Battery charging issue

[AubAlum0509]

Both of the golf carts at my office have been out of service for going on 2 years. I finally talked the boss into letting me rework them. Both carts are identical. EXGO TXT w/PDS, I believe. Both have Trojan 6V batteries, 6 total, so 36 volt. these are stock carts.

The battery terminals were corroded up, and the wires were green. I took the batteries out, and put terminal cleaner, wire brush, and cleaned them really good. Then I added distilled water to the batteries. I replaced the battery wires with some wires I had from a cart I just rebuilt at the house.

I plugged in the charger, and it would cut on for about 1/2 second, then immediately shut off. About 10-15 seconds later, the charger would try and cut on again, but always shut itself back off. I am thinking this has to do with it being a smart charger, and since these batteries haven't been charged in forever, they don't have enough minimium voltage to be recognized by the charger, thus it is shutting itself off.

Before I go any further, yes I know I should get new batteries....

In saying that, is there a way, to trick the charger into thinking it has enough back voltage, so that it will turn on and attempt to charge the batteries?

I know you can do this with 12V batteries, by putting another 12V batteries in parallel with it, and let it charge a little while, then once it has enough voltage, you can just connect it normally.

With these plug in smart chargers, which must me intended for 36V systems, there isn't a way I can parallel all 6 batteries to get the 36.

Maybe I could charge each one individually, then get them reconnected correctly and let the normal charger take over?

thanks for the help.

[270Handiman]

Originally Posted by AubAlum0509

Maybe I could charge each one individually, then get them reconnected correctly and let the normal charger take over?

This is the answer.

In the meantime, save some money because the batteries are gonna be shot regardless of how much you charge them.

[Volt_Ampere]

If they sat for 2 years, the batteries are probably beyond salvage. They will be very sulphated. You can try to charge them individually (or in pairs) to get the charger to kick in but they may not be much good even with a charge on them.