"Powerwise Battery Charger..."

[Silverstreak]

Thanks Swan!
JohnnieB.......Sorry I'm so slow with this stuff. Okay......so when I clean the batteries with baking soda and water, do I disconnect them each cable, wash the area and hook them back up? Is there any shock potential, as long as it's not plugged in? How do I clean the terminals in the charger receptacle and the contact in the charger plug?
I really appreciate the help! I'm lost without my cart.

[Silverstreak]

Okay, I cleaned all the batteries/terminals with a baking soda solution and rinsed it off. I tested the batteries twice and all tested 6.4v except for one that was 4.7. :( Can that be the cause of the problem? (not of the charger problem, but the hardly-any-power-problem?)

I didn't disconnect any of the terminal cables when I cleaned it. Should I have done that?
I do have battery protectant spray that I will use on the terminals when everything dries. One of the batteries is newish and the rest are old (over 7 years). If they test 6.4 is there any reason to replace them, when I replace the one that's low? Do local auto places carry golf cart batteries?
Thanks!

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Silverstreak

Thanks Swan!
JohnnieB.......Sorry I'm so slow with this stuff.
1. Okay......so when I clean the batteries with baking soda and water, do I disconnect them each cable, wash the area and hook them back up?

2. Is there any shock potential, as long as it's not plugged in?

3. How do I clean the terminals in the charger receptacle and the contact in the charger plug?

4. I really appreciate the help! I'm lost without my cart.

1. Put the baking soda and water mixture in an old Windex bottle and spray the batteries with the cables connected, scrub the the tops and connectors with a stiff brush (The type used for pots and pans), rinse and repeat until the baking soda solution doesn't foam when applied.

Then take the cables off one at a time for cleaning if needed and yours will most likely need cleaning. I use brushes are actually made for cleaning firearms that look like oversized toothbrushes and have either stiff nylon, brass or stainless steel bristles to remove the corrosion off the ring terminals and battery posts. Which bristles I use depends on how stubborn the corrosion is. If the nylon bristles will take it down to bare metal fine, if not I go to a stiffer brush.

HINT: Take pictures of the battery pack before removing any cables so you have a record of how everything was connected. Also, if the is more than one cable or wire on a battery terminal stud, the connector for the thickest cable goes on first.


2. There is a arcing hazard (metal object getting between + and - terminals), but the probability of getting an electrical shock is minimal and even if you do feel it, it is benign since it is DC rather than AC and there is little risk of inducing fibrillation. Wearing rubber gloves will eliminate the possibility of an electric shock as well as acid burns.

Some people can feel 36V DC and others cannot, but not many people can be harmed by it.

3. Emory board or folded up piece of sandpaper.

4. I use my cart as a mobility aid also.

[Silverstreak]

Thanks Johnnie! Are you saying I could use sandpaper if I didn't have a wire brush? Strange thing.....when I put a fair amount of baking soda and water on the terminals....there was NO bubbling! Curious. I'm thinking the dark stuff I was seeing was something they sprayed on when I had it serviced and it just got very dirty.
And I did take pictures! :) Also.......will that one "bad" battery cause it to not have much power at all? Or can I use it for short distances and go very slow? I just don't want to get stuck to far from the house, but it would sure nice to drive it to the garden and back. Also, does it matter which position the bad battery is located? If so....it's in the middle front. Thanks! I'll deal with the charger tomorrow. Today is too busy......dealing with mulch/green beans/tomatoes, cucumbers coming out the wazoo. :)

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Silverstreak

Okay, I cleaned all the batteries/terminals with a baking soda solution and rinsed it off. I tested the batteries twice and all tested 6.4v except for one that was 4.7. :( Can that be the cause of the problem? (not of the charger problem, but the hardly-any-power-problem?)

I didn't disconnect any of the terminal cables when I cleaned it. Should I have done that?
I do have battery protectant spray that I will use on the terminals when everything dries. One of the batteries is newish and the rest are old (over 7 years). If they test 6.4 is there any reason to replace them, when I replace the one that's low? Do local auto places carry golf cart batteries?
Thanks!

The batteries ought to be about 6.37V about 12 hours after the charger shuts off automatically. The voltage reading taken too soon after charging will be artificially high.

Ideally, all six batteries ought to be the same make and model and have the same manufacturing date. They are charged and discharged while connected together in series, so any differences between the batteries will lessen the usable lifespan of all six batteries.

That said, if one or two batteries in a relatively new set of batteries goes bad, they can be replaced with new batteries, but the new batteries will quickly acquire the same aging as the other batteries. You have a relatively old set of batteries with a newer one mixed in, so the whole pack ought to be replaced.

Some auto parts stores do sell golf cart batteries. NAPA and O'Reilly's for instance. Also Sam's club and Rural King.

The battery that has 4.2V is causing the hardly any power problems you are experiencing, maybe the charger issues also.

[Swan]

Originally Posted by BBBHC

Swan, thanks for posting the pdf. Now maybe I will actually start to understand how and when to test what!?!?

Originally Posted by Silverstreak

Thanks Swan!

We are all here to learn




Is now open
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[Silverstreak]

Thanks Johnnie. I might have some more questions tomorrow. I really appreciate the help!

[Swan]

Originally Posted by Silverstreak

I'm thinking the dark stuff I was seeing was something they sprayed on when I had it serviced and it just got very dirty.

I questioned that after looking at the pic you can see over spray on the cell covers



Is now open
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[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Silverstreak

Thanks Johnnie!
1. Are you saying I could use sandpaper if I didn't have a wire brush?
2. Strange thing.....when I put a fair amount of baking soda and water on the terminals....there was NO bubbling!
3. Curious. I'm thinking the dark stuff I was seeing was something they sprayed on when I had it serviced and it just got very dirty.
And I did take pictures! :)
4. Also.......will that one "bad" battery cause it to not have much power at all? Or can I use it for short distances and go very slow? I just don't want to get stuck to far from the house, but it would sure nice to drive it to the garden and back.
5. Also, does it matter which position the bad battery is located? If so....it's in the middle front. Thanks! I'll deal with the charger tomorrow.
6. Today is too busy......dealing with mulch/green beans/tomatoes, cucumbers coming out the wazoo. :)

1. Sandpaper or Scotch-Brite works.
2. That is odd, everything in the battery compartment usually gets an acid build up on it.
3. You're probably right about that, some of that spray on stuff can be used to make fly strips.
4. The one bad battery is the cause of your cart not having much power and it can get worse without warning. I wouldn't trust it very far. Perhaps you can carry a walker or chair with you on the cart until you get it fixed.
5. Makes no difference what location it is in. The six batteries are connected in series and the series chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
6. Nothing like fresh veggies. My father was a great gardener and I helped him tend his garden when I was a kid (Lo so many years ago - I'm 75 now), but certainly I didn't inherit his green thumb. When I put a seed in a hole in the ground. I've most likely buried it instead of planted it.

[Silverstreak]

Thanks Swan and Johnnie.
Boy, 6 new batteries will be something like $600+, right? It's an old cart, but we're good friends. We have 35 acres of woods and field and it has allowed me to enjoy it all on a regular basis. Even when the kids come home to visit, we take the traditional cart ride.

Johnnie.......I think I got my love of gardening from my grandpap. He lived back behind us and had a big garden. I can remember him growing lots of strawberries and he'd let my brother and I sell them for about 15 cents and we'd get to keep most of it.

I got so that I couldn't lean over to garden much, so I bought a bunch of food-grade stock tanks and drilled some drainage holes in them, filled them with good compost, and put them up on cement blocks and have been growing veggies in those, or up trellises. I've been using the kids' old swingset lined with wire to grow things up and it's great. I even have a nest of wrens that come back every year to build a nest in the top tube. It sure has been fun........and a lot of work! I sure couldn't' continue to enjoy nature as much without my golf cart buddy!