2012 Precedent, battery storage issues

[Joe Friday]

We bought a 2012 Precedent in the spring of 2017 that just had a new set of black label batteries installed in it. The winter of 2017 we stored it in an unheated garage, plugged in the entire 5 months. When we took it out in the spring of 2018, one battery in the pack had failed. Our dealer was out of the black label batteries, and so sold us a Trojan battery as a replacement. The Trojan battery acclimated to the other batteries, and we used the cart all summer last year without issue. I have checked the water level every two weeks or so.

Last fall, we again placed the cart in an unheated garage, with the factory charger connected. Power was not off at any time during the winter. This spring, when I brought the cart out, two more of the black label batteries had failed over the winter. We opted to replace the entire pack this spring with new Trojan batteries. We have used the cart heavily this year without issue.

My concern is that we have had batteries fail each winter using the recommended storage procedure, when prior to storage they we working well. Is the failure likely related to the storage procedure, or the black label batteries?

I just dont want to have a repeat of the same situation again this winter after having installed new batteries this spring. Any thoughts or suggestions welcome!

Thanks!

[Rootman]

The stock charger won’t maintain the batteries over the winter. You need a trickle storage charger which will automatically top off the your pack periodically. If your batteries remain fully charged the chances of them failing goes way down.

Did your previous battery failures crack & leak?

[Sergio]

The OEM charging systems, OBC or ERIC, do have maintenance mode and will maintain the batteries over a period of time (3 or 4 months).

If the cart will not be monitored by anyone during storage to possibly add water or check for a single battery failure, the best option is to disconnect the pack.

Did all batteries in the pack lost their voltage or just a few?

If the failure was just from a couple of batteries, make sure You are not adding water near the time you place it in cold storage.

You need at least two discharge/charge cycles after adding water and before placing the cart in cold storage to make sure the add is fully mixed with the existing electrolyte.

[_ogre]

Originally Posted by Sergio

You need at least two discharge/charge cycles after adding water and before placing the cart in cold storage to make sure the add is fully mixed with the existing electrolyte.

good to know sergio