Electric golf cart running slow

[danlewis75]

I bought a used golf cart a week ago. I got it home and it drove pretty fast. After the batteries got lower i recharged them. The charger said the batteries were fully charged after four hours. The seller said the batteries were almost a year old. The cart is not going as fast as it was when I got it a week ago. It's a 48 volt cart. The charger on the cart is built inside it. Any ideas?

[chloe]

What cart did you buy?
Is the charger a stock item or a custom replacement?
How low did you allow the batteries to go?
Do you have a real volt meter, either built-in or handheld, with which to monitor the voltage?
Do you know the date stamped on the battery posts?
Is the cart full stock, full custom, or somewhere in between?

[danlewis75]

It's a 2007 ruff and tuff. Everything on the cart is from the factory and no add on's. The cart has a built in charger the just has to be plugged in the wall. It charge for 3 hours and the charger reader said it was completely charged. I would say I let the batteries drain until about 25% before I started to charge it. The charger is a Delta qui 912-4800.

[chloe]

Not a lot available on that brand. I assume it is a Chinese copy of an ezgo.
The data I found says it has an on-board meter. So, I assume you read that and decided when it was fully charged. What was the total volt package at that time? Or is it some type of sliding scale readout that said it was full?
In any case, it would normally take more than three hours to charge a good pack to full. Especially after having had some usage, as you describe.
You didn't indicate how old the batteries are/what the date stamp says. You didn't indicate how low you had run the batteries.
It could be as simple as the charger is set to the wrong charging program.

http://www.evdrives.com/product_p/cgr-912-4800.htm

[Volt_Ampere]

You need to measure your battery voltages after charging and see if they are normal. Post them here and compare to the SOC (State of Charge) charts that are published here.

[danlewis75]

I looked for the battery stamp date on top but couldn't fint it. The guy I bought it from said they were replaced May 2015. I ran the batteries to about 25% battery life left. The charge indicator on the dash had two bars left. If it's a programming issue how do you know what code to use? I wouldn't think it would be a code issue because the cart is a 2007 and has used the built in charger since then and when I first got it, it ran pretty fast.

[cgtech]

Measure pack voltage after charge & post that number here. Individual batteries after charge might also be good. What brand/type batteries?

[danlewis75]

How do you measure pack voltage?

[chloe]

Go to Sears or other such store and buy a good volt meter. Ensure it has a reading that will cover the voltage of your cart, plus 25%. That would be at 60 volts on the high side. Remember you are working with DC, (direct current) voltage.
Place the positive terminal on the primary positive terminal of the volt pack. That is the positive terminal that IS NOT connected to another battery. The big cable will lead off somewhere else. Do the same with the negative terminal from the volt meter. Again, the primary negative lead will not go to another battery but off somewhere else. Turn on your meter and give us that total voltage.
Now, after removing your meter, plug your charger in. Walk away. Don't come back and check it until the next day. Unplug the charger and walk away again. After no less than 12 hours, do another battery pack test just like the last one. Let us know what that number is.
Your battery charger has an automatic shutoff. It does not need constant monitoring, like a normal car charger, and it is very likely you unplugged it way too early. The battery guage is going to show what the batteries tell it. If the charger is plugged in, it's showing what the batteries say WITH the help of the charger. Additionally, NEVER run your battery pack down to 25%. That is a very fast way to destroy a brand new set of batteries. Lastly, the date stamp for your batteries will be on the top of the positive post of each one. It will be a 2 character, alpha-numeric.

[scottyb]

Go here and watch the how to meter video > http://www.cartsunlimited.net/troubleshooting-.html The short video will tell you where to buy, how to choose, and how to use the voltmeter. Then get an in-dash digital meter to monitor battery usage....the bar graph meters are notoriously inaccurate.
There are several other battery tutorial pages on my website which you can access from the main menu