36 Volt very sluggish

[goldberg]

Bought my parents a 36 volt buggy for Christmas and it ran fine for the first couple of days. Now when you press the accelerator the cart will move very slowly and I can hear the motor humming. I thought the batteries may need charging but the automatic charger will not come on. That led me to believe that the batteries didn't need charging. Also, I jacked the rear wheels up off the ground and had my brother hold the gas pedal down. Once the wheels got up to speed I tried to stop them from spinning with my foot and it stopped almost instantly. Is there some sort of clutch or pressure plate that could be slipping? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[scottyb]

It sounds like you have run the batteries down too far for the charger to come on.

Check your pack voltage and see if it in fact in the 20s. If it is....
Try recharging the batteries in pairs with a 12v car charger until the pack voltage is back up above 28 volts. Then try the charger again.

[Coltf1991]

As Scotty stated, automatic chargers are voltage sensitive. If the pack is so low(below 28v) the charger will not kick on. Therefore charging in pairs is the only way to get them back up, to where the 36v charger senses them

[goldberg]

Thanks for the info guys. When I got home i checked my voltage and it was 35.3 I've now got the 12volt car charger hooked up to the first 2 batteries, after disconnecting the others ones of course. Should the automatic charger be coming on if my voltage was 35.3? Most of my batteries read right at 6.0V and i had one that read 4.9V.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by Coltf1991

As Scotty stated, automatic chargers are voltage sensitive. If the pack is so low(below 28v) the charger will not kick on. Therefore charging in pairs is the only way to get them back up, to where the 36v charger senses them

Thanks Colton, I couldn't have said that by myself.

Originally Posted by goldberg

Thanks for the info guys. When I got home i checked my voltage and it was 35.3 I've now got the 12volt car charger hooked up to the first 2 batteries, after disconnecting the others ones of course. Should the automatic charger be coming on if my voltage was 35.3? Most of my batteries read right at 6.0V and i had one that read 4.9V.

The battery reading 4.9 may have lost a cell, charge it up if it does not come up to the rest of em, replace it with a battery similar in age and size of the rest.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by goldberg

.....................Should the automatic charger be coming on if my voltage was 35.3? Most of my batteries read right at 6.0V and i had one that read 4.9V.

Welcome to BGW.

At 35.3V, an automatic charger ought to come on, so you might have some charger issues as well as battery issues.

Which charger do you have? (Picture of faceplate will do if you cannot identify it)

One possibility is dirty contacts in the charging plug and receptacle.
The battery voltage is sensed via the Aux. Contact in the charger's plug touching the outside of the negative female contact in the cart's receptacle.
Try wiggling the plug in the receptacle while listening for the relay in the charger to click.
There is a 3-5 second delay, so be patient.


Attached is a State of Charge Chart. At 6V, your 5 good batteries only have a 50% charge in them and should be brought up to a full charge post haste.
Either by charging them in pairs with a 12V charger or with the 36V charger when if you can get it working soon.

For longest battery life and performance, you want to keep the battery pack as close to fully charged as possible or practical and never allow them to get discharged to 50% or below.

[Coltf1991]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Thanks Colton, I couldn't have said it myself

Just figured I would simplify it

[bamaboys]

I am new here on this forum. Saw the subject 36 volt sluggish and was wanting to ask a question. I have a 2008 ezgo 36v cart. The batteries run down with in less than 2 hours. Has any one ever used a Battery Life Saver? If so do they work? Just think they should last longer than that....really did not want to spend $600.00 on new batteries. thanks for any replys!!!Bart

[Coltf1991]

waste of money