2020 Epic, Battery Drama. Lithium?

[JWBurns]

Dallas Texas. 2020 Epic, 475 miles, Leoch AGM batteries.

I’ve owned the cart for about 8 months. Purchased used from a gentleman off Facebook Marketplace.

Over the course of a few days I noticed the battery level on the display was a few bars lower than normal. Then one morning last week I noticed the battery charger was much warmer than normal while charging, as well as all of the batteries. IR temp on everything was 145 degrees.

Then the next morning I wake up to the batteries hissing and bulging, severely deformed. I immediately unplug the charger, and now I have a very expensive paperweight.

I reached out to Icon in an attempt to see if I had a valid warranty claim. I was told my cart model was a gen 1, which only carried a one year warranty on the batteries. I also attempted to reach out to the battery manufacturer, but no luck. I don’t have an original bill of sale from the original owner, so I realize I’m on my own here.

I’m sure the issue is due to a faulty charger or a battery that went bad, and I’m out of luck pursuing a warranty issue.. so I guess where I stand now is how to proceed?

Should I replace the batteries with AGM’s, and replace the charger while I’m at it for good measure? Or, do I bite the bullet on a lithium setup? I see Eco Battery offers a package that will fit my cart, but I’m not sure how difficult of an install that will be - like is any reprogramming necessary, or do I drop the battery and charger in and rewire and go?

I’m not nearly as educated on carts as you guys seem to be, so please bear with my ignorant questions.

Thanks