RXV with 6 Trojan Batteries Rundown Quick

[Mccoy38]

I’ve had same issues on my RXV. April 2020 will be two years old US12V. Same converter etc. I replaced charger with Lester 2 and it helped some but I’ve noticed cold weather drastically effects these batteries. Not sure where you live but I can barely get 18 holes in with two men on cart in colder months. Increases significantly in hot months. It’s tuned by bob as well but I drive 1.5 miles to club and it can really tax batteries if I go all out. I’m going lithium next I think, will try to get one more year out of these. Neighbor did this and We played last weekend in 55* weather and he was at 85% after 18 and I was down to red bar and maybe 30%. Putting charger on timer to shut off 20 min a day and come back on also helped. Frustrating for sure. I have 4 12v set up.

[wingnut2000]

I have 6 8v setup and just checked voltage of batteries and 3 were 8.61v, 1 was 8.64 and 2 were 8.56 after charging fully and resting about 10 hours

[kernal]

Considerations:

Batteries lose capacity as temps decline. See chart. At 40° you only have 80% of rated capacity. Generally range declines in the winter months because of colder temps and every year appears to get worse as batteries age and capacity declines with time also.

Battery state of charge gauges are a guide at best. Always confirm what they indicate with a hand held DVM. In my experience, digital gauges show a decline in voltage as the cart sits for days but the batteries are rarely as low as indicated after the cart is driven for awhile. What I mean is, drive the cart on a normal trip for you and check the batteries with your digital meter if applicable and also with the handheld for comparison. This to see if performance is as expected considering temp or worse after temp is considered indicating a different problem like batteries nearing end of life or a charger problem.

Some converters have constant draw (for radio memory etc) even if switched off. See if your converter is warm after the cart has been off for awhile. Draw should be minimal but machines don't always do what they should.

Keep batteries clean. Parasitic losses come with dirty battery tops.

Many people put their cart in tow when charging or storing cart for a time period. Don't do this with an RXV. Ref. owners manual.

Trojans should not be having any issues at 18 months if they have been properly maintained and even if they have been neglected a little. Assuming properly operating charger.

The T 875s in my RXV are 3 yrs and 8 months old and performing as expected. Range is down just slightly from summer months --Atlanta climate

[JohnnieB]

@ kernal:

The text and the graph on the piece of the Trojan User's Guide posted, don't match.
Text states capacity loss at 0°F is 50%, but % capacity line on the graph intersects the 0°F vertical at just under 60%.

Attached is the 4/30/2019 version of the User's Guide and in it, the graph matches the text.

Looks like 40°F is about 5% lower, or about 75%.

[wingnut2000]

I’m in SE GA. I just feel like something is wrong with the cart to cause this. I dont remember any crazy long range with these batteries that I expected I would get. I checked voltage at reducer/converter with it off and no voltage was detected. Possibly one or two of the batteries could be bad at most. Maybe the charger isn’t giving them a good full charge. Or maybe higher speeds are draining them.

[kernal]

Thanks JB. I bet I have a lot of out of date charts. My daughters tell me I'M out of date.

[kernal]

Originally Posted by wingnut2000

I’m in SE GA. I just feel like something is wrong with the cart to cause this. I dont remember any crazy long range with these batteries that I expected I would get. I checked voltage at reducer/converter with it off and no voltage was detected. Possibly one or two of the batteries could be bad at most. Maybe the charger isn’t giving them a good full charge. Or maybe higher speeds are draining them.

Well, for comparison, when Bob tuned my cart I had to drive 9 miles one way to where he was. After an 18 mile round trip with some acceleration runs with Bob the cart would still hit 32mph and I had used less than 25% of battery capacity. This a year ago last month so batteries were 2 yrs 7 months old at the time. Cart is heavy with genesis rear seat, long canopy, windshield, lights, 14" wheels etc.

[wingnut2000]

Originally Posted by kernal

Well, for comparison, when Bob tuned my cart I had to drive 9 miles one way to where he was. After an 18 mile round trip with some acceleration runs with Bob the cart would still hit 32mph and I had used less than 25% of battery capacity. This a year ago last month so batteries were 2 yrs 7 months old at the time. Cart is heavy with genesis rear seat, long canopy, windshield, lights, 14" wheels etc.

so something is definitely wrong with mine?

[kernal]

If you mean with the cart, I doubt it. Don't know what it could be. Usually battery problems are one or a combination of: neglect/poor maintenance, charger malfunction, miss matched packs, so called refurbished batteries, or multiple severe discharges.

Start by disregarding the energy meter. Use a hand held DMM to verify battery status.

Or a load test at a competent shop with the correct equipment

[wingnut2000]

Carts not charging up to 100% the last couple times I parked it to charge it. I switched the meter to voltage and it was at 50v