2007 Precedent goes a few feet then stops

[Andy-L]

I have a 2007 precedent that quit on me right in the middle of the road.

Currently it has the following behavior:

• if I let it sit for a while, it will drive (forward or reverse) for 10-30 feet and then stops and won't move. Doesn't matter whether it is charging or not when it is sitting. (the minimum time I have waited has been an hour)
• after it stops, when I push the accelerator I can feel a click, but most of the time nothing happens. Once in a while, it will shudder when I push the accelerator, like it was about to move, but it doesn't.

While googling around, I found a similar case where someone suggested a bad solenoid being the cause, with the small amount of current coming through the resistor slowly charging up the controller capacitors, and the cart moving using the voltage stored in those. Does that seem likely? What else should I look for?

Thanks

[jakesnake27]

Start with batteries. How old are they, and was the cart running strong before it started acting up?

to BGW

[Andy-L]

I don't know how old the batteries are. Is there some way to tell?

It has 4 12-volt Trojan T-1275 batteries. 3 are marked DD233K and 1 marked ID146CA0486.

• After an overnight charge, they each read slightly more than 12 volts on a circuit tester, and the whole pack is 49.something.
• All the cells tested in the green using a hydrometer. (A couple are a bit low on water, but the plates are all covered. I'll top them off after I pick up some distilled water.)
• Testing each battery with a load tester, they each did the same thing:
  • read 12V before the load is applied
  • dropped to ~10.5V under load and held there
  • went back to 12V when the load was cut off

The cart ran fine before this. No trouble with hills or anything.

[Golf cart guy]

batteries home slice- 10.5 too low

[teecro]

49 volts is roughly 60 % state of charge and would be considered time to recharge if in use. Your at this after a charge? These batteries are near death. 12 volts on any one battery is even worse coming in at less than 50 % SOC and dropping to 10.5 under load tells the tail no matter what the (worthless) floaty-ball hydrometer says....

Your batteries are done for!

[jakesnake27]

Also, consider switching over to the six 8v battery configuration for longer run times and battery life span.

[Andy-L]

Originally Posted by teecro

49 volts is roughly 60 % state of charge and would be considered time to recharge if in use.

Wait, why is 49V only 60% of what's expected? Wouldn't 4 12V batteries in series be expected to generate ~48V? You're saying they should be giving me 80V?

[teecro]

Originally Posted by Andy-L

Wait, why is 49V only 60% of what's expected? Wouldn't 4 12V batteries in series be expected to generate ~48V? You're saying they should be giving me 80V?

NOPE... You're thinking linear!

[Andy-L]

OIC, "state of charge" is a technical term. TBH I didn't realize the 10ths of a volt were that important to note. I'll have to re-measure them with that in mind.

Is it typical for batteries to suddenly go from "working fine" to "cart won't move" ? I would think you would have an in-between phase where it was sluggish or slow.

[joesam]

Re: Shudder - Check and give a good tug on all the big cables in your cart in case you have a loose or corroded connection. Barring that - the best load test to determine battery health (if you can get the cart to run) is to connect a DVM to each battery separately and "step-on-the-gas" (preferably on a small hill). The worst battery (batteries) will nose-dive in voltage.