VIN number not where it should be?

[steelsmith]

I have a HD electrical three wheeler that should have the VIN tag on the drivers side rear, there are two holes drilled where the tag should be at but they do not look like there were used.
On the other side of the cart is a tag with Harley Davidson with 68DE 4998 under it and then three sets of patt. numbers 2,987,934 195,505 and last set 3,229,792. I have looked in the back batt. rack as I was told that there could be a VIN number there , had no luck there so I,am now here to ask if some one could help me with a year or more info on this cart?
Also wanted to know if I were to replace the six 6 volt batts. (36 volts) with three 12 volt batts. (36 volts) if it would run? My take on it is 36 volt is the same if it comes from 6 or 3 batts. But I would not be able to run it as long on three 12 volts as I could on six 6 volts.
All info will be of great help.
Thank you
Steelsmith

[rib33024]

Welcome to BGW


Hang in there, one of them Harley guys will find this, and answer all your Questions

[ArtemusS]

Originally Posted by steelsmith

I have a HD electrical three wheeler that should have the VIN tag on the drivers side rear, there are two holes drilled where the tag should be at but they do not look like there were used.
On the other side of the cart is a tag with Harley Davidson with 68DE 4998 under it and then three sets of patt. numbers 2,987,934 195,505 and last set 3,229,792. I have looked in the back batt. rack as I was told that there could be a VIN number there , had no luck there so I,am now here to ask if some one could help me with a year or more info on this cart?
Also wanted to know if I were to replace the six 6 volt batts. (36 volts) with three 12 volt batts. (36 volts) if it would run? My take on it is 36 volt is the same if it comes from 6 or 3 batts. But I would not be able to run it as long on three 12 volts as I could on six 6 volts.
All info will be of great help.
Thank you
Steelsmith

If you're looking for the year of the cart, check the plate on the motor. Go to Harley forum and one of the guys there will tell you what year it is.

As for 12V v 6V batteries, the three 12 volts will work, but not for long. Carts need a deep cycle battery with loads of amps. You can use 12V to test the cart or use it for short periods, but then you have a charging issue to deal with. Best bet, use 12V batteries (3) only for testing. They won't last long, but will give you time to accumulate the cash for a good set of deep cycle 6 volts.

Once you get the 6Vs, run the cart down to its last amp before recharging. If you put it on a charger when the battery is, say, 3/4 full, it will retain a memory and require more frequent charges.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by ArtemusS

If you're looking for the year of the cart, check the plate on the motor. Go to Harley forum and one of the guys there will tell you what year it is.

As for 12V v 6V batteries, the three 12 volts will work, but not for long. Carts need a deep cycle battery with loads of amps. You can use 12V to test the cart or use it for short periods, but then you have a charging issue to deal with. Best bet, use 12V batteries (3) only for testing. They won't last long, but will give you time to accumulate the cash for a good set of deep cycle 6 volts.

Once you get the 6Vs, run the cart down to its last amp before recharging. If you put it on a charger when the battery is, say, 3/4 full, it will retain a memory and require more frequent charges.

This is very incorrect information here You need to read 'lead acid battery 101'
Please spend sometime reading everything on this website with the word battery in it!
Maybe you should stay away from the other golf cart site if that is the kind of mis-information you read over there.

From Trojan Battery manufacturing ( they know a thing or two about batteries) and from chemists worldwide " Lead acid batteries have no memory." They need to be recharged often and never be let to stand for extended times in a state of discharge. To do so is to allow the sulfa to crystallize on the lead plates forming a permenant bond and forming a hardened coating which prevents the electrons from attaching themselves to the lead plates upon recharging... resulting in a diminished capacity.... this is in fact how ALL wet cell batteries loose their usefulness.
I invite you to go the cartsunlimited.net website and read every page who's title has the word battery in it, some are short but there is much info there.

[gornoman]

Originally Posted by ArtemusS

Once you get the 6Vs, run the cart down to its last amp before recharging. If you put it on a charger when the battery is, say, 3/4 full, it will retain a memory and require more frequent charges.

This info couldn't be more inaccurate. Lead acid batteries have no memory, and benefit from frequent charging. Use it, charge it. Live it.

[ArtemusS]

My apologies. Guess I was wrong. Sorry for the missteps.

[ArtemusS]

Question to ScottyB and Gornoman... Am I right about the 12v v 6v? The reason I ask, here is a pic of my recently acquired Capri II. While three 12v batteries will power it just fine, if I recharge them nightly, how long can I expect the batteries to last?

Again, my apologies for the misstated "memory" comment.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...0726121719.jpg

[ArtemusS]

Rather than a link, here's the pic with the paint restoration in progress.

[scottyb]

That's a cool old Cart. No worries about the previous post I aim to educate anybody who will listen, like the guys who taught me
Now the question is what kind of 12v, there are 12v golf cart batteries, and 12v cranking batteries. The 2 have different construction for different uses. If they are GC batteries they should be okay with a GC charger ... every night is okay if you run it 15+ minutes a day. Trojan says you can do that 5000 times over the life of a battery. That's 14+ years in terms of recharging daily.
If they are cranking ( starting, car or marine) batteries expect them to do okay but their lifespan will be greatly reduced by deep discharging them.

Hope this helps

[madoc1]

those are tw0 good looking carts artemuss!