EZGO Series Cart - New Batteries - Horrible range

[Exchangegeek]

Thanks. I will charger overnight and wait for the charger to stop.

As for heat no. I felt each battery cable and they were warm but not that warm. These are all 2 AWG wire and so they are pretty efficient. The warmest wire was the positive going to the controller. I did not reach back and try to feel any of the motor components nor did I take the box off the controller to see how it was doing.

The motor does have a whine that the PDS carts do not have. I do not know if it is normal or not. If anyone thinks that is important, I will make a video with sound.

[rib33024]

36.31 is 50 %, and you can not go by the Led bar meter they are wrong when it comes to reading true battery volts

See this post for the chart

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...ml#post1014187

Originally Posted by Exchangegeek

Thanks. I will charger overnight and wait for the charger to stop.

As for heat no. I felt each battery cable and they were warm but not that warm. These are all 2 AWG wire and so they are pretty efficient. The warmest wire was the positive going to the controller. I did not reach back and try to feel any of the motor components nor did I take the box off the controller to see how it was doing.

The motor does have a whine that the PDS carts do not have. I do not know if it is normal or not. If anyone thinks that is important, I will make a video with sound.

[Great white north]

I maybe wrong but I did not see you post what amp / hr capacity your new batteries are ? , if they are low 205 amp/ hr cheap batts . Get a half decent battery to start with like a crown or Trojan , at least 245 amp/ hr , just saying

[yurtle]

Originally Posted by Exchangegeek

Thanks. I will charger overnight and wait for the charger to stop.

As for heat no. I felt each battery cable and they were warm but not that warm. These are all 2 AWG wire and so they are pretty efficient. The warmest wire was the positive going to the controller. I did not reach back and try to feel any of the motor components nor did I take the box off the controller to see how it was doing.

The motor does have a whine that the PDS carts do not have. I do not know if it is normal or not. If anyone thinks that is important, I will make a video with sound.

None of the cables should be warmer than any other on a series cart. Not 100% accurate, but I doubt you'd be able to feel the difference. If one is warmer than others, you should try and feel the lugs on both ends.

[Exchangegeek]

Thanks! I will check it again when my new handheld voltmeter gets here tomorrow. I will drive a further distance and will recheck the wire temps.

[yurtle]

If you're gonna remove the controller cover, go ahead and apply WD-40, or equivalent, as the bolts often shear off from the aluminum heat sink.

[mike777]

get an in dash digital readout voltage meter from Scottyb

[Exchangegeek]

OK Folks, I am back and still fighting with this cart. I had some time to make a small set of "jumper" cables that let me put a voltmeter on each battery while I am driving so I can check things while under a load. I fully charged the system then ran the cart for 4 miles until the LED shows roughly 60% charge (I know not to rely on it). I checked each battery with the voltmeter:

At rest, the batteries all read between 6.35-6.37 (38.16)
While going up a moderate hill they range from 5.95-5.97 (35.76)
While going up a steeper hill they range from 5.88-5.90 (35.34)

The LED Meter (I know they are terrible) reads half charge.

Based on this, do you agree that the pack and cart are discharging as expected?

[cableguy_hd]

your voltage will drop while climbing a hill. I'm 48v and have seen mine go down as low as 43v loaded with people and climbing.

[JohnnieB]

Actually, the voltage on a lead-acid battery drops whenever amps are being drawn from it.
How much the voltage drops depends on how many amps are being drawn, the battery's storage capacity and its State of Charge.

In a golf cart, the maximum amp draw occurs when the motor is stalled. Coming in second is accelerating from a standstill and climbing hills is third.

No matter what the total voltage of the pack is, it is made up from a number of 2V cells in series. (IE: 36V=18cells 42V=21cells 48V=24cells)

During normal operation, you should try not to drop below 1.75VPC (Volts per cell)

If you drop below 1.5VPC, irreversible physical damage to the cells may occur.