Relatively New Batteries not taking a Charge

[bsm726]

Hi. First time owner of a 2019 EZGO. Had it for about 12 months and got it with 6 brand new 8v Trojan batteries. I found the water level in the batteries to be about 1/8" below the tops of the plates (right term?). Checked the water level a couple days ago and added just enough distilled water to all cells to just cover all the plates. The batteries were close to full charge before that. We drove it a few miles that day without problem. We forgot to plug it in when we got back, but this trip typically only drains about 20% of the battery. My wife drove it this morning about 2 miles with around 50% charge and BARELY made it home. I've had it charging for about 5 hours now, and the charge level is still at zero and blinking. It's not taking a charge it seems.

Haven't had any trouble charging the batteries before this, but this is also the first time I've ever added water in 12 months to these batteries. Any help with troubleshooting this? Could I have added too much/ too little water? Have I ruined the batteries? Any help much appreciated!

-B

[Capt. Lenny]

You need to keep the water above the plates by more than 1/8”. Use only distilled water and add enough till you get a pucker at the vertical slot. Do not fill to the top.

[bsm726]

Originally Posted by Capt. Lenny

You need to keep the water above the plates by more than 1/8”. Use only distilled water and add enough till you get a pucker at the vertical slot. Do not fill to the top.

But would what I did explain it not taking a charge at all? Or could it have anything to do with it being drained to zero this morning?

[ojo]

Check the voltage of each single battery with a multimeter. Running batteries with dry plates will damage them and isn't reversible. Read the stickies for FLA battery maintenance.

[rngilliland]

If batteries get discharged too low, a golf cart charger may not start charging them. You have to get the voltage up enough for the charger to recognize that it is connected to a 48 volt battery pack. Make sure the water covers the plates. Put a regular 12 volt charger on one of the batteries. Let it charge for 30 minutes or so. Then move to another battery. You can try the golf cart charger after you charge each battery. Once the total voltage is high enough the cart charger should start charging.

Charge the batteries completely with the cart charger and then check the water. The level will rise some when you charge them. Fill the charged batteries to the correct level. Check the batteries regularly and don't let the water go below the top of the plates.

You don't need to disconnect the battery cables to use the 12 volt charger. Just connect to the positive and negative of one battery at a time.

[Cobra,1]

Agree with above
Battery voltage is too low for charger to start charging.
Now is a good time to buy an inexpensive volt meter for checking battery voltage 😊

[bsm726]

Awesome thank you guys so much! Will try this!

[Cobra,1]

Let us know out come so others can learn 👍