Is this run time normal?

[suthern]

Yes, thanks JohnnieB, great explanation and I will do just that when I get back up to the farm. So one battery out of tolerance will drag the whole pack down? Man I'm getting a quick education on these electric carts. You guys are a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate your replies.

[Melonbuster]

Originally Posted by sportcoupe

Like I mentioned before, I would upgrade the cables and F&R switch before dropping the cash in new batteries. That would be a great investment if you plan on keeping the cart with it's larger tires.

Your voltages are good, don't know about a load test but since they hold 100% charge overnight odds are they might still be good.


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Diddo this. F/r switch should not get hot and emit an electrical smell. It needs to be replaced anyway along with bigger cables regardless if batteries get changed. Logic says spend that money first and cross fingers that batteries last a while longer.

[JohnnieB]

Yep, one battery will drag the whole pack down.
If fact, one cell will drag it down and you've got 18 two volt cells.
They just happen to be packed three in a box.

--------------

Your cart has two problems and both need to be addressed, but I lean towards fixing the F/R and cable issues first because they are a safety issue in addition to being a performance issue. (IE: Start a fire)

If the batteries all drop to about the same voltage, you might get a little improvement out of them by charging the living daylight out of them.

Put them on charge repeatedly even though they haven't been discharged any.

If you find a couple that are lower than the rest after use, but not 2.0V or more, which indicates a bad cell, try repeatedly charging them with a 6V charger on in pairs with a 12V charger.

However, I'm inclined to believe you have a bad battery or two.
Of course it is best to replace all batteries at the same time, but if you can find some used ones about the same age and condition as the rest of the pack, you might get a couple more years out of what you've got.

If you do replace the bad one(s) with new, the new batteries will quickly age to the level of the others in the pack and will have to be replaced at the same time as the rest.

[suthern]

Thought I would post an update to my post. The F&R switch was toast , burnt toast. I replaced it with a heavy duty one and installed 4ga cable throughout . Charged the pack and after 12 hours got 38 at the pack. Drove all around the woods and up some good hills. Performance was vastly improved and no burnt electrical smells ! Came back and let it rest about 15 minutes and got the following readings :

36.6 pack
Bat 1- 6.14
Bat 2- 6.05
Bat 3- 6.14
Bat 4- 6.13
Bat 5- 6.11
Bat 6- 6.13

Battery 2 is not quite up to par with the others, but is within 0.1 . Do these batteries appear good with the numbers I posted? If so, the switch and old cables were killing the cart's performance big time.

[JohnnieB]

If you can lay your hands on a 6V charger, you might try giving battery #2 a couple overnight charges while the others rested.

Other than that, the batteries appear to be in pretty good shape, and even Battery #2 isn't far off the mark.

Glad to hear just replacing the F/R and cables took care of the problem.

[suthern]

Here is the switch. Guess that's what a lift, big tires and not upgrading the electrical components will give ya. Gonna hit Scotty up for a controller and solinoid next

[suthern]

This **** thing is killing me. Ran fine all morning. Put it on charge then tried to go this afternoon and nothing.. No click, nothing?? Any ideas ?

[JohnnieB]

Here is a schematic of a series cart with the solenoid activation circuit traced.

Since you had it on charge, I'd check for battery voltage on the smaller white wire coming out of the cart's charge receptacles.

[suthern]

How do I check that voltage? Ur schematic may say, but I'm on a iPhone and can't read it too well.

[JohnnieB]

DVM's negative test lead on the battery pack's main negative terminal,
Separate the in-line push-on connection between the small white wire from the receptacle and the red wire that goes into the wiring harness.
Measure the voltage on the small white wire with the positive test lead.