is this a good deal on batteries

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Flatrockgolfer

Not really hi-jacking the thread I hope. I have a 2000 EZ Go. What kind beyond that I am not sure. F/W is by the drivers right leg with a tow/run switch on top of the black box under the seat on the passenger side.

I purchased some sort of Interstate made batteries from Sams a couple of summers ago (this summer should be 3 years I believe). I tried to follow the break in instructions on here. I drive the cart once/twice a week to play golf. Charger is an EZ GO powerwise I believe.

In the beginning I could get 36 holes pretty easy (2 golfers, 2 bags). Here lately it struggles to get 27 holes and the motor seems to start dragging. I have to "feather" the throttle to get it to go.

Is this normal for these batteries in regards to life expectancy? I keep the maintenance up pretty good. 4 g cable wires on all batteries, but stock everywhere else.
Thanks for the help in advance.

To find out what your cart is, plug the serial number into this website: http://www.shopezgo.com/customer-ser...ialNumber.html

Run/Tow switch on controller cover says it's either a DCS or a PDS.
F/R control by the knee says it is a DCS, but model year says it is a PDS.
However, a few PDS carts built in 2000 had a DCS style F/R switch.

If you have been putting cart on charge after each golf outing, adding distilled water to the batteries as needed and keeping the high current connections clean, the loss of run-time might be due to the natural aging of the batteries, or because it is the coolest time of the year in the northern hemisphere, or there may be a charger issue, or it may be the high current cables.

There are at least five grades of Interstate batteries, but I suspect those found at Sam's Club would be the super-economy grade, having a 208AH rating.
Is there a model number or AH rating on your battery's labels?

Playing 36 holes on 208AH batteries will be pushing them harder than the 225AH batteries that came with the cart originally and will shorten their lifespan, but I believe you have two, perhaps three issues.

1. Three year old super-economy grade batteries.
2. Thirteen year old high current cables.
3. Colder weather.

What is the battery pack voltage prior to taking the cart to the course?
A fully charged 36V pack should have 38.2V about 12 hours after charger shuts off automatically.
How many miles have been traveled after 18 holes have been played?
What is the battery pack voltage after 18 holes?
Note: let batteries rest at least 10 minutes after driving before measuring pack voltage.
What is the pack voltage when the cart starts "Struggling"?

The stock cables in my cart were only 3 years old and appeared good visually, but I felt an improvement in low end torque when I replaced them.
Excessive resistance the the high current cables (and connection) will make a cart act like it has a weak or discharged battery pack.
Replacing all 10 high current cables with 4Ga, will very likely improve your cart's performance.

A lead-acid battery's storage capacity and ability to deliver Amps is rated at 80°F and looses about 10% for every 20°F below 80°F.
Therefore a 208AH at 80°F is only a 188AH battery at 40°F, so electric vehicles don't go as far on a charge in the winter as they do in the summer.

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As for checking the charger. If the ammeter jumps to about 18A or above when it is first plugged into the cart, it is probably doing its job okay.

Hope this helps.

[Flatrockgolfer]

Thanks for responding JB. I will print off your post and try to get all the questions you asked answered. The cart is stored at the course and is on a trickle type charger. I am guessing this type of charger kicks on by itself when it senses a certain voltage.

The one thing we are trying to figure out is when did the charger stop charging when we get there on Fridays. We usually get there about 1:30- 2:00 pm and I have yet to catch it charging...it is always off. We don't know if it stopped at 7:00 am that morning, or noon. Does this even matter in regards to how much run time we have...in regards to it stopping at 7 am, or noon? Again, we usually only play on Fridays, but I am guessing it is kicking on and off periodically during the week - correct?

Anyhow, I'll try to get all the questions answered that you asked and even take pics if need be. What other wires should be replaced/upgraded besides the ones between the batteries (I believe that is five of the ten you mentioned)? The ones between the batteries were replaced when the batteries were installed, or shortly before.

Thanks again for your help.

[Flatrockgolfer]

In passenger compartment:
Man #A100
Serial #1241611

On Motor:
AU2500 Fleet Speed
Class H
Ser #91890
Two Part #'s (why, I don't know) 73124G01 & AY4-4001

According to the EZ Go site it is a TXT Standard DCS cart manuafactured in 1999. What exactly does all this mean and what kinda of upgrades can be made?

Batteries are PowerFast by Interstate, "Heavy Duty", 208 AH

[JohnnieB]

There is a conflict between the Cart's Man# and the info at the EZGO Serial# lookup site.
The last two digits of the Man# are "00", indicating it is a 2000, but the EZGO site says it was manufactured in 1999.
The important part is that it is identified as a DCS. "Standard" means it didn't have factory installed electrical accessories such as headlights, brake lights, turn signals or horn.

What brand and model is the charger? (A picture of faceplate would be nice.)
Do you own it, or does the storage garage supply it?
Do you plug it into the cart or do they?

As for how long the charger has been off: Two reasons.
1. During the last phase of a normal charge cycle, the batteries acquire what is known as a "surface charge" and the terminal voltage is not a true reflection of the battery's SoC (State of Charge). The surface charge typically takes anywhere from a few hours to a day to deplete and most batteries will give a fairly true SoC voltage reading about 12 hours after the charger shuts off. The Voltage vs SoC charts are based on a 12 hour rest after charging ceases.
2. Mature batteries in good health self-discharge about 1% (or more) per day, newer batteries less, older batteries more. Different brands and different models within a brand may have different self-discharge rates.
So, if you take your cart out a week after the charger shuts off, you may be starting your journey on batteries that are only about 90% charged.

Knowing what the battery pack voltage is immediately before you take the cart out on the course should tell us if there are charging issues.

Ideally, a charger that goes into a float charge would be best since the batteries are kept fully charged whether the cart is used daily or weekly.
Float charging is different than trickle charging and I don't thinks your charger trickle charges, or it would still be ON when you go to use your cart.

As for the number and location of the high current cables on a DCS cart: There are 10 of them.
The 5 that connect the six 6V batteries in series for 36V, plus the 5 highlighted in Red and Blue on the attached schematic (Which should be the one for your cart. )

As for what upgrade can be done: Upgrading the cables to 4Ga and dropping in an aftermarket 400A with a 200A solenoid, you will have a cart that will do about 20MPH on stock height tires and pass most carts on the course going up hills.
This is where I got my stuff - the 505 kit is for a DCS: http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Custom_Options.html

[Flatrockgolfer]

To answer the questions I can (I won't be able to give voltages, pics, etc. until I go to the course where the cart is stored):

I own the cart and charger;
I lock it up in storage shed and plug it up myself. The course folks don't mess with it at all;
It stays plugged up until I go play again.

I will take pictures of everything hopefully tomorrow when I go play. For now I found a pic of what I remember the charger looking like. Below is the link. It should be a Powerwise II, EZGO

http://www.shopezgo.com/images/Power...720b019f4f1a93

There is one thing that always bothers me when I do plug the charger into the cart. It seems sometimes it doesn't get a good connection and I have to place the cord of the plug - while it is plugged into the cart - in an upward configuration before the charger kicks on and stays on. My thought is the contacts may need to be cleaned and pryed apart a bit to get a nice clean, snug fit. Thoughts?

[JohnnieB]

If your charger is a PW-II, it shuts off when the on-charge voltage climbs into the 44-46 volt range and stays shut off until the charger plug is removed from the cart and then plugged in again. It is one of the better 36V chargers, but if you only use your cart one day a week and plug the charger into the cart and leave it plugged in until you use it again the next week, the batteries will charge for about 4-8 hours, depending on how much they were discharged, and then sit there self-discharging until you take it out for the next round of golf.

Unfortunately, once the charge cycle completes a PW-II will not start another charge cycle just by interrupting the AC power to it, so using a programmable time on the AC outlet won't work to initiate supplemental charge cycles.
Granted, you could use a timer on the AC outlet to start the first charge cycle the morning you wanted to use cart, but that would mean the batteries would sit in a discharged state for nearly a week, which would soon kill the batteries. (The plates sulfate when batteries sit partially discharged)

My guess is that you are starting your golf outing at about 90% SoC.

One answer to your charging needs would be to get a DPI charger the goes into float charge after the regular charge cycle finishes, and sell the PW-II (it is a good charger and there is a market for used ones).
The float charge mode will keep the battery pack voltage at about 39.4V until the charger is disconnected and you will start out with fully charged batteries whether you play every week, every other week or every month.
Here is what I use: http://www.cartsunlimited.net/48v_Battery_Charger.html
I have a DPI in 36V and a DPI in 42V along with a PW-II and a Pro-Tech in 36V, guess which ones I use.

As for having to lift the charger plug to get the charger to turn on, cleaning the contacts may solve the problem, but you might have to replace the Radsoks in the cart receptacle. (The brass things in the picture).

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Since the cart is kept at the course, how often do you check/add distilled water to the batteries?

[Flatrockgolfer]

I was really hoping the charger was kicking on and off during the week when we were not around. My golfing partner did suggest that maybe it was only charging once when we put it up on Friday evenings and was not charging at all for the rest of the week. So, we did put a timer at the AC plug a month or so ago with it being set to come on at 7 am and shut off at 7 pm.

The Thinking behind this is that when the power was shut off to the charger at 7 pm it would be like unplugging the charger from the cart. (Side note - when I get there on Fridays I usually unplug the cart for a second or so and then plug it back in and the charger kicks on. I leave it charging for those few minutes while we get ready to play.) I was thinking cutting the power off to the charger at 7 pm and then cutting it back on at 7 am would be similar to me unplugging the charger from the cart and then plugging it back in. Does this logic make sense at all?

In regards to checking the water and adding water (yes, distilled) - I usually check the water every month or so. I don't log anything down, but it seems I only add water every 3-4 months or so (Again, I'm guessing). I don't recall ever seeing any of the plates being exposed. I check the water before we play, but if it is not 100% charged at this time because it has been sitting for a week not being charged I might be overfilling when I do add water.

[JohnnieB]

I don't use my cart in colder weather, so the first winter I had it I was kicking around the idea of plugging my PW-II into a timer and giving the batteries a boost charge every few days. To make sure the idea would work, I tried unplugging the charger's AC power, waiting a few minutes and then plugging it back in. It didn't start a new charge cycle.

Try it, your PW-II might do it, mine doesn't start a new charge unless it is unplugged from cart and then plugged back into cart.

I bought a Pro-Tech on board charger that goes into float charge after the regular cycle completes, but it when belly up the next summer and I got a DPI, which has a step-down transformer (rather than a switching power supply) and a microprocessor controlled SCR output, so has the best features of old school and modern technology.

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As for unplugging the charger from cart and getting it to turn on for a few minutes before using cart. Leaving it on charge until the ammeter drops down to about 5A (or on-charge voltage reaches 42.3V) would be about 90% of a charge cycle (Charge wise, not time wise). Probably shouldn't take more than half an hour.

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As for watering batteries, only add water partially discharged batteries if plates are expose, and then only enough to cover plates.

Here is a link to the Trojan Battery website. http://www.trojanbattery.com/Battery...ngDiagram.aspx
In addition to Watering, check out the other topics on the menu on the right bottom. Lots of good info.

I don't remember if it is mentioned there, but adding water to a fully charged battery reduces the Specific Gravity of the electrolyte and lowers the SoC a few points (Depending on how much water was added), so what were fully charged batteries need to charged again after water is added.

[deltaboy]

the way i look at it, buy the best that you can afford. Afford is a major word these days. almost everyone wants trojans, but not everybody can afford them.

[chloe]

Where, in Delaware, ECU. We do have some good battery sources here. Sometimes you just have to ask someone.