2004 Club Car DS won't move

[jawsfree]

OK... I replace the solenoid with like kind and hooked everything back up but still won't move forward or reverse BUT when I put in reverse and press the gas pedal it does buzz now which I don't believe it was before.

It has been off the charger during this whole time, about 9 days now. I disconnected all the batteries before I tried to test it just to see what condition they are in and all read ~8.34 except one which read 6.23. I am guessing all are good except the 6.23 one.

I reconnected everything and place it back on the charger to keep the batteries maintained until I can figure out what is wrong.

What to do next?

[ThreeCW]

Originally Posted by jawsfree

It has been off the charger during this whole time, about 9 days now. I disconnected all the batteries before I tried to test it just to see what condition they are in and all read ~8.34 except one which read 6.23. I am guessing all are good except the 6.23 one.

I reconnected everything and place it back on the charger to keep the batteries maintained until I can figure out what is wrong.

What to do next?

Time for a detailed battery test. The 8.34v batteries are at an 80% state of charge. The 6.23v is pretty much totally dead.

Fully charge your battery pack and let it sit for 12 to 24 hours to allow the voltages to stabilize. Record the pack voltage and the individual battery voltages at static conditions (no load).

Then repeat the battery test under a loaded condition (by attempting to drive the cart) and record the pack voltage and the individual battery voltages under the loaded condition.

It appears that you have one (or possibly more) bad batteries that could be causing your problem.

I would also suggest to measure the resistance of all your high amperage cables on your cart. Each cable should have a resistance of about 1 ohm or less.

I have had two cases where one failed battery has resulted in a dead cart. The troubleshooting above should help you to determine if you are facing a similar problem.

Regards, 3CW

[jawsfree]

Ok I will check the batteries again. On another note that may be affecting this is how the cart is wired. I purchased from private party individual a few months back. The cart has headlights, tail lights, horn, turn signal and hazard signal. I don't know how it is wired or how it should be wired so any info on the wiring I can check to would be very helpful.

UPDATE:
OK I ran some battery test this morning. I put the charger on last night and it is off this morning. I know you said wait 12-24 hours and I will test again tonight but I wanted to share the current battery state.

No load results
#1 -8.28
#2 -8.41
#3 -8.34
#4 -8.20
#5 -5.41 this one fluctuates from 5.41 down to 3.3 then bounce back up. weird?
#6 -8.31
Pack 47

Under load
Pack 6.9 in forward and reverse pedal 100%. No cart movement.

I am guessing from these results that I may have some bad batteries and maybe when the solenoid failed while we were out driving around that the battery went at the same time? We have used the cart several times since we bought it a few months back with no problems. We probably drive around 3-7 miles on flat roads then put back on the charger, it would slow down toward the last trip but not so bad that your worried you would not have enough power to get back.

thanks
Jason

[ThreeCW]

At a minimum, battery #5 has failed and needs to be replaced.

I would still do the load test on individual batteries just for the sake of science.

How old are the batteries? Read the battery code on the terminals to determine.

One replacement battery might suffice, but if the pack is older or has been neglected by the previous owners, you might want to replace them all depending on your plans for the cart.

Another option is to take them all into a battery shop and get them professionally tested since you know that the batteries are the problem.

[ThreeCW]

With a further look at your voltages, 8.2 to 8.4 volts (fresh off the charger and not stabilized), your good batteries are only at a 65 to 90% state of charge.

My crystal ball thinks a new battery pack is in your future.

[jawsfree]

OK just did a load test on each battery and the only one that showed any voltage decrease was #5. Would this prevent any voltage drop from the other batteries under load?

[ThreeCW]

The bad one might mask another poor batteries.
I suspect #4 is poor due to the low state of charge.
What was the voltage of #5 under load?

[ThreeCW]

The bad one might mask another poor batteries.
I suspect #4 is poor due to the low state of charge.
What was the voltage of #5 under load?
A battery shop could test each cell and give you a better indication of their condition.
Or you might replace #5 with a used battery and attempt the charging and testing again.
How old are the batteries?

[jawsfree]

the load dropped to 0 then jumped up . I am not sure on the battery age as I purchased the cart used. I will see if there is a date on them.

[jawsfree]

Updated voltages sitting off charger for 3 days now.

No load results
#1 -8.30
#2 -8.43
#3 -8.36
#4 -8.21
#5 -5.75 this one fluctuates bounce back up. weird?
#6 -8.33

I have put the cart back on jack stands and retested everything to make sure the wheel would not move at all. I don't mind replacing the battery or entire bank but I want to make sure that is the problem before spend all that money on new bank. It is just weird to me that the solenoid and the battery would crap out at the same time, it was running fine until then.