Equalization, chargers, too many choices for a newb

[Stewbuntu]

Today we got our first golf cart and I'm going to work on it a bit. All the batteries were topped of w no plates out of water which is encouraging. I got a spec. gravity meter, and I cleaned all the wire connections and added dielectric grease. I watched a couple YouTube video of how to diagnosis chargers (I wanted to check it out before plugging it in to the cart.) The charger seemed like it was modified lower in my post and I mention how. I'm very handy and need a little knowledge and optimism. I'm super excited and have learned a lot in the past couple months of research. I hope to continue learning more here.

I have been reading a lot of posts and they get very detailed about batteries and range so much that I'm not seeing a lot of people saying the same thing other than batteries need to be equalized form time to time. I'm hoping for a little help and some info that I can't find after searching. I'll be brief bc I'm summarizing all I have read so you know what I'm looking for. I have an old Total Charge II with a replaced motherboard which took away lights and the display. It has a timer for 3, 6, and 9 hours. Along with 6 used 6 volt Trojan batteries that are 2 years a old and have no charge. I narrowed down my charger issue to bad diode which I have ordered. Looking into the batteries there appears to be a lot of Grey or white stuff (assuming sulfur coating) which appears to be clogging all the gaps in the plates. I don't want to put a lot of money into a last ditch effort to save these batteries when I could put the money into batteries. They Swannie River Music Park uses small chargers inside there carts for a very portable option vs a larger separate charger which would nice to have as a back up on the cart. They look like cheap 12v car chargers.

I'm thinking I should eventually equalize the batteries. I would need a charger that could equalize the batteries. Is there a cheap one? A lot have said many chargers do it but, the automatic chargers also don't charge it at a high enough voltage. I'm okay with doing one battery at a time using a cheaper 6 volt charger vs 36v. Price wise I may be able to get a new charger eventually.

All I have read - the equalization voltage is less than 12 volts and closer to 10 or 11 volts. Could a manual 12v charger equalize the battery if I watch the specific gravity closely and maybe turn it off if it gets past a certain temp?


Is there a cheap charger that I could use? It seems like there would be a common favorite charger. There are just too many chargers from all my reading. I have read manual chargers are better for this if I need a cheap option vs buy a really nice and expensive charge.

[Dennisneri]

Talk to Scotty B

[Sir Nuke]

From what you described about the batteries...what you have are nothing more than BOAT ANCHORs....you need a new set of batteries. As far as the charger...get yourself a new one, and email Scottyb at cartsunlimited.net about the best charger for your needs.

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[WalterM6]

It has a timer for 3, 6, and 9 hours.

Is this cart from the 80's. Get you a new DPI (my recommendation) and get it over with. The DPI has a equalize mode.

[Stewbuntu]

Originally Posted by WalterM6

Is this cart from the 80's. Get you a new DPI (my recommendation) and get it over with. The DPI has a equalize mode.

Charger says 1980 and cart is 1990.

Is there a good thread to read about chargers?

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