Bad luck with US 8vgc’s?

[Jackpac23]

First time poster, long time lurker. Well, it’s been three years and my US Batteries 8vgc’s are bad again. My last set only lasted 3 years as well. Cart is a 2005 48v Club Car DS with a 6” Jakes lift and 14” Sahara’s. Club Car PowerDrive2 Charger.
My first set I used the cart a lot in middle Georgia for hunting...a lot of sand, heat, some hills and long distances....I get that. The second set was in my neighborhood in flat coastal NC...no stress to the boat lift or neighbors house, garage kept and babied. I like to think I’m attentive to water levels and maintenance but **** I’m getting tired of this 3 year curse . I Purchased another 48v DS to keep at hunt club that had 2yo Duracells’s (no lift, stock tires). That thing will run circles around my lifted cart at home and those batteries are going on 5 years. As I’ve read and find all too true, my US’s boil and leak all over my frame and concrete. Is something deeper going on with my cart or it is what it is? I’d like to go in another direction (Trojan probably) and invest in a more modern charger. Thanks for your thoughts.

[CP241]

Do you have any controller or motor upgrades in the cart? Or just stock with the lift and tires?

I’ve had a couple carts with us batteries and no problems with them. I just sold my 48v pack I removed from my cart when I put the allied lithium batteries in. They were about 3 years old. Held 51.2-51.3v all winter, load test and worked perfectly. They were good for 10-15 miles and still had plenty of juice left. I never had any issues with them boiling over.

It sounds like maybe your OBC is not working properly and they’re being overcharged. Have you put a meter on them while they charge? How long do they take to charge and does the charger shut off by itself like it should?

[Jackpac23]

Stock controller and motor. Before they were completely shot, I'd usually plug it in at the end of the day and depending on battery depletion the charger would be off in the morning or at about 2 amps winding down. I performed numerous obc resets and have always had a gut feeling like something is wrong with it. Ive never done a load test but have a voltmeter and would monitor things, individually and as a pack. I have also checked specific gravity two or three times over the batteries life. I feel as though both sets of batteries bulged way too prematurely and are being cooked to death.

[CP241]

That doesn’t sound right at all. Even when I ran my batteries way down, it never took more than about 6 hours to completely charge. On a normal day it was off in an hour or two. I can’t check it now because I sold my batteries and charger, and the obc is on my workbench LOL. But if I remember correctly, it would go full amperage for a couple hours at most. Then start to wind down and seemed to hold around 5-6 amps until it wound out and shut off a couple hours later. I’ve never had it still running the next morning and I usually leave for work pretty early...

I think you’ve definitely got something going on with your OBC. And it’s cooking the batteries. You’re on the right track either bypassing the OBC and getting a smart charger, or replace the OBC. I don’t know if the 2005 OBC is the same as the one I pulled out of my 2008 but ill make a good deal on it if you want to go that route. I’ll never run lead acid batteries again so I’ll never use it :)

[Jackpac23]

CP241- Thank you. I ordered a Lester summit II last night. Hopefully I can afford some new batteries in the next couple weeks and get her back up and rolling.

[Bama Brad]

If you are going to buy new batteries and a charger, you should really look into Lithium drop ins. About same price. They come with charger and you will never have to worry about maintainance. I got a Roypow and wished I'd done it a long time ago.