1998 EZGO TXT Stutters when Accelerator is Pressed

[lerner]

I have a 1998 36v EZGO TXT. I am not very educated in golf carts but at the end of last season the cart would run but in short spurts leading me to believe the batteries were bad. This year after a full charge all the cart does is sit and kinda stutter (does not move) when the accelerator is pressed. The charger shuts off automatically and the batteries read around 6.4, with the exception of one that for some reason is reading 10.0. Please let me know what you think the problem is. I would hate to replace the batteries if there is a much larger problem with the cart.
Thanks!

~sorry if this has been discussed as I am new to the forum and couldnt find a similar thread.

[radioman]

Batteries.

[lerner]

Thanks!

[benjylafond]

Check to make sure your battery cable connections are tight. Also, if they weren't, you might have fried one of the cables.

[lerner]

yeah... i just wanted to check to see if you guys thought that it was a controller or solenoid problem.

Really odd how it was just stuttering... after the complete charge it ran for about 10 feet then just stopped and stuttered. (not sure if that's the correct terminology)

[lerner]

i have some local guy telling me he thinks its the controller. What would the cart be doing if it has a bad controller?

[bxlt]

Originally Posted by lerner

i have some local guy telling me he thinks its the controller. What would the cart be doing if it has a bad controller?

Depends on the type of cart. Does it have a run/tow switch on the cover of the controller? That would be a DCS cart. Typically when those controllers go the cart will only go one direction, typically reverse,

My cart did the same thing the day before we needed it in a parade. I load tested each battery, and I found that I had one was far below the other 5.

I would recommended checking each battery with a handheld DVM and then load check each battery (jack the car up and test each battery when you press the throttle) you will find out pretty quickly which one(s) aren't pulling their weight.

[lerner]

Its a TXT with no run/tow switch. I am sorry for being so new to this but what should the reading be on my volt meter when reading individual batteries when the cart is jacked up? also when doing the reading should the cart be hooked to the charger?

[bxlt]

So your cart is a series cart and I'm not sure what happens to those when the controller fails, someone with more experience will chime in on that.

As far as readings on the handheld I don't have exact numbers but when fully charged each battery should be in the 6.37v range, when under load (or testing with the cart lifted off the ground) they shouldn't drop below 5v. If one or more batteries are bad you will be able to tell because they will drop much more than a healthy battery.

Also don't do it with the charger hooked up. Again not sure on a series cart but there is a switch that should prevent you from being able to run the cart with the charger hooked up.

[yurtle]

Do a full charge, then wait 12 hours and test the voltage of each battery. It sounds like you may have an 8 volt battery in the mix of 6 volt batteries. Give us the make, model, voltage, and year of each battery. Google to find the year, as each manufacturer uses different codes.

Also, give us the total pack voltage.