A 48v charging problem

[ShepHol]

I repair 2000 & 2001 ClubCar DS carts at a S. Mich Golf Club. (122 carts) I am self taught using ClubCar service manuals. Right or wrong I have observed the following regarding battery charging
- A charger will not turn on if the sensed voltage of the battery pack is less than approx 42v. We have installed a switch that bypasses the charger relay on two of our chargers allowing the charger to charge battery packs with voltages below 42v. It usually takes 20 minutes or less before the batteries are sufficiently charged to go back to normal charger operation. If the switch is left on the charger will not turn off.
- Reading battery voltage on an unloaded battery is next to useless. A battery pack reading 52v unloaded will immediatly drop to 46v or less when a load is applied.
- A single sulfated cell in one of the six batteries is enough to sometimes cause the charger to not shut off. Also once a cell has been run dry adding water will not always bring it back and it seems to shorten the life in the remaing batteries.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by ShepHol

I repair 2000 & 2001 ClubCar DS carts at a S. Mich Golf Club. (122 carts) I am self taught using ClubCar service manuals. Right or wrong I have observed the following regarding battery charging
- A charger will not turn on if the sensed voltage of the battery pack is less than approx 42v. We have installed a switch that bypasses the charger relay on two of our chargers allowing the charger to charge battery packs with voltages below 42v. It usually takes 20 minutes or less before the batteries are sufficiently charged to go back to normal charger operation. If the switch is left on the charger will not turn off.
- Reading battery voltage on an unloaded battery is next to useless. A battery pack reading 52v unloaded will immediatly drop to 46v or less when a load is applied.
- A single sulfated cell in one of the six batteries is enough to sometimes cause the charger to not shut off. Also once a cell has been run dry adding water will not always bring it back and it seems to shorten the life in the remaing batteries.

WELCOME TO BGW
You are ahead of most on the battery learning curve.....Also note: Batteries prefer remaining charged up as opposed to drained. Never leave a drained battery to sit. Always recharge after use. And a little known fact is excessive heat drains more power from a battery than excessive cold....And your last note on a single bad cel is absolutely true! This is why it is so important to know your individual battery condition. The charger will stay on trying to bring up the bad cell, thus cooking the 5 other good batteries to death (overcharging).