items ) from the forum's sponsors that make it possible for us to continue to help you.
If your going to be adding a rear seat you should consider the addition of either an additional leaf on each rear spring or much stiffer multi leaf HD springs and at that time also replace all bushings.
In stock condition and good batterys your speed should be around 8-12 MPH thats what they are set for golf course use. The hill climbing is another thing that you must accept to a certain point as again they are designed for minor hills available on golf courses. Too often new owners think a cart should climb a hill like a auto but remember that you have around 3 1/2 HP compared to a auto of 150 plus HP.
AGAIN WELCOME TO THE FORUM

[rogerthedodger]

ripdis85, thanks for all the good questions, I needed to know too! GLEEMO and OLDMEC, thanks for all the answers.
Roger

[ripdis85]

GLEEMO and OLDMEC thanks for the answers to the questions.. they helped alot. if i do the conversion kit.. does it come with a new controller or do i just reuse the old one?..

[GLEEMO]

The kit old mech mentioned , is only to change carts which have 4 x 12 Volt batteries , to a cart which has 6 x 8 volt batteries. This extends the runtime and power and NO it does not come with a controller the one U have will still work 48 Volts is 48 Volts.

If U have 12 Volt batteries then wait until they are at end of life then buy the Battery kit and replace the 12's with 8's.

[ripdis85]

Took a multimeter to the pack today and found the it to be 47 volts.. not good right?.. charger was off when I got home today... 3 batteries are at about 12.3 - 12.1 volts and one battery is about 10.7 volts.. looks like I need new batteries.. ****.. water levels are all good.. batteries are originals so its time to change..

Should I do any other tests or could it be the charger?

Idk if I wanna do a conversion just yet.. maybe just new 12v batteries will do..

I'm not driving the cart very far distances.. maybe like a mile and a half every other day..

What 12volt batteries do you guys recommend?.. looks like no US batteries dealer on oahu.. looks like trojan has a couple dealers on the island..

thanks guys

[OLD MEC]

Sorry to say that you have the one battery gone ( 10.7 ) to confirm if you have a auto 12 automatic charger try getting the one battery up, worth a try HUH? Then if it still wont come up, open the billfold. Remember you get what you pay for and in electric cart batterys nothing is too good in QUALITY. Example the Trojan 8 Volt T-890 battery is rated at 190 Amp hour rating, while the 12 volt T-1275 is only rated at 150 amp hour. If you are later going to upgrade motor and controls I would definitley go with 8 volt battterys, as 12 volts will not give you the performance you will be paying for in upgrades.
You didnt mention Crown batterys as they pretty much cover the states but maybe not there? Some of the fellows are having good luck with Walmart Sam's batterys I guess in the most expensive ones available? If you have Walmart there it might be worth a check? I know there was not one when last I was in Hawaii.

[GLEEMO]

Go to Crown, US website , check the battery specs against what Trojan has .
Figure out which fits U'r application and Call them.
They can deliver many miles and still save $$ over Trojans.

[ripdis85]

So weird thing today... I decided to clean battery terminals and connections just for the hell of it.. I turned key off, switched to tow then disconnected neg first then all other cables.. used terminal cleaner and washed with water... everything was disconnected for about 30 min. then connected everything back up and plugged it back into the charger..

I noticed before that charger would come on for about 1 hour.. then shut off.. tonight I noticed that the charger stayed on for a few hours.. meter on charger was about 3 or 4 amps

This is the funny thing.. Pack voltage is a little above 53 volts and ALL the batteries are at about 12.7 volts.. that good right?

Any idea what happened? Does this mean batteries are still good?