One Battery voltage lower than other 5

[slvdkid]

In checking the six 8 volt batteries in my 2016 Club Car Precedent with a voltage meter five show 9.2 after full charge but the other battery shows 8.6. The total voltage across shows 54.4 after full charge. Batteries have been well cared for and water level in the low battery shows full in all cells.

Thoughts on the cause and remedy if it is a problem I should address immediately.

In a standard Club Car 48 volt battery diagram the low battery is battery #5 (closest battery to the seat on drivers side)

Thanks

[Fairtax4me]

The low battery may be failing. Are any accessories connected directly to that battery? Are these the original batteries?

You can try an equalization charge to see if it brings the voltage of that battery up. Let the charger run through a full charge cycle, then unplug it from the cart, wait about a minute or so, then plug the charger back in. It should run through the first two charging stages fairly quickly, and then will switch to the final low current, high voltage charge stage and it will remain there for a predetermined amount of time. The time is determined by the charge profile in the charger.

[slvdkid]

Thanks...I will give it a try and yes they are the original batteries.

In the event that it stays lower than the others, will it draw the others down prematurely?

Should I replace it with a new battery to protect the other five?

Your thoughts and thanks again

[slvdkid]

Tried your suggestion but all came back exactly with the same voltage. Do you think it would be wise to replace this battery?

[WalterM6]

Battery voltages vary slightly. All batteries should read within a 1/10 volt of each other. You got nothing to worry about. Even if you were to buy another battery there isn't any guarantee it will read the same as the other five.

[Fairtax4me]

So they all show the same voltage as before? Have you checked the voltage after they've been resting for 12 hours or so after a charge?

Check voltage on one or two of the other batteries while the cart is driving, best place would be to find a slight hill where the batteries will be under a fair load when the cart is driving. Then check the low battery, and compare that voltage to the others. Do that check when you first start driving, then re-check it after you've driven the cart on your normal drive for the day. Also re-check rest voltage of the pack after maybe 30 minutes of rest before you plug the charger in at the end of the day.
How far the voltage falls compared to the others would determine whether I would replace that battery.
Ideally you want that battery to be within about 1/10th of a volt at rest and somewhere within a few tenths under load, but that may not always be the case.
If it's dropping more than that under load, probably need to replace it.
If it's staying relatively close to the others or keeping the same difference at rest and under load, then it's totally fine to keep running it.

[Roxyflash]

Get a hydrometer if any battery is .50 volts lower then the others should be replaced.The hydrometer might show a weak cell .The other thing is hook a volt meter to a good battery take it up the steepest hill check voltage then do it to weak battery compare it.

[ThreeCW]

As Fairtax4me said, you really need to let the battery voltage stabilize after a full charge to make a fair comparison of your batteries ... suggested time is 12 to 24 hours after disconnecting from your charger with no cart use. See attached State of Charge chart for further reference.

The load test that he suggests will also provide some good information on if a battery is failing or not.

[WalterM6]

Before you can make any kind of judgement about your batteries you need to wait 24 hours, overnight at the min to read your battery voltages. A fully charged battery will read 8.49v. For a total of 50.94v.

[Roxyflash]

Hydrometers are cheap they will tell the state of charge on each cell telling you how your charger is doing.It will show you each cell and if you see discolored acid will tell you if the cell is going bad such as black or discolored acid.Also if you dont have a load testor take your cart to a battery store make sure its charged and have them load test it they can tell you if it will pull full amps for each battery giving you a idea if they will pull the full load of what there rated for.