negative charge on batteries?

bluecrew · 07-20-2009, 09:29 PM

You guys know the drill, I got a golf cart, don't know anything about it...

I know how to take care of batteries-or so I thought. Well every winter I take the batteries out and place them on a wood pallet in my basement and put each one on a trickle charger regularly. Well, this spring I put all the batteries back in and as I connect the last cable, I get sparks and the terminal and the cable quickly become "welded" together. I hate electricity!

So, first thing I do is pull out the voltmeter. Turns out 4 out of 6 batteries have a negative charge on them.??? How is that possible? The voltmeter is brand new, I tried different meters, double checked my positive and negative terminals to make sure I make no mistakes. Since when can a battery become negatively charged?

I swapped the six batteries out of a columbia cart and everything worked fine, which leads me to believe it's strictly the batteries causing the issue.

Any ideas?
It's a 1982 3 wheel ezgo 82b30

Fleck · 07-20-2009, 09:44 PM

I have read posts about hooking battery chargers up reverse. Is it possible that the charger got hooked up backwards? Just my $.02. One of the smart guys will be along sone to give more info,,

bluecrew · 07-20-2009, 09:52 PM

I doubt it. Since I hate electricity so much, and the fact that it seems to LOVE me, I make real sure I watch what I'm connecting before I do it. I believe it would be possible, but I double checked everything as I did it. Besides, my charger has a little light on it that tells when the battery is connected wrong-( remember, I HATE electricity!?!

)

ohwhofarted · 07-21-2009, 05:40 AM

When you tested the batteries did the meter ACTUALLY show a negative charge? -6.3?

scottyb · 07-21-2009, 05:59 AM

It is possible to recharge a low or dead lead acid battery in reversed polarity.
I do not know if they can change polarity within themselves comepletely. Although I have heard of one cell shorting out and reversing? You may be able to drain them of this polarity charge and recharge them? I don't know what would be required to safely do this.You need to talk with some battery experts before attempting any fix.

bluecrew · 07-21-2009, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohwhofarted

When you tested the batteries did the meter ACTUALLY show a negative charge? -6.3?

Yeah, I checked it several times and showed it to the father in law-(sometimes a guy needs a witness to prove his own sanity...)

scottyb · 07-21-2009, 05:08 PM

Are they Trojan batteries? Trojan has a great tech support crew on the phone

ohwhofarted · 07-21-2009, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluecrew

Yeah, I checked it several times and showed it to the father in law-(sometimes a guy needs a witness to prove his own sanity...)

Were the leads correct? If you use the black lead on the positive terminal and the red lead on the negative terminal, it WILL show a negative charge.

Old Foogie · 07-21-2009, 08:26 PM

Ditto OHWHOFARTED! I have put the leads on my tester in backwards many times and shown a negative reading.

OLD MEC · 07-22-2009, 11:02 AM

In the OLD DAYS when auto shops could replace cells in batterys we saw lots of that reversing problem. What we did was to hook a headlight bulb to battery and completely discharge the battery and the charge it back up with proper polarity. I'm sure that this could be done with modern batterys as well.

07-20-2009, 09:29 PM	#1
bluecrew Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 31	negative charge on batteries? You guys know the drill, I got a golf cart, don't know anything about it... I know how to take care of batteries-or so I thought. Well every winter I take the batteries out and place them on a wood pallet in my basement and put each one on a trickle charger regularly. Well, this spring I put all the batteries back in and as I connect the last cable, I get sparks and the terminal and the cable quickly become "welded" together. I hate electricity! So, first thing I do is pull out the voltmeter. Turns out 4 out of 6 batteries have a negative charge on them.??? How is that possible? The voltmeter is brand new, I tried different meters, double checked my positive and negative terminals to make sure I make no mistakes. Since when can a battery become negatively charged? I swapped the six batteries out of a columbia cart and everything worked fine, which leads me to believe it's strictly the batteries causing the issue. Any ideas? It's a 1982 3 wheel ezgo 82b30

07-20-2009, 09:44 PM	#2
Fleck Gone Crazy Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Pine Hill NJ Posts: 560	Re: negative charge on batteries? I have read posts about hooking battery chargers up reverse. Is it possible that the charger got hooked up backwards? Just my $.02. One of the smart guys will be along sone to give more info,,

07-20-2009, 09:52 PM	#3
bluecrew Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 31	Re: negative charge on batteries? I doubt it. Since I hate electricity so much, and the fact that it seems to LOVE me, I make real sure I watch what I'm connecting before I do it. I believe it would be possible, but I double checked everything as I did it. Besides, my charger has a little light on it that tells when the battery is connected wrong-( remember, I HATE electricity!?!)

07-21-2009, 05:40 AM	#4
ohwhofarted Getting Wild Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Virginia Posts: 133	Re: negative charge on batteries? When you tested the batteries did the meter ACTUALLY show a negative charge? -6.3?

07-21-2009, 05:59 AM	#5
scottyb Happy Carting Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Southern California Posts: 73,406	Re: negative charge on batteries? It is possible to recharge a low or dead lead acid battery in reversed polarity. I do not know if they can change polarity within themselves comepletely. Although I have heard of one cell shorting out and reversing? You may be able to drain them of this polarity charge and recharge them? I don't know what would be required to safely do this.You need to talk with some battery experts before attempting any fix.

Today
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07-21-2009, 05:08 PM	#7
scottyb Happy Carting Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Southern California Posts: 73,406	Re: negative charge on batteries? Are they Trojan batteries? Trojan has a great tech support crew on the phone

07-21-2009, 08:26 PM	#9
Old Foogie Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 9	Re: negative charge on batteries? Ditto OHWHOFARTED! I have put the leads on my tester in backwards many times and shown a negative reading.
Old Foogie Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 9

07-22-2009, 11:02 AM	#10
OLD MEC Gone Wild Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: South Texas Posts: 2,391	Re: negative charge on batteries? In the OLD DAYS when auto shops could replace cells in batterys we saw lots of that reversing problem. What we did was to hook a headlight bulb to battery and completely discharge the battery and the charge it back up with proper polarity. I'm sure that this could be done with modern batterys as well.

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