2004 Club Car DS won't move

[mgray70]

Originally Posted by 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.

That one battery dropping to 0 could definitely cause the no go. I can't promise that is the only problem, but I can promise you that it is a problem.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[ThreeCW]

Originally Posted by 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.

Find attached a State of Charge chart for your reference.

Your "fully charged batteries" under no load have the following State of Charge:
#1 -8.30 = 76% State of Charge - poor result
#2 -8.43 = 92% State of Charge - substandard (should be at or near 100%)
#3 -8.36 = 84% State of Charge - substandard (should be at or near 100%)
#4 -8.21 = 66% State of Charge - very poor result (very weak battery)
#5 -5.75 = 0% State of Charge - battery has failed
#6 -8.33 = 80% State of Charge - substandard (should be at or near 100%)

Time to get a professional test at a battery shop ... and then decision time.

Let us know your results.

PS - Also attached a battery date code example so you can determine the age of your batteries.

[ThreeCW]

Originally Posted by mgray70

That one battery dropping to 0 could definitely cause the no go.

That one battery dropping out "IS" definitely causing a no go ... no "could" about it!

If you want to do a science experiment, replace the failed battery #5 with a borrowed or used one ... you might try to replace the weak battery #4 as well and you would likely get your cart moving again. A battery pack is like a chain, you are only as good as your weakest link (or weakest battery).

[jawsfree]

Thanks guys and gals for all your help. I have been busy with work and have not had a chance to work on this in a few. I am going to replace the bad battery #5 this week, wife is pushing for me to have it back on the road for Thanksgiving so the kids can go riding, will see if that at least gets me some ride time.

I have taken all the pictures I have taken and placed them in an albumhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/U7H7oGLfAE3le7ae2 so anyone can take a look. I am new to this cart thing so I am not sure on all the wiring. If some of y'all don't mind taking a look at the pics and let me know if it looks like it is wired correctly that would be cool. I found a few wires that are not connect and I am not sure if they have bypassed something or not. I also don't see a voltage reducer, not sure if I need one or not.

The cart has headlights, horn, turn signal and I want to put a radio and speakers in there at some point too.

One more newbie question. If the cart is 48V why can't it run on 4 12V batteries? Sorry had to ask.

Thanks again and I wish everyone a Happy Holiday!

[mgray70]

Originally Posted by jawsfree

Thanks guys and gals for all your help. I have been busy with work and have not had a chance to work on this in a few. I am going to replace the bad battery #5 this week, wife is pushing for me to have it back on the road for Thanksgiving so the kids can go riding, will see if that at least gets me some ride time.

I have taken all the pictures I have taken and placed them in an albumhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/U7H7oGLfAE3le7ae2 so anyone can take a look. I am new to this cart thing so I am not sure on all the wiring. If some of y'all don't mind taking a look at the pics and let me know if it looks like it is wired correctly that would be cool. I found a few wires that are not connect and I am not sure if they have bypassed something or not. I also don't see a voltage reducer, not sure if I need one or not.

The cart has headlights, horn, turn signal and I want to put a radio and speakers in there at some point too.

One more newbie question. If the cart is 48V why can't it run on 4 12V batteries? Sorry had to ask.

Thanks again and I wish everyone a Happy Holiday!

You can run 4 12 volt batteries, but they would need to be golf cart batteries. The 6- 8 volt setup gives you more run time. There shouldn't be much difference in price for the 8 volts vs. 12 volt sets.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[ThreeCW]

Jawsfree - good photos.

Wiring Comments – I am not knowledgeable in Club Cars or in 8 volt battery set ups, but here are my general wiring observations

1) High Amperage Cables – the Red and Yellow cables attached to your solenoid appear to be somewhat more recent replacements with heavier gauge cable and good connectors with heat shrink tubing insulation. The remaining visible high amperage cables (including the battery cabling) appears to be older, smaller gauge and perhaps with some questionable crimp type connections (which are not insulated). You might want to consider replacing / upgrading the majority of the high amp cables with heavier gauge cable and properly sized crimped and soldered connections (with heat shrink insulation).

2) Improper connections – I notice several places where the high amperage cables have low amp connectors sandwiched between the terminal post and the high amp connection (i.e. both high amp terminals of the solenoid (where the resistor is connected) and at least two places on the batteries (where the low amp red and black wires are connected)). This can result in higher resistance at connections and hot spots which may lead to a melted battery posts. The proper install is to have the high amp cable connected first to the terminal post (on bottom) and have any low amp connections placed above the high amp connection, followed by a washer (if used) and a securing nut. This will ensure the least resistance for the high amp circuit.

3) Low voltage circuit - it appears that you may be pulling your low voltage circuit from the low amp red and black wire connected across two batteries giving you a 16 volt circuit instead of a 12 volt circuit. If you check the input wire to the fuse block (under the “Press” tab) for voltage and you measure 16 volts (nominal) this is what is likely happening. If you measure 12 volts, you might have a voltage reducer hiding somewhere.

4) How to read the date codes on Trojan batteries
The Shipping Date Code should be stamped on the Negative Battery Terminal.
This code indicates the month and year when the battery was shipped out of the factory.
LETTER stands for the month, A to L (A=January, B=February, C=March, and so on);
NUMBER is the last digit of the year.
Example: A battery with “G4” on the negative terminal means that it was shipped from the factory July 2014.

5) Battery Options for 48 volt
8 pieces of 6 volt Trojan batteries (T105) have a 225 Amp Hour rating (20 hr rate)
6 pieces of 8 volt Trojan batteries (T875) have a 170 Amp Hour rating (20 hr rate)
4 pieces of 12 volt Trojan batteries (T1275) have a 150 Amp Hour rating (20 hr rate)

You can see the capacity (amp hour rating) for the 4 x 12 volt batteries is less that the 6 x 8 volt and considerably less than the 8 x 6 volts. All 48 volt systems, but with different capacities. And capacity = run time. In short, the more lead and acid you put in a cart, the longer the run time (to the tune of about 0.45 amp hours per pound of battery).

[Tom47]

Originally Posted by jawsfree

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.

I think the defective battery or batteries may have have led to the solenoid's failure. If the solenoid does not have a minimum coil voltage, which varies by manufacturer but can be around 40 volts, and you dropped below that under load, the cart will run but the solenoid will not have a solid contact closure.

Hence, higher than normal resistance through the operating contacts=higher than normal heat buildup and arcing which will lead to contact pitting until it fails completely.

It sounds like the chain of events you experienced.

[WalterM6]

Your batteries appear to be made July 14. They MAY have some life left in them. This info comes from the stamp shown in the third to last picture. All guesses are off about the non trojan bat.

https://solarbatteriesonline.com.au/...DATE-CODES.pdf