2006 EZ GO PDS --- 2.5 year old batteries seem to die?

[cgtech]

Originally Posted by Sir Nuke

That's odd.....as I just got a new 48v DPI charger last fall and it does go to float mode.

of course the charger could have been an older (NOS) version that was still in Scotty's inventory.

Change has happened much more recently than that. I'm talking about the new chargers with the blue label (think it's blue). Got them most recent with a shipment of new Yamahas, which we order from the factory with DPI chargers. Has a USB port, and 5 dip-switches instead of 4 jumpers to set mode. Also comes with a CD with software and owners manuals instead of paper copy.

[dankfoot]

Originally Posted by Dixie Chopper

Do you have a multi-meter? If so, you should load test the batteries individually. It is possible that one or two batteries are bad causing the whole pack to look bad.

Yes, I did test each battery but not under load.

How should I do that?

[Dixie Chopper]

Originally Posted by dankfoot

Yes, I did test each battery but not under load.

How should I do that?

The easiest way to do it is clip your meter leads on each battery and take off under full throttle watching how low the voltage drops. Do that for each battery and for the entire pack. Your whole pack voltage shouldn't be dropping much below 31.5 or so during initial take off. Post your results and we can go from there.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by dankfoot

Thanks Guys for all the help.

It's on my neighbors charger right now. Its been 1 hour so far.

I did a voltage test while it was charging and it measured.

43.6 pack
7.2 battery (I only checked one)

Not sure if the above helps any.

Originally Posted by dankfoot

Ok Guys,

My neighbors charger has now stopped. It charged between 2:20 hours to 2:30 hours

The amperage on the charger gauge shows 9

I tested each battery and they are between 6.11 and 6.14 (most were 6.13)

The pack is measuring 36.8

So what now?

Normal operation of a Powerwise 28115:

The on-charge voltage starts at whatever the battery pack is at when the charger turned on and climbs to about 45.0V, at which point the control board shuts the charger off.

The ammeter on the charge should instantly climb to about 20A when the charger turns on and stay at about 20A until the on-charge voltage climbs to about 42.0V.

The on-charge voltage will hover at about 42.0V while the ammeter decreases down into the 5A to 7A range and then amps will remain about the same as the voltage climbs to about 45V and charger shuts off.

Immediately after the charger shuts off, the pack voltage will read about 45.0 and over the next 8 to 12 hours it will decrease to about 38.2V.

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I suspect you have one or more bad batteries and the load testing technique Dixie Chopper suggested ought to identify which ones are bad.

The chargers don't seem to be following the charging profile that is designed into them, but there are two of them not charging right, so it may be just bad batteries, or it may be some bad cables also.

[dankfoot]

Ok, I will try and do the load test ASAP. I hope tonight.

BTW, here is his charger.

One more question. If my issue is the batteries, what new batteries do you recommend? Budget is somewhat of an issue. Having said that I also know you get what you pay for. I can't believe mine are only 2.5 years old and are dead.

LOL, brings up another question. Can I recondition mine? Does the Epsom salt trick actually work?

Thanks

[mgray70]

It sounds like to me the batteries are toast. Can you prove that they are only 2.5 years old? A lot of golf cart dealers are notorious for lying about battery age, and those bubble pop out date things can be manipulated also. That's why I like Trojans date stamp.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[dankfoot]

When I bought my cart I wanted 2 things.
a. The cheapest cart
b. With the newest batteries

I bought my cart from a girl that got it from her family. She put brand new wheels and tires on it along with new batteries.

I have a receipt for both.

e-bay was the tires and rims

Local golf cart shop was the batteries.
7/6/15
6 Interstate 6V Batteries 99.99 each = 599.94
Installation = 69.00
Total 709.44

[mgray70]

Originally Posted by dankfoot

When I bought my cart I wanted 2 things.
a. The cheapest cart
b. With the newest batteries

I bought my cart from a girl that got it from her family. She put brand new wheels and tires on it along with new batteries.

I have a receipt for both.

e-bay was the tires and rims

Local golf cart shop was the batteries.
7/6/15
6 Interstate 6V Batteries 99.99 each = 599.94
Installation = 69.00
Total 709.44

[emoji108] just checking. Sounds like one or more of them are bad to me though. Maybe the others will have better advice.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by dankfoot

Ok, I will try and do the load test ASAP. I hope tonight.

BTW, here is his charger.

One more question. If my issue is the batteries, what new batteries do you recommend? Budget is somewhat of an issue. Having said that I also know you get what you pay for. I can't believe mine are only 2.5 years old and are dead.

LOL, brings up another question. Can I recondition mine? Does the Epsom salt trick actually work?

Thanks

The Total Charge III you friend has is essentially the same charger you have.
Both are the ferroresonant transformer type and designed to yield the attached charge profile. It is for Trojan brand batteries, but Interstate batteries are more or less Trojan clones and both of the make/model chargers you've tried have been satisfactorily charging Interstate brand batteries for years.

The highest Amp-Hour rating at the lowest price you can find locally is typically the best bang for the buck. Try to get at lest 225AH batteries because the lower the AH, the shorter the cradle to grave lifespan.

Using Epsom salts and other snake oil additives is dicey. At best you get an noticeable improvement that is short lived, at worst instant failure.

The snake oils only work on batteries that have crystalline lead sulfate on the plates (part of the natural aging process). The PbSo4 form a barrier and impedes the sulfuric acid from reaching the active surface of the lead and Lead-dioxide plates. The additives cause the outer layers of the plates to slough off and (hopefully) fall to the bottom of the cells. This exposes more active surface on the plates, but the plates are thinner and don't last very long. If the sloughed off material happens to form a bridge between plates, a short is created and the cell is instantly bad. Worst case, the battery explodes.

Whether the batteries can be "reconditioned" depends on what is wrong with the batteries. WHen I got my cart, the 18 month old Trojan T-105 batteries would only take a 85% charge. Doing back-to-back charging over a few week got then up to 95% and with float charging, by the next summer they would take 100%.

--------------
We need to find out what the batteries are during during load testing before trying anything.

[dankfoot]

Hey guys,

I wanted to give a short update. I got home after work and tried to do the load test. With it being dark and no help and no clips large enough to clip to the post I gave up.

I will get some clips from HD and try again over the weekend during the day.

Once again I really do appreciate everyone’s help.

Thanks


Dank