New to me Cart

[slammer55616]

I bought a 2003 Club Car yesterday. 48v.. paid 1800 for it. I went 18 holes with it today. It runs good... real strong low end torque and very fast downhill. Going uphill it slows down almost too much. also, it seems to "free wheel" when you let off the gas.

While I dont mind the "speed", I wonder about how slow it goes up hill. It doesnt stall or anything but its just.....slow uphill...

Is this normal or is there something I can do about it?

thanks

[shadowman]

depends on the hill, yes its normal for them to slow down but if its slowing that much.....make sure you let charger finish doing its job, leave it on until it shuts off on its own...............if that dosn,t resolve it check batteries / cable and load test each battery, are they 12 or 8 volt batteries? do you know how old they are........other then that HOW DARE YOU use it for golf.............lolol.................enjoy...... .......................

[slammer55616]

They are 12 volt batteries. The cables look okay but, then again, I dont know what I am looking for. lol. The terminals arent corroded or anything like that. This thing "flies' going downhill but going uphills, it really slows down. Much more than the ezgos at the course... I should add that it was converted to 4-12 volt batteries. Over the winter, I think I will put it back to 6-8 volt or 8-6volt whichever it is but, for the rest of the golf season, I'll just leave it alone.

I got a lot to learn about carts and will be spending many hours reading topics here. Some of the things I want to do is put a small lift in it, different wheels/tires, new dash w/stereo in it, head/tailights, etc...

thanks for any advice..

[erict]

Originally Posted by slammer55616

They are 12 volt batteries. The cables look okay but, then again, I dont know what I am looking for. lol. The terminals arent corroded or anything like that. This thing "flies' going downhill but going uphills, it really slows down. Much more than the ezgos at the course... I should add that it was converted to 4-12 volt batteries. Over the winter, I think I will put it back to 6-8 volt or 8-6volt whichever it is but, for the rest of the golf season, I'll just leave it alone.

I got a lot to learn about carts and will be spending many hours reading topics here. Some of the things I want to do is put a small lift in it, different wheels/tires, new dash w/stereo in it, head/tailights, etc...

thanks for any advice..

Switching back to 8v won't increase speed or torque but will increase run time and life of batteries.

[Scott H.]

Originally Posted by slammer55616

it was converted to 4-12 volt batteries.

Serious question here, when it was converted did they use Golf Cart Batteries or regular Deep Cycle Marine Batteries?

If they didn't use Golf Cart specific batteries, the batteries won't work correctly and that may be the cause of your slowing down issue.

-Scott H.

[hawk]

Originally Posted by Scott H.

Serious question here, when it was converted did they use Golf Cart Batteries or regular Deep Cycle Marine Batteries?

If they didn't use Golf Cart specific batteries, the batteries won't work correctly and that may be the cause of your slowing down issue.

-Scott H.

exactly, anything will fly downhill. it the batteries arent properly loaded for golf cart use, those batteries wont manage power correctly for hills.

[slammer55616]

Yep... they are regular NAPA deep cycle batteries... oh well (sigh)... looks like a lesson learned...THE HARD WAY!..lol. So I know Trojan batteries are the choice but what are the Interstate golf cart batteries like? I only ask because the company I work for recently added Interstate as a vendor and I can get them at employee cost....

thanks

[Scott H.]

I hate to say it, but you just found the problem. Regular batteries just don't have the available amperage to power the cart correctly when under a load.

Once you get the correct batteries in there you should be fine.

-Scott H.

[slammer55616]

Thanks for the help...lesson learned... Interstate is supposed to be US Batteries and I read that US Batts are good batteries. I dont want to make another mistake but, HOLY COW, are batteries expensive. Employee discount for an 12v is $125.... dont know 8v but I think I might as well convert it back now....

thanks again!

[Scott H.]

You're not alone, I learned the hard way too when I first started.

I still have my junk cart running on Marine Batteries, but it's just to roll around the property and pick up yard debris until the cart finally dies. With the ton of problems it has, I'm not going to be putting any money into it unless something drastic changes so my test batteries are staying in it for now.

Originally Posted by slammer55616

I might as well convert it back now....

If you're going to convert them over, now is definately the time to bite the bullet since you're going to have to replace the batteries anyway. No use in paying for the batteries twice.

If you're wanting to upgrade to bigger cables, now is the time to do it too since you're going to have to purchase a couple of cables to convert everything back anyway.

-Scott H.