Time for new batteries or other problem?

[Loosewire]

I recently purchased an '06 Club Car Villager 6-seater with (6) late-'06 model and (2) recently installed '11 6-volt batteries. The new ones were installed by the PO but I think the rest are on the way out. I want to make sure something else is not causing these issues though.

1) The charger would not come on last night after I rode it to about 30% of the battery meter (less than 30 min. of ride time). The charger clicks like it is coming on when I plug it in, but does not charge and the amperage meter never moves.
2) The total voltage this morning was 48.5 volts and one of the old batteries was only 5.8 volts with the rest in the 6.0-6.2 range.
3) When tried to climb a slight embankment yesterday, it cut-out and beeped several times until I took my off the accelerator.

Again, I bought this knowing I would need to replace the batteries soon, but want to make sure there's not another problem. I would like to wait until spring to replace them, buuuutttt......

Also, would there be any benefit to replacing the eight 6-volt batteries with six 8-volt? Other than cost savings of course...

[Stevegrmich]

5.8v is only 20% charge . . .

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...-readings.html

[simple man]

You can get a good used battery to replace the 5.8V one, that is definitely toast. A lot of cart shops have good used batts. Try and match the ampere hr rating on the battery.
Now, as far as talking controllers, someone else can advise you on that!
My guess is that the bad battery caused the stoppage and controller talk by causing the pack to have too low a voltage.

[shadowman]

you need to check the diodes in charger and you have at least 1 bad battery................. the 1 that is reading 5.8 is more than likely crapping itself when you put a load on it so i would load test all of them.........as stated you can buy a used battery to get you thur until you replace the set..............if you can afford it and since its already set up for eight 6 volt batteries thats what i would do leave it that way..........more runtime vs six 8 volt batteries..............so have diodes looked at and at least replace the 1 battery...........................................

[Loosewire]

OK, I load tested and replaced the one reading 5.8 volts. It read just below "weak", so we replaced it with a new one the seller gave me and now it is charging. BUT....one of the weather proof connections is hot (4-5 seconds and it's too hot to hold). It is the 3-wire plug down line from the red wire that goes to the charging plug. Not sure what is causing this or where this wire goes as I have not gotten that far into it nor have it looked at the wiring diagram yet.

[shadowman]

nothing should get that hot.......can you post a pic? does it have like a triangle type connector?...................................

[simple man]

Originally Posted by Loosewire

OK, I load tested and replaced the one reading 5.8 volts. It read just below "weak", so we replaced it with a new one the seller gave me and now it is charging. BUT....one of the weather proof connections is hot (4-5 seconds and it's too hot to hold). It is the 3-wire plug down line from the red wire that goes to the charging plug. Not sure what is causing this or where this wire goes as I have not gotten that far into it nor have it looked at the wiring diagram yet.

Make absolutely sure you connected the replaced battery properly ( + to - / - to + ), in relation to the other batteries.
Also, if you have a " run/tow " switch, it should be placed in " tow " before any electrical work is done!
With the charger off, disconnect the plug that is overheating and check the connections inside. Clean them and reassemble the plug and try the charger again. If your charger has an amp meter, what does it read?

[Loosewire]

I took pictures but haven't had a chance to download them yet. If you follow the red, gray and black wires from the charging receptacle on the cart to the (+) terminal of (what looks like) a solenoid and computer, there is a flat plug between there that allows you to disconnect in order to remove the middle body section for servicing the batteries. This flat plug is the one that gets so hot that it actually melted around the black wire's connector. I'm going to look online tonight to see if there is a good wiring diragram for this unit.

[Loosewire]

Here are some pictures of the plug...




You can see how the middle connector (-) has melted from the heat


BTW, the charger is charging @ 15-16 amps within a few minutes of plugging it in, but I have to unplug it because this connector gets too hot.

[shadowman]

have you tried charging in tow? if so is it still getting hot?.....................