Slow DS

[klubber]

I have a 97n DS series cart. 48 volt. It came with my house when I bought it last year. It is all stock except a local mechanic modified the armature in an effort to increase speed. The batteries are 2012 Trojans. Mind you, this cart sat for an unknown time as the person that owned the house before me passed away after a long illness. Lately the cart has become sluggish and slow. I assumed the batteries had run their life. I was going to buy new batteries as i assumed they were the culprit. Yesterday I charged the batteries full and tested each at around 8.4 to 8.5 volts and full pack at 51.75 after 12 hours rest. Does this mean I am making a wrong assumption that it is the batteries and where do I go from here. It does not appear that there is any brake drag.

Thanks in advance for your ideas.

[caokgafamily]

Hello Klubber,

It does sound like your batteries are the issue in my opinion. What do the batteries read after you take it for a 10 or so minute ride? The most I ever got out of a set of batteries was 5 yrs.

[scottyb]

The definitive test is voltage under load. Attach the DVM to the pack and check the voltage under hard acceleration (preferably uphill) If this number drops less than the voltage of one battery under the heaviest of loads then the batts are still good.

[bird6246]

to properly test the batteries, you should LOAD test them. the voltage could read 8.4-8.5 until you put a load on them at which point they could drop to 7.9-8.0....in which case they are done. if each batteries looses a half volt over 6 batteries, thats like taking one entire battery out of the pack. load testers are fairly cheap at $30-$40, and a good tool to have. You don't need to disconnect the wires to do the load test.