1998 CC DS new to me troubleshooting batteries

[pondjumpr]

It has been years since I posted in this forum. I had an Ez-Go gas cart for many years and decided to get an electric cart for cruising the neighborhood.
One of my buddies has a neighbor that is moving and decided to sell their 1998 Club Car DS. I got what I think was a pretty good deal on it because they said it needed new batteries.
Fast forward; I picked it up and immediately started checking things out. 1st was reading many posts here.
I voltage tested the cart when I got it and each 8v battery was at 8.7v. Understanding that to be low, I checked a few things. Water level was low so I added distilled water with Epsom salt (4 cups water to 1/4 cup salt). The 6 batteries took about 3/4 gallon so they were very low IMO. I put it on the charger but it didn't start charging. The charger is a very new automatic Schauer. So, I decided to drive it around to check range and discharge the batteries.
I drove 12.5 miles at an average speed of 11 MPH. My neighborhood is very hilly so I was doing 16-20 down hill and 8-9 up hill. On a flat section, I got 15-16MPH.
After running the cart for an hour or so, I parked it and put it on the charger. I was gone for about 3 hours and the charger was still running.
I pulled the charger and the batteries were at 9.1V each, across the board.
My son wanted to ride for a minute so we drove it around for less than 2 miles.
I parked it and plugged it back in. This was the first overnight charge. It had been charging for about 4-5 hours when I went to bed and the fan and yellow light was still on indicating charge.
Fast forward: This morning, I woke up to both lights flashing on the charger. The manual says it was a timeout.
I turned it off and unplugged the charger. Tried to get it to come back on but it turns green and shows "Equalize". Batteries are back reading 8.9v now. 53.4V combined.
So, I plan to do a load test today but is there anything that jumps out at you guys that I missed or need to check? Also, 8-9MPH up a small incline seems very slow but everything I read here, my speed is right where it should be. Cart is lifted with 22" tires 22/10/10.
My biggest question is whether I truly need batteries or if the cart is doing about what I should suspect as a stock motor and controller.
I will do the load test today but just want to make sure I am not chasing something I don't need to be chasing.

side cart.jpg

gc tires.jpg

Charge port.jpg

[jasonojordan]

With the range you noted and the resting voltage they seem to be fine? Being low on water will definitely create some odd behavior that people may think the batteries being shot.

Hopefully they were not run long on low water as that is where he permanent damage can happen.

Whats the use case for this cart? Just a neighborhood run around on occasion? Used every day for multiple miles?

[pondjumpr]

Just light street/neighborhood use. Occasionally to a deer hunting property in S Georgia but it’s very flat.

[CP241]

I don’t know about the schauer charger but just because it was flashing indicating timeout doesn’t mean anything is wrong with the cart. 12.5 miles isn’t really bad… what was your pack voltage after that drive?

What kind of amperage is the charger rated at? You want at least a 15 amp charger. If it’s one of those cheesy 5 amp jobs it would take weeks to recharge your cart… and doesn’t put out enough amperage to help prevent sulfation.

To determine what your voltages REALLY are you can’t check voltage right when you unplug it. This is reading what’s known as “surface charge”. As the battery sits the voltage will settle.

Charge it until the charger says it’s finished. Then disconnect it and let the cart rest overnight. 50.9v is considered fully charged. Though I have seen up to about 51.2 as well.

[Fairtax4me]

Whats the model # on the charger?
Automatic, doesn't mean its the correct type.

8.49v is the correct full charge for an 8v battery after sitting for around 12 hours after charging has finished. 9.1v right after unplugging the charger just tell us the charger was on, but really says almost nothing about the condition of the batteries.

[pondjumpr]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

Whats the model # on the charger?
Automatic, doesn't mean its the correct type.

8.49v is the correct full charge for an 8v battery after sitting for around 12 hours after charging has finished. 9.1v right after unplugging the charger just tell us the charger was on, but really says almost nothing about the condition of the batteries.

Schauer JAC1548H

[Fairtax4me]

For that charger to work correctly you need to make sure the OBC on the cart is fully bypassed. Your negative lead from the charger needs to go direct to pack negative, or to the B- terminal on the controller.

[pondjumpr]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

For that charger to work correctly you need to make sure the OBC on the cart is fully bypassed. Your negative lead from the charger needs to go direct to pack negative, or to the B- terminal on the controller.

Thank you.
That charger came with bypass cable and upon researching, the OBC was not bypassed. I unhooked the black wire at charging port and hooked the supplied wire to pack negative.
Plugged charger in and came right on.
Hopefully my batteries will get a full charge tonight!

[mgray70]

Sounds to be like other than them being low on water, they seem to be OK. I'm not a fan of the Epsom salt trick, but also agree with Fairtax, you need to make sure the OBC is correctly bypassed. Read the sticky about it.

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