refurbish motor & batteries

[Jomama78]

Hello everyone… Newbie here. I just purchased an older EzGo cart and have some questions as I have never owned any type of golf cart before. The cart had not been used for the last 2-3 years, maybe longer… it just sat in a storage shed without the charger connected.

When we got the cart the battery cables were so corroded that they were broke loose from the batteries. I wire brushed the terminals and replaced the cables with new ones from the auto store. I was refilling the batteries with distilled water before our 1st charge and one had a crack in the side... the others did not require much topping off. I removed this battery and bypassed it… so I only have 5 batteries in the cart now. Is running off 5 batteries bad? Pricing batteries (E-3600 battery) came to about $88.95 each… is this average price?

The shop told me that they need my old battery or I would be charged an additional $10. This got me thinking about why they would want my old battery… so I searched for reconditioning batteries on the web and came across several interesting articles. I also came across this site. I have read numerous threads on here and also about the distilled water and Epsom Salt battery refill method. I realize that once the plates are gone, well they are gone… junk. My batteries have a 2003 sticker on the side… is it worth trying the Epsom Salt and water or should I just get new batteries? $600 is a lot for batteries so I would like to keep it as cheap as possible.

The cart runs on the 5 batteries… after the 1st charge only about 30 minutes and the 2nd charge about 1 hour… it is on the 3rd charge now. If I were to only buy 1 battery, would this hurt the new one having 5 old batteries hooked to it? I don’t want to strain it and cut it’s life in half or even more.

I don’t have any fancy tools or even a volt meter… I am planning on getting one tonight to ensure the remaining 5 are holding a charge. If they are holding a charge, should I leave them alone or try to recondition them (they are 2003 batteries)? I may get a hydrometer tonight also, I recall seeing one at Wal-Mart for around $1.00.

I have the charger that came with the cart… it appears to be from the late 70’s, but is it better to chain 2 batteries together and use a regular 12 volt car charger on them to evaluate their condition (ie. volt meter, hydrometer, etc.)?

What should I go to the electric motor (if anything)? Any type of maintenance, reconditioning/refurbish, etc?

Thanks in advance.

[mudduck2]

i am also new to site if you find out i have the isssue, thanks for any help

[ogre'sdad]

Welcome to the forum. Lot of controversy around batteries. I've tried the distilled water and epsom salt thing a few time and have not had much success. I have, however, had a great deal of success with reconditioned batteries. In order toc heck your batteries pucrchase hydrometer from your auto store and, if possible, borrow or rend a battery load tester and apply it to your batteries as instructed. Running one battery short will decrease your running time and may damage the existing ones by applying a higher current than needed. I.ve found reconditioned Trojan 107 for about 40 bucks and have been using the for over a year with no problems. Try getting one battery and charge the crunch out of them and give that a try, maybe you'll get lucky...it happens.

[dcannow]

I wouln't run on 5 batteries very long. You are dealing with 6yr. old batteries that sat for years with no charge. I have had GOOD results with the Epsom Salts treatment but in your case it would be temporary at best. If it is a good cart consider a set of Trojan 605's, usually around $85/95 each and twice the life of the chain store cheappies. Good batteries are the key to having a good cart project. One good battery with others sick will merely cause the charger to cook the good one while trying to fullly charge the weak ones.Good Luck