TXT charger issue...

[graysonk95]

My friend owns a '96 TXT, and it had a crappy drive time to begin with, but recently the batteries got wet and now the fully-powered drive time is about 30 min, after that there is a noticeable decrease in power, then within 10 min the cart will begin to stutter and then die.
When we plug it in, the needle on the charger moves up just a hair off of 0 and stays there until it automatically shuts off (after it times out).
Before, the needle would go about half way up when charging.
When we come back the next day the charger has shut off (I say because it timed out, not because it fully charged) and the cart again has a suckish drive time.

What could be the problem and how could it be fixed? (besides replacing the batteries and charger)
The batteries are supposedly 'brand new' and as far as I know the charger is the original.
Thanks!

[JohnnieB]

Getting the batteries wet doesn't hurt them, I rinse mine off with a garden hose after I scrub tops with a baking soda solution. (Routine monthly battery maintenance)

However, water it could have made corroded connections worse, or might not have helped the controller any if it got wet.

Sounds like you've got two issues. Cart Run-time and Charger not charging.

Run-Time:
What is the Battery Pack voltage and the individual battery voltages?
If the pack isn't 38.2V or higher 12 hours after charging, either the charger is bad or there may be one or more bad batteries.

Attached is a State of Charge chart. Voltages listed are taken after the batteries have rested 12 hours.

Charger:
Needed to know exactly which charger you have to troubleshoot it, but if it has an ammeter and weighs about 20-30 pounds, it is probably the ferroresonant transformer type, and should jump to 20-30 amps when it first comes on.

If it is what I think it is, it probably has a blown diode or two. (Easy, relatively inexpensive repair.)

Also need to know if cart is a Series Drive or a DCS to troubleshoot.

Attached is chart showing how to ID.


Plug cart's serial number in here and it will return year, body style and drive type.
http://www.shopezgo.com/customer-ser...ialNumber.html

[graysonk95]

Ok, I am at his place now. It appears his cart is a Sepex DCS.
I am sure the water didn't hurt the batteries, but maybe the controller. Right afterward the reverse buzzer started making a higher pitched beep than usual.

[JohnnieB]

1. What is the battery pack voltage?
2. What are the individual battery voltages?