2005 36v EZGO - Need help please

hiperf2007 · 03-31-2014, 10:05 AM

We have a 2005 36v EZGO cart that has been working great for several years. Last summer the cart suddenly started not holding a charge. I was not much involved in the cart because other people in the family took care of it. In the end the cart was brought to my house and I jumped on it for the first time and took it around the block and it died. I opened the seat to find the cable behind 4 and 5 battery broke. I fixed the cable and checked everything else and it ran fine but still had problems with not last long. It was put away for the winter (heated garage) and was just pulled out last night. I charged it up (took about 4 hours guessing) and took it down the block. It suddenly started slowing way down until it would not even climb the drive way but the volt gauge on the dash showed fully charged and dropped 1 bar on this 1 block drive (which seems fast to drop). I brought it back in the garage and checked the batteries and all 6 pulled down into the weak when load tested. I pulled off all the cables and cleaned them all up and threw it back on the charger. It took off like crazy and made about the same length and started slowing down.
I put it back on the charger again and checked volts - 20 mins in and they were showing 40.2 volts - removed would show 36.8 volts. I let it charge for about and hour while I rigged up the volt checker to the batteries so I could take it for a run. Backing out of the garage it showed 36.9 volts - while hitting the throttle it would lower down to 33.5 volts. Took it down the driveway and headed up the street - WOT at this point would lower the volts to 29.2 volts and would plain back out when i was up to speed (back to 35.9. When I stop it will run back up to 35-36v. The more and more I run this thing I would see it go as low as 27.8 volts. So when the thing finally just slows way down and stops because of this problem I don't see below 27.8 volts but the funny thing is the guage on the dash still shows 90 to 95%.
I would figure i would watch it drop from 100% pulling out of the garage - down to 1 or no bars left if the thing would not even pull itself into the garage..........
Motor problem? but then why does it take off like crazy with it's off the charger just after an hour but then dies in until 5 minutes?
I don't want to throw $500 in batteries just to say...hey...lookie here - same problem.
Thanks with any help

hiperf2007 · 03-31-2014, 10:16 AM

I guess I expected to see it running around 38v and slowly drop to 27.5v ish? and then the cart be dead.
Not jump around from 36 to 27.5 depending pushing the throttle straight off the starter. Then when it dies and it comes back up to 33.5v (when it needs to be pushed into garage) it will not move after that.
But oddly the gauge on the dash shows it still has 90% battery life yet.
Don't understand that.

JohnnieB · 03-31-2014, 01:04 PM

Sounds like your batteries are little more than boat anchors.

If they weren't holding a charge last summer they won't be holding a charge now.
If they were holding a charge last summer and the sat in a heated garage all winter without being charged, they aren't going to hold a charge now.

The LED bar-graph type battery meters lie more than some politicians, so use a DVM type to check the battery pack's actual voltage.

The battery pack voltage drops when amps are drawn from it. The more amps drawn, the greater the drop and the sicker the batteries are the further they drop.

When you get your new batteries, be sure to break them in properly, keep them as full charged as possible and maintain the regularly.
This link explains how to break them in: http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Batter...n_Methods.html
While on the site, read everything with "Battery" in the title.

scottyb · 03-31-2014, 02:41 PM

I agree and when you charge let the charger finish. The charging is done in 3 or 4 phases. Doing phase 1 without phase 2 & 3 is not a complete charge.

cgtech · 03-31-2014, 06:56 PM

The 10 led meter has a 6 minute delay built in, and cant drop all bars at once, therefore it will never work right with old worn out batteries. The only time they are somewhat accurate, is on a set of good, balanced batteries. Believe the DVM readings, it was telling you the real story. Dont know the age of the batts, but they are worn out. When i was running electric, i actually had both, a 10 led meter and a digital volt meter.

sportcoupe · 04-01-2014, 04:02 AM

What brand batteries do you have and how old are they?

03-31-2014, 10:05 AM	#1
hiperf2007 Not Yet Wild Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 30	2005 36v EZGO - Need help please We have a 2005 36v EZGO cart that has been working great for several years. Last summer the cart suddenly started not holding a charge. I was not much involved in the cart because other people in the family took care of it. In the end the cart was brought to my house and I jumped on it for the first time and took it around the block and it died. I opened the seat to find the cable behind 4 and 5 battery broke. I fixed the cable and checked everything else and it ran fine but still had problems with not last long. It was put away for the winter (heated garage) and was just pulled out last night. I charged it up (took about 4 hours guessing) and took it down the block. It suddenly started slowing way down until it would not even climb the drive way but the volt gauge on the dash showed fully charged and dropped 1 bar on this 1 block drive (which seems fast to drop). I brought it back in the garage and checked the batteries and all 6 pulled down into the weak when load tested. I pulled off all the cables and cleaned them all up and threw it back on the charger. It took off like crazy and made about the same length and started slowing down. I put it back on the charger again and checked volts - 20 mins in and they were showing 40.2 volts - removed would show 36.8 volts. I let it charge for about and hour while I rigged up the volt checker to the batteries so I could take it for a run. Backing out of the garage it showed 36.9 volts - while hitting the throttle it would lower down to 33.5 volts. Took it down the driveway and headed up the street - WOT at this point would lower the volts to 29.2 volts and would plain back out when i was up to speed (back to 35.9. When I stop it will run back up to 35-36v. The more and more I run this thing I would see it go as low as 27.8 volts. So when the thing finally just slows way down and stops because of this problem I don't see below 27.8 volts but the funny thing is the guage on the dash still shows 90 to 95%. I would figure i would watch it drop from 100% pulling out of the garage - down to 1 or no bars left if the thing would not even pull itself into the garage.......... Motor problem? but then why does it take off like crazy with it's off the charger just after an hour but then dies in until 5 minutes? I don't want to throw $500 in batteries just to say...hey...lookie here - same problem. Thanks with any help
hiperf2007 Not Yet Wild Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 30

03-31-2014, 10:16 AM	#2
hiperf2007 Not Yet Wild Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 30	Re: 2005 36v EZGO - Need help please I guess I expected to see it running around 38v and slowly drop to 27.5v ish? and then the cart be dead. Not jump around from 36 to 27.5 depending pushing the throttle straight off the starter. Then when it dies and it comes back up to 33.5v (when it needs to be pushed into garage) it will not move after that. But oddly the gauge on the dash shows it still has 90% battery life yet. Don't understand that.
hiperf2007 Not Yet Wild Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 30

03-31-2014, 01:04 PM	#3
JohnnieB Techno-Nerd Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Virginia Posts: 19,654	Re: 2005 36v EZGO - Need help please Sounds like your batteries are little more than boat anchors. If they weren't holding a charge last summer they won't be holding a charge now. If they were holding a charge last summer and the sat in a heated garage all winter without being charged, they aren't going to hold a charge now. The LED bar-graph type battery meters lie more than some politicians, so use a DVM type to check the battery pack's actual voltage. The battery pack voltage drops when amps are drawn from it. The more amps drawn, the greater the drop and the sicker the batteries are the further they drop. When you get your new batteries, be sure to break them in properly, keep them as full charged as possible and maintain the regularly. This link explains how to break them in: http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Batter...n_Methods.html While on the site, read everything with "Battery" in the title.

03-31-2014, 02:41 PM	#4
scottyb Happy Carting Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Southern California Posts: 73,406	Re: 2005 36v EZGO - Need help please I agree and when you charge let the charger finish. The charging is done in 3 or 4 phases. Doing phase 1 without phase 2 & 3 is not a complete charge.

03-31-2014, 06:56 PM	#5
cgtech Over This Interview Is... Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: AZ Posts: 17,449	Re: 2005 36v EZGO - Need help please The 10 led meter has a 6 minute delay built in, and cant drop all bars at once, therefore it will never work right with old worn out batteries. The only time they are somewhat accurate, is on a set of good, balanced batteries. Believe the DVM readings, it was telling you the real story. Dont know the age of the batts, but they are worn out. When i was running electric, i actually had both, a 10 led meter and a digital volt meter.

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04-01-2014, 04:02 AM	#6
sportcoupe Gone Wild Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 2,760	Re: 2005 36v EZGO - Need help please What brand batteries do you have and how old are they?

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