EZgo charging issues

[robms]

I have run into a problem on a 36v cart and I need some advise. I’ll go ahead and admit that I’m not the best mechanic on electric carts. Most of my work is on gas burners. To the point....

I’m working on a 36v cart TXTTECSTL. This cart has been sitting up for quite sometime and a lady called wanting to see if I could get it operational. The first problem I ran into is that the batteries are a hodgepodge of batteries. Different dates on all of them ranging from a year old to a couple of years old. I checked each battery and most all of them had between 6.0 to 6.5 volts....except 1. It had around 5 volts. So I called a dealership and they said I definitely needed to replace that one, but I should replace all. The customer can’t afford all new batteries, so I bought one. I installed it and ran the cart about 100 yards and could tell it was about to die, so I drove it back to the shop.

The charger is a Powerwise 2 and it’s seen better days. Has rust all inside of it. I looked on YouTube for troubleshooting this model, but can’t seem to find anything other than the normal Powerwise charger.

While in charge, the pack is reading around 42 volts. I’ve had it on charge for about an hour now and here are my readings on each battery:

6.8, 6.6, 6.7, 7, 6.8, 6.8

I just unplugged the charger and ran it around my building. Tried to go up a hill and it wouldn’t make it. Checked each battery voltage again and here are the readings: 6, 5.9, 6.2, 6.4, 6.4, 6.2. The “ride around” was for leas than a minute.

Is this just a bad battery pack because the batteries weren’t all changed at one time? This lady is a retired widow and doesn’t have the cash to throw in new batteries.

Also, could it be a charging issue? The needle in the charging unit doesn’t move at all, so I can’t really tell what’s going on with it....other than it does hum.

I know this is pretty vague, but I’d appreciate any advice.

[scottyb]

A hodgepodge of batteries is always suspicious - some batteries older than others + possibly some different capacities mixed up ... so they're not the best prospects to start with. Left in a state of discharge seriously compromises their capacity to function and complete recovery is impossible.
If you keep charging, slightly depleting, recharging, slight discharge, charging again and again and again... you will eventually see what you are going to wind up with.
Likely new batteries are needed. Ask around about reconditioned batteries. They cost about 50% of new.

[handtools]

The first thing to do is verify the water in each cell is above the plates then plug the charger in and let it run until it shuts off, it may take up to 16 hours. Then let the batteries sit unused for 12 hours and take voltage readings again.

[JohnnieB]

Here is some info on the PW-II

It is the same as a Lester Lestronic II, just different labels.

The voltages on the transformer/capacitor test schematic in the troubleshooting guide are unreadable, so I've also attached a edited copy with readable voltages.

[robms]

Thanks for all the responses! I verified all water levels were good before I did anything. I’ll let it charge until tomorrow sometime and then let it sit and take another reading. The old batteries were purchased through NAPA. They are labeled specialty batteries for golf carts. I put in a “golf cart” battery from Club car dealer. I hate to break the news to her, but I’m seriously thinking it’s the rest of the batteries. I noticed one even has a bulge on the top of it.

Thanks for the charger info! I’ll take a look at it and see if I can test out the charger. It’s been on now for a couple of outs. I’ll check in the morning and see if it’s still running. I wished that the needle would show something!

[robms]

I let the charger charge for about 24 hours. Unplugged the charger ( it had stopped charging)and let it sit for about 16 hours. Took a reading on the pack and I have 38 volts. All of the batteries show above 6 volts except one....it’s showing exactly 6 volts. I suppose once it stops raining, I’ll take it for a spin and see what happens. I think on flat ground, I’ll be fine. Going up a hill is what I’m worried about.

[handtools]

You can try doing several back to back charges, just let the charger run till it shuts off then unplug from cart for a couple minutes and plug it back in.

[robms]

I think I found the problem. So I connected my multimeter to the battery pack and drove it. When I floored it, the pack dropped to around 30-31 volts. So I connected ends of multimeter to each battery and did the same process. I had 2 batteries drop to 3 volts, and one other battery dropped to around 4 volts. The newest 2 batteries dropped to around 6.1. So I’ve advised the lady she needs to bite the bullet and go ahead and purchase 4 more batteries. That will give her 5 new batteries and 1 that’s a year old (Napa brand).