ezgo 36v charging problem

[ol cart]

Hey guys,,i have a 1984 ezgo I bought a couple weeks ago. the batteries were shot but it would run so I could test it out. it came with a newer Quick Charge qpet36v charger. So, I finally got the batteries they are blems, but I tested each one with a load box and they showed fine. I also cleaned every terminal on cart. the AC light is on and the battery light is also, the end cycle light has never came on yet. it has charged for just over 9hrs. I can hear bubbling in batteries and amp meter sits at 5amps and has never shut off yet or dropped below 5amps. I am worried that I may fry $300 worth of batteries. Any thoughts or advice would be great...also the place I bought them tested also before I brought them home..

[simple man]

Let it keep charging! It may take twice that amount of time to charge new batteries! The boiling sound is normal. It's called "gassing" and happens during the end stages of the charge. As long as they don't get hot, just let her charge!

[rib33024]

Welcome to BGW

depending on how low the batteries were before you started charging them they can take up to 12 hours to fully charge, take your DVM meter and see what the pack volts are, the charger should turn off by it's self around 45 to 47 volts, now if there is a dead cell, or a bad battery the charger may never turn off, tell us what the pack volts are now, do not unplug the charger till it's done charging, you can take the volt readings with the cart charging

[ol cart]

I will let her charge. i'll check the volts also. thanks so much. I know my street rods but electric carts are new for me...thanks again

[ol cart]

Ok, my readings under charge are 7.57 7.40 7.55 7.37 7.52 7.37 been on all night and this is where its at and charger is still on.

[JohnnieB]

Which QPET36 charger do you have, the 36V units came in 12A, 25A and 40A versions?

Give Quick Charge a call and get an Operators manual.
The QPET series is an earlier generation than what they are currently producing, but it still might have user selectable switches/jumpers inside that need to be set for the batteries you have.

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The voltages given are approaching the range where chargers typically shut off.
For Trojan batteries that would be in the 2.45 to 2.79 VPC (Volts per Cell) range, or 7.35V to 8.37V for 6V batteries, and it would be a bit higher for US Battery or Exide.

What brand and AH batteries do you have?

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Like the others said, let them charge until the charger shuts off automatically.

[ol cart]

its a 12A. and they are Interstate batteries........by 10 am this morning they were charged 19hrs. and still at 4amps on charger.

[JohnnieB]

Interstate has five grades of 6V golf cart batteries with 20 hour Amp-Hour ratings ranging from 208AH to 251AH, but which grade you have doesn't matter too much since it is going to take about twice the time to charge them with a 12A charger than it takes with the 20A-25A chargers more commonly used.

The first time any brand or grade golf cart battery is charged can take a long time (IE: 12 to 20 hours) and your charger output is roughly half of what is typically used, so the charge time will be twice as long, or more, for the initial and subsequent charges.

With average cart usage the typical recharge time after the batteries are broken in, is generally in the 4 to 6 hour range, so with average cart usage, your recharge time will be in the 8 to 12 hour range, so plan accordingly.

[eflyguy]

Look at it this way, your charger is capable of no more than 12Ah per hour, and if it's dropped to 5A, that's what you're charging at. If the battery was half discharged, it would take (~100Ah/5A) about 20h, plus the charge process is not 100% efficient, so much longer than that.
..a

[ol cart]

Yikes! although my cart wont get used regularly, I will probably start looking for a charger. this one came with the cart, I only gave $450 for all of it. pretty clean cart with top and windshield and good tires...I really want to thank everyone for the help..this is a great site..