Cold Weather - Reduced Speed

[Lee0]

Is this common? 48v cart, went for a ride yesterday @~28F and felt really sluggish.

Pulled out the GPS on my phone and uphill I lost about 4mph uphill (18mph down to 14mph) and about 2-3mph flat (23mph to 21mph).

Does that sounds normal for batteries in cold weather?

[Frizbgolf]

That is pretty normal especially with lead acid batteries. Golf carts are like people they slow down in the cold.

[Volt_Ampere]

ALL batteries under perform in cold weather.

[dundeebarnbuggy]

My world, welcome to it. Wait till it gets below zero.

[Volt_Ampere]

Cold here is about 35 degrees F - and performance loss is noticeable even at those relatively mild temps.

[dundeebarnbuggy]

Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere

Cold here is about 35 degrees F - and performance loss is noticeable even at those relatively mild temps.

I thought it froze [just] some nights in sunny AZ.

[Volt_Ampere]

Originally Posted by dundeebarnbuggy

I thought it froze [just] some nights in sunny AZ.

It gets plenty cold in the higher elevations but I'm in the Scottsdale area and we do get some frost. By the time I get out to play golf, it's in the mid 40's at the coldest. We sometimes have to cover sensitive plants if we are going to get a cool night. But I used to live in the northeast so I know what -20 feels like. :-(
I fly RC models and the battery performance really suffers on cool days. I try to keep the batteries as warm as possible. I have measured battery internal resistance and it just about doubles for every drop in temp of 10 deg C.