Premature battery light?

[MadAktion]

I’m asking this for a buddy…

My friend has a 2016 club car precedent, much like myself. The way we understand it is the battery light doesn’t come on until you reach 20% of the battery life, and then the battery light blinks at 10%.

My friends battery light came on tonight after driving less than 5 miles, and we found that to be odd. When hooking it up to a voltage meter, it read 49.81 V. The way I understand that, 78% of the battery life should still remain. Am I misunderstanding it based on the chart attached? Thanks all.

[NoleFan4Ever]

All I know about it.... Battery Low State-of-Charge Warning
• The light comes on and remains solid when the battery state of charge falls below 20%.
• The light begins flashing when the battery state of charge falls below 10%.

Charging Confirmation
• The light will flash three times and the reverse buzzer simultaneously will sound three times to indicate a battery charging session has begun.

[Sergio]

We would need someone with an OEM level programmer to connect to these controllers and tell us the programmed BDI settings (Battery Display Indicator), specifically the "Battery Empty" setting.

I think it would be reasonable to assume that since the setting is intended for a Golf Course application, that the SOC is based on "Usable Range" and not "Total Capacity".

It would not be very smart for the 20% light to come on when the pack was down to 46.6v as the cart would likely already be unusable.

I am guessing "empty" is 50% of "total capacity" so even if the light is "blinking", You should still have plenty reserve to get home or somewhere safe.

[mrgolf]

You didn't say the light stayed on. If not it could be the driving could have pulled the batteries down that low as the cart was moving for some amount of time and the meter thought your batteries were remaining that low. When you stopped the voltage came back up and the light should have went off. This all could mean the battery pack is getting weak and will need to be replaced soon.

[Sergio]

Since we are talking about an ERIC Controller the light should have stayed ON since it is showing SOC and not just voltage.

[MadAktion]

More details: When my friend dropped me off, the light had just come on. I confirmed with him that the light remained on for the remainder of the half mile drive back to his house. After plugging into the charger, the light continued to stay on.

[Sergio]

The Controller "synchronizes" the SOC only after it senses charging voltage for a certain amount of time, unfortunately those parameters are also configured in the BDI settings.

Unlike the OBC, the ERIC Controller can only sense discharge current.

One of the Sponsors/members that has an OEM level programmer and access to an ERIC controller would need to provide that information to us.