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Old 07-20-2017, 01:23 AM   #1
Wingsy
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Default New Batteries, Low Drive Time

2003 Club Car 48v DS

Bought new batteries about a year ago. They were from some guy selling golf cart batteries from a shed behind his house. Unknown brand, not marked. There is a small label that says (as best as I can read) "72 mins at 25amps". That could have been "75amps". In that case, 72 minutes times 75 amps is only 90 amp-hrs. Kinda small from what I know.

When connected to the charger it will charge for around 16 hours then shut off. After about 12 hrs on the charger the cells are bubbling fairly vigorously and each battery is 9.7v (2.425v/cell). I've never seen the charger shut down before the 16 hour period, even when charging after slight use. Usually I try to unplug it after 8-12 hrs of charging. I use the cart to get around on my property and I'm getting less than 30 minutes of actual run time before it slows noticeably on hills. I don't charge it every day (afraid I'll cook the batteries), just when it starts getting sluggish.

Did I get ripped off buying these batteries? Think I have a charger problem?
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Old 07-20-2017, 07:00 AM   #2
NoleFan4Ever
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Default Re: New Batteries, Low Drive Time

I think you got rooked for sure on the batteries.

What kind of charger do you have?

And if is a Powerdrive charger AND your OBC is working, it will cut itself off when fully charged. 16 hours is the max run time and it automatically cuts off. The charger should not be cut off until it cuts itself off unless it had a problem. When nearing the end of the charge cycle it is not uncommon to see has high as 61-63 volts across the pack.

If fully charged and you only run it a few minutes, then the charge cycle should be a short period - 1 - 3 hours.

I suspect (if you have a powerdrive charger) that your OBC probably went bad, your batteries we low quality, the charger ran continuously and was not shutting off by design and over time it has cooked the batteries and weakened the plated and now they will not support load duration. (Just went through this same scenario with another cart)

Read and respond to above info and we can go from there.....
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Old 07-20-2017, 07:50 AM   #3
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Default Re: New Batteries, Low Drive Time

PowerDrive 3, model# 26560.

I just added distilled water (after charging) to every cell to bring it up to 1/2 to 3/4" above the plates. Took 1 gallon for 24 cells. When last discharged I noticed that many cells had barely enough water to cover the plates.

So now that it's charged and the water levels are ok, should I plug in the charger for another test, to see if it shuts down within a few hours or keeps going?
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Old 07-20-2017, 08:03 AM   #4
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Default Re: New Batteries, Low Drive Time

Just for reference, a Trojan 875 will give you about 85 mins with a 75 amp load.

Make sure you only have a single cable on pack negative (no other wires) and it goes through the OBC to Controller B-.

Do an OBC reset by disconnecting the negative cable and leaving it disconnected for more than 10 minutes.

Connect the cable back, plug the charger and let it finish the charging cycle.

The OBC needs to do a few baseline charge cycles before it switches over to counting energy units OUT/IN.

While charging and near the end (current around 3-5amps) after the pack voltage is above 60v, measure each individual battery voltage to see if any battery is much lower than the others.

If You unplug the charger before it finishes the required "baseline" charging cycles, the OBC will never do a short cycle (based on energy discharged).
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Old 07-20-2017, 08:03 AM   #5
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Default Re: New Batteries, Low Drive Time

[QUOTE=Wingsy;1409959]2003 Club Car 48v DS

Bought new batteries about a year ago. They were from some guy selling golf cart batteries from a shed behind his house. QUOTE]


This has got to be the answer to your question no doubt. Batteries that were not marked is definitely sketch.

Was there a date stamped on the batteries? Are you even sure they're golf cart batteries?

You live and you learn. We all have in some way.
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Old 07-20-2017, 08:16 AM   #6
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Default Re: New Batteries, Low Drive Time

[quote=NCPW;1410005]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wingsy View Post
2003 Club Car 48v DS

Bought new batteries about a year ago. They were from some guy selling golf cart batteries from a shed behind his house. QUOTE]


This has got to be the answer to your question no doubt. Batteries that were not marked is definitely sketch.

Was there a date stamped on the batteries? Are you even sure they're golf cart batteries?

You live and you learn. We all have in some way.
No date stamp but there was a date-in-service placard on each battery, but no month and year punched out. I guess that was for me or the "dealer" to do, which we didn't.

No, not sure they are golf cart batteries. The only info on the battery is a sticker, mostly worn away, that says 72 min at 75amps. Doesn't that indicate that they are golf cart batteries?
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Old 07-20-2017, 08:22 AM   #7
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Default Re: New Batteries, Low Drive Time

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sergio View Post
The OBC needs to do a few baseline charge cycles before it switches over to counting energy units OUT/IN.

While charging and near the end (current around 3-5amps) after the pack voltage is above 60v, measure each individual battery voltage to see if any battery is much lower than the others.

If You unplug the charger before it finishes the required "baseline" charging cycles, the OBC will never do a short cycle (based on energy discharged).
You may be on it. I haven't ever let it run to completion (which was 16 hrs) for several charge cycles. Maybe twice since the new batteries went in, and then those times were separated by months. I'll do as you suggest - let it go for several consecutive cycles even if it gets to its 16-hr limit.

Also, I have checked voltages after a full charge and they are all within 0.1v of each other, right at 9.7v.
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Old 07-20-2017, 10:29 AM   #8
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Default Re: New Batteries, Low Drive Time

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wingsy View Post
PowerDrive 3, model# 26560.

I just added distilled water (after charging) to every cell to bring it up to 1/2 to 3/4" above the plates. Took 1 gallon for 24 cells. When last discharged I noticed that many cells had barely enough water to cover the plates.

So now that it's charged and the water levels are ok, should I plug in the charger for another test, to see if it shuts down within a few hours or keeps going?
Do this after the reset Sergio mentioned:
- After you plug it in is there a 2-10 second delay BEFORE the charger turns on? If yes, good, let t go until it turns off automatically. If it does time out after 16 hours (which is normal), wait 12 hours and check the pack voltage. It should be in the neighbor hood of 50.93 volts for 100% charge. If it is not, unplug the cable, wait a minute and then plug it back in and it should hopefully complete the charge. If you do not have a volt meter installed, use your digital volt meter to check the pack from time to time and it will get upwards if 61-63 volts at the end, so don't panic.

- If it did not have the delay and came on immediately upon plugging it in, your relay in the charger is suck on OR your OBC is bad. We can trouble shoot that.

- If all is checking out AND you are on the 2nd sequential charge AND the pack is not getting to the needed voltage (bad batteries) OR it reaches the 61-63 volts AND does not cut off but continues to run at low amperage, then the OBC has probably failed.

- See if the cart will engage FNR. It should not as the OBC should have disabled the solenoid while plugged in. If it does move, another sign the OBC is bad.

Check all this as you go and let us know what you find....
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Old 07-20-2017, 12:30 PM   #9
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Default Re: New Batteries, Low Drive Time

Wingsy,
I know your getting plenty of help, but a picture of the battery compartment that shows your batts will help.
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Old 07-20-2017, 12:53 PM   #10
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Default Re: New Batteries, Low Drive Time

GolfCartBatteries.jpg

For what it's worth, here's a picture of my batteries.


So I go and lift the negative terminal. There were a few sparks as the terminal came off the battery. Strange. While I had the terminal off I cleaned all the terminals with baking soda & water, then flushed the mess off the batteries, Went to the store and got some battery terminal protector. Came back and attached the negative terminal to the battery. When the wire touched the battery, BAM! Like I was arc welding! And now I'm afraid to try that again until I consult with you guys. Any idea what's going on now?

(And yes, I connected it to the proper terminal - the one it came off from. And I've not done anything else that I haven't described.)

Edit: one thing I might add... there were 2 terminals connected to the battery, 1 heavy gage and one small. I took off the small one first and then the larger one. When reconnecting I connected the larger one first. Thats when I got the arc and bang.

Edit of my edit: Forget that. The small gage wire goes to my voltmeter that I added to the dash years ago.
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