Diagnosing dead batteries

[Tmac74]

I am having troubles with cart dying on the 9th hole. Cart is club car 48v with interstate batteries approx 2yrs old. I connected a meter to the pack last round and found the following readings. Pack voltage at start 51.1v after 9 holes 48.1v
Battery no 1 positive 8.3v resting 7.8v full accelerate
Battery no 2 8.3v resting 7.2v full accelerate
Battery no 3 8.3v resting after 2 holes dropped to 6.1v resting 2.4v full accelerate and reducing further to 0v after 30secs of motoring
Battery no 4 8.3 v resting .6v full accelerate
Battery no 5 8.4v resting 7.6 v full accelerate
Battery no 6 negative 8.3v resting 7.7v full accelerate
Should the two middle batteries drop so much in voltage? I would think battery 3 is u/s but not sure about battery 4. I dont have a lot of spare cash so I was hoping to replace battery 3 only, if however battery 4 is gone too then I need to weigh up replacing them all.

[NoleFan4Ever]

You are right, #3 & #4 are gone. You can use a hydrometer and see if you get a varying reading, but I suspect a dead cell in both of those. (Of course remove the connections and verify good contact and clean surfaces, acid/water level, battery voltage during charging, cable integrity, etc)

If cash is tight, although this is not the preferred method, it is acceptable to contact your battery distributor(s) and inquire on 2 "good" used batteries just to get some usable life out of the 4 as you save and budget for complete replacement down the road. Around here they will sell you a "good" used battery with a 30 day warranty for $25 - $40.

And it is strange for a battery to fail after only 2 years..... That just ain't right. I would also contact Interstate and discuss it with them I have had great luck doing that with US Battery before.

[Tmac74]

Thanks for the conformation. I just found it strange the two middle batteries died. We only just bought the cart and she was in need of some tlc, had to put new cables on and give everything a good clean up. I did notice the charger staying on for over 16hrs. Perhaps they copped some overcharging. tried a different charger and it seems to be shutting off fine. Bit hard to keep an eye on when its stored on course. Im in Australia so im not sure on the availability of secondhand batteries. I shall ring around and see what I can find.

[ThreeCW]

The attached State of Charge chart is a handy reference to help you evaluate your batteries.

[Tmac74]

Very handy chart. I shall find it very useful going forward. Thanks

[lockman1]

Originally Posted by reeseman44

Tmac where are you located. I have a couple sets of good used 8vs off traded in fleet carts.

Australia...

[reeseman44]

A bit far haha

[yawood]

Originally Posted by Tmac74

Im in Australia so im not sure on the availability of secondhand batteries. I shall ring around and see what I can find.

Where are you? Highland Golf Cars in Mittagong NSW (02 4872 2121) have over 50 used carts at any one time and put new batteries in nearly all the carts they sell (I know because I bought one of them). Ergo they should have plenty of second hand batteries that they have replaced. Talk to Brian Woodward and see what he can do.

[Tmac74]

North Western Australia unfortunately. Still searching around the Darwin area if there is any other Aussies viewing.

[Tmac74]

Thanks yawood. Freight might be the killer unles I can find someone heading up North. Might give them a call nonetheless.