T105's in 1999 EZGO not lasting

[april]

I have had my 1999 EZGO since 2006 and I have consistently been having to replace the Trojan T105 batteries every 2 years. Is this normal? I thought they should last longer. We use the cart hard every day and charge it all the time in between uses. The water is kept up and the terminals are solid.

A friend suggested Duracell ProSeries batteries, but I was always under the impression that Trojans were best.

Any suggestions?

[sportcoupe]

Is your cart completely stock or modified?

[Rep]

See Scotty's "proper battery break-in," and verify that's what you've been doing.

[beau]

Are you running your pack down past 50%?
What exactly do you mean by "we use the cart hard"?
I know a small fleet manager that uses the sams/Costco batteries and gets 2 years out of them. He said that is what he got with t105's as well. When we starting talking battery maintenance and care he told me at least one of his carts a week was run until it quit.
That alone will turn a 5 year pack into a 2.5 year pack.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by april

I have had my 1999 EZGO since 2006 and I have consistently been having to replace the Trojan T105 batteries every 2 years. Is this normal? I thought they should last longer. We use the cart hard every day and charge it all the time in between uses. The water is kept up and the terminals are solid.

A friend suggested Duracell ProSeries batteries, but I was always under the impression that Trojans were best.

Any suggestions?

Two years is a bit on the short side, but there are a lot of factors that determine battery lifespan.

Cart batteries don't last as long in hot climates as they do in cooler climates. Batteries are rated at 77°F and whenever they are above that, they are aging at a faster rate towards their ultimate demise.

My cart spent three years at a golf course outside Phoenix AZ and the second set of T-105 batteries would only charge to 85% SoC when I got it, so they were only averaging about 1.5 years per set.

As for battery brands, there are more differences between the grades of batteries in the same brand than there are differences between the same grade of battery in different brands. In general terms, a higher AH battery in any brand will outlast a lower AH battery in any other brand, if the other factors remain the same.

You said you used the cart hard and often, so a 225AH battery (T-105) is likely to be too small for your application. T-125 (240AH) and T-145 (260AH) will last longer because the same usage won't discharge them as far and the average SoC maintained is a major factor in determining battery lifespan.

However, going from a 225AH to a 260AH would probably only up the lifespan to about 2.5 years if the other factors remained the same.

You say you charge the batteries at all times between uses. Des that mean you charge every night, or you do opportunity charging during the day?

Also, what charger are you using?

[april]

Thanks for all the response!
Stock or modified: we have tractor cleat tires on it and we have upgraded all the cables to heavier heavier gaga (#2?) and car post ends. That's it.
Proper battery break in: I have never been instructed on this, however we always charge them upon purchase and we plug in the charger after every use. I don't know exactly how far down the batteries are run with every use, it varies, but I am going to guess anywhere from 25% depleted to 75%, to lower than 75% in the last couple of months when the batteries are dying.
Using the cart: We use it twice a day, morning and night. We have a hilly horse farm and we drive around to check and feed all the horses. In the winter we stack up to 8 bales of hay in the bed and drive through muddy fields feeding. For about the first year and half the cart seems to go at full power throughout. The last 6 months or so we notice it starts to lose power towards the end of chores.We plug it in after morning chores and every night. Essentially, it's plugged in whenever not in use.
Charger: the Powerwise charger that came with the cart.

So, I am wondering if the T105 are too small for what we do? How do I know exactly how much power I am using each time? IE, how do I know if I am using more than 50% doing my chores?

[JohnnieB]

What is the tire height?
If they are over 18", they require more torque to turn, which means the cart uses more Amp-Hours to travel each mile.

If any of the high current cables and connections are getting hot, you are losing energy as heat that ought to be going to the motor and converted to torque. Also, any component other than the motor, should not be getting hot.

Bales of hay come in several shapes and sizes, and the weight depends on what is in the bale as well as its moisture content, but eight two string bales will weigh nearly 600 lbs and the total cargo load including people is 800 lbs, so you are getting close to the max load and the more weight, the more AH used to get from point-A to point-B.

Sounds like you are doing about all you can do to keep the batteries charged.
Of course, the battery charger might not be fully charging the batteries.
Actually, it probably isn't. The Powerwise charge that came with a 1999 cart shut off when the on charge voltage climbed into the 44V to 46V range rather than when the batteries were fully charged.

Modern chargers that use dV/dT (change in Voltage over change in Time) fully charge batteries and some of them (like the DPI Accusense charger I use) float charges the batteries after the regular cycle ends, so they stay at 100% SoC instead of self discharging after the charger turns off.

To determine how far you are discharging the battery pack, you need to measure the pack voltage.

Measure the voltage before taking the cart out in the mornings. Ideally, you measure the voltage about 12 hours after the charger shuts off, but if it was put on charge before 6PM and measured after 6AM, the batteries ought to have had at least 8 hours of rest and the SoC estimate will be fairly accurate.

The voltage should be about 38.2V if the batteries are in reasonable condition and if the charger is doing its job. Each battery should be 6.37V and all six should be within 0.1V of each others.

After doing the morning chores, let the batteries rest (neither charge nor discharge) for about 15 minutes and measure the voltages.
The SoC can be estimated using the attached chart. (Hopefully the voltage is above 36.3V --- 50%)

After doing the evening chores, let the batteries rest and measure the voltages again before putting on overnight charge.


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How many miles do you travel per set of chores?
Is the cart a series drive or a DCS? (If the controller cover has a Run/Tow switch on it. its a DCS)

[Great white north]

I echo what Johnny said and ;
By purchasing a SOC digital meter . This will help where your pack voltage is at
Real- time .. Gives you a sort of guage like a fuel gage in a car or truck
You will be burning a lot of amp/ hours on your pack loaded with hay through the mud ... How deep is the mud? ... Typical .. Barn yard or deeper ?
A higher amp/ hour battery is what you need along with a proper charger and
Bigger controller instead of stock controller . Check out the sponsor s at top of page .. Carts unlimited ... Is a good choice
Cheers!

[beau]

Aren't these deep cycles rated for about 700-900 charge cycles if discharged to 50%?

That would take most of us 5 years. Perhaps he is simply wearing them out.


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[sportcoupe]

He has no SOC meter and guessed at how far he was discharging the batteries. You can get ~1300 cycles (3.5 years) if you only discharge to 50% SOC. If he discharged further that number is dramatically reduced. See attached chart.