G9 Battery Drain

[baxhall]

Hi,
My G9 is draining battery overnight almost. I purchased a new battery so that's not it. I DO NOT have any accessories, radio, lights etc. What could be the cause of the drain?

I have not checked my voltage regulator but I did purchase a new one online since it was pretty cheap but when I installed it the cart would not work so I put the old one back in. Physically the new VR looked identical but didn't work.

Any help appreciated. Either where I can get the proper VR or other things to check.
Thanks!

[CP241]

Disconnect the negative battery terminal. Hook a test light or some form of incandescent light bulb between the negative battery cable and the terminal. The light will turn on. Unplug things one at a time until the light shuts off. When it shuts off you’ve found your culprit. I’d start with the VR but that’s just me. Could be anything

[baxhall]

Thanks CP, I will troubleshoot this evening!

[baxhall]

Didn’t have a test light but I hooked up my multimeter to the battery, put it in neutral and ran it for a min and it read between 16-17volts. So the VR is charging but is there a such thing as too much?

[slonomo]

Originally Posted by baxhall

Didn’t have a test light but I hooked up my multimeter to the battery, put it in neutral and ran it for a min and it read between 16-17volts. So the VR is charging but is there a such thing as too much?

Yep, if it's charging over 14.5 volts its too much. You'll cook the battery eventually.

But you didn't do what he suggested. If your battery is dying while it sits, there is something staying on, or drawing amps, while it's off. You need to use the multimeter to jump between the negative cable and the battery so you can see how many volts are being drawn. Then, disconnect things one at a time and you'll find the circuit that is drawing when it drops to zero. Start with the voltage regulator since it's overcharging, betting it will be drawing amps when off.

[CP241]

I skipped meter diag because most people don’t have one or know how to use it.

But if you do, set it to amperage. Disconnect the negative terminal and hook the red probe to the cable, and the black probe to the terminal itself. This will show you the amperage being drawn while the cart sits. Again, disconnect components one at a time until the draw is reduced. Should be under 5-10mA at most.

[baxhall]

Very helpful, I’ll try this next. So what I’m understanding is that on a properly functioning cart there shouldn’t be any draw on the negative terminal when it’s sitting. Is that an accurate statement?

Sorry if I’m asking too many questions just trying to understand. Thx again!

[CP241]

Correct. You should basically have no drain at all with everything turned off

[slonomo]

Originally Posted by CP241

I skipped meter diag because most people don’t have one or know how to use it.

But if you do, set it to amperage. Disconnect the negative terminal and hook the red probe to the cable, and the black probe to the terminal itself. This will show you the amperage being drawn while the cart sits. Again, disconnect components one at a time until the draw is reduced. Should be under 5-10mA at most.

Yes amperage setting, that's what I was trying to say lol

[baxhall]

Originally Posted by slonomo

Yep, if it's charging over 14.5 volts its too much. You'll cook the battery eventually.

But you didn't do what he suggested. If your battery is dying while it sits, there is something staying on, or drawing amps, while it's off. You need to use the multimeter to jump between the negative cable and the battery so you can see how many volts are being drawn. Then, disconnect things one at a time and you'll find the circuit that is drawing when it drops to zero. Start with the voltage regulator since it's overcharging, betting it will be drawing amps when off.

So, come to find out the battery was bad, would not hold a charge so took it back and exchanged it, likely because the VR fried it. I did replace the VR today and ran a test with multimeter and still charging around 16-16.5v when I'm running it at top end.

Could there be something else causing the VR to have that high of a reading? I also did the light test that you guys suggested and it would not light up so I'm assuming my drain was due to bad battery but I don't want to fry the new one so again, wondering what else I can check or what could cause the VR to have such a high reading.

Thanks!