Problem: Charger? Batteries? What

[Silverstreak]

I have a 2006 TXT series cart. I got new Trojan batteries last Fall, and have taken very good care of them. I have a state-of-charge meter. I charge it almost every night, using a heavy-duty extension cord to a GFCI on the house.
I'm not sure how much it usually charges because in the mornings, I disconnect it from the house and then go to the cart shed. I've always assumed its charging well because the arrow on the meter always appears to be at its fullest.

This morning I disconnected the extension cord and went to use the cart, and I could tell from the arrow that it hadn't charged. Plus, when I used the cart, the arrow went down alot. I plugged it back in, and within 2 hours the charger had shut off, but it didn't look like it had charged the batteries.
I've checked out the extension cord and there are no breaks in it. I've taken the charger up to the house and have plugged it directly into the cart. My charger usually shows about 17 amps when its charging.

Within 30 minutes, the charger had gone down to 10 amps and and now, about 45 minutes later, its almost to zero. But the state-of-charge meter is pointing to the farthest right.

I'm trying to decide if the state-of-charge meter is giving me wrong info, or if the battery charger is funky, or what???

I'm not real mechanical, so is there some what of decifering this problem without special equipment? Like I've said, I've taken very good care of the batteries. I checked the level in them today and they were fine.
I appreciate your help.

[Bowslayer]

Easiest way to narrow down your problem is to buy a cheap digital multi-meter and monitor your battery pack voltage. You can buy a digital MM for less than $20.00 and take all the guess-work out of it.

[Silverstreak]

Thanks Bowslayer.
I have one of those, but I don't know how to use it. Would it be easy for you to tell me how? I'd appreciate it.

[Bowslayer]

Just set it to DC Volts, any setting over 40 DC volts will work. Put the negative probe on the main negative on the battery pack and the positive probe on the main positive on the battery pack and see what your voltage is. A fully charged 36 volt pack should read more than 38 volts.

[Silverstreak]

How do I know which ones are the main pos and neg? Can I test each individual battery?
Also, is there a way of testing my charger too?
If the batteries are less than 38 volts, then I think I should assume its a problem with the charger. ??

[Bowslayer]

The main terminals will be on the controller side of the cart. They are the negative and positive with cables going toward the controller.

[Silverstreak]

Thanks. I'll give that a try.

[AzPete]

Yes, you can test each battery individually....just put the red lead on the positive, black on neg. of each battery. They should all be about 6.4 volts or so fully charged.

If the charger is plugged in, the total pack voltage should go up to 44-45 volts just before the charger shuts off automatically, then settles back to 38+ after a rest time.

[Silverstreak]

Thanks AzPete,
Do I set the multimeter to AC or DC?
Also....is there a way for me to test the charger?

[AzPete]

DC.....

To check the charger, I would hook the meter to the battery pack to see the 36 volt reading. Then plug in the charger. The voltage should start to increase if the charger is working.