Club Charger Troubleshooting

[StixNC]

Thanks, you folks have been very helpful. I talked to Napa and there 8146 is $124. ea. Local cart store has Deka for $755. =7% tax for 6. Also has 2 and 3 year old used trojans from golf course cars for $60.ea. but has none of them in stock right now. Haven't checked with interstate man yet.

[dtkana]

Originally Posted by rabbitreborn

Personally I would check with your local Interstate battery dealer as they should be able to get them for you even if they don't usually stock them. However, if you choose another brand or type of battery, they are readily available at any golf car dealer and even at most boat dealers. Bear in mind, when it comes to Golf Car batteries you really do get what you pay for and cheaper is not always better (please, for your own sake, refrain from buying the batteries from WalMart or Sam's club as they are really not worth it)

Most places are not going to sell you these types of batteries online as they are nearly impossible to ship over any distance due to regulations regarding the shipping of Acid.

They are running out I believe, but some of the Sam's clubs in the Houston area have/had Interstate(US) batteries.

[dtkana]

Napa is supposedly made by the same people as the cheap Sam's and Walmart batteries. I think Exide, someone will correct me if I am wrong on that. There is tons of info on this sight regarding batteries. Search the forums.

[shadowman]

my thoughts are with the money most of you dump into the cart the last place to skimp is the batteries........i know i know the big T,s are expensive but with proper break in and maintence its not out of the question they will last as long as 3 sets of sams batts........my biggest gripe about sams batts, or wallys is if you let them go to long theres no bringing them back where as with a good battery you can bring it back to life.........i mentioned before that i have seen a bunch of sets of cheaper batteries that never made it past 15 months......and some of them were maintained batteries not well maintained but minimal.....................................

[StixNC]

Been reading two batteries can be charged at the same time with a 12 volt charger. If this is correct, how is one charger hooked to two batteries?
I'm wanting to get enough juice in them to hopefully kick my charger on, at least to make sure it works even if the batteries wont come back to life.

[rabbitreborn]

If you are unable to borrow juice from a neighbors car to get your charger up and running, as a last resort you can charge 2 batteries at a time using an automotive charger. Personally I hate this method but it does work. Club cars was nice enough to group your batteries in pairs for you. Simply disconnect the wire going from the Passenger side pair to the middle pair and the wire from the Driver side pair to the middle pair. That will then leave you with 3 seperated "pairs" of batteries. Charge each "pair" of batteries using your automotive charger as though they were a single 12 volt battery instead of 2 six volt batteries.

If you have to use this method I would reccommend you charge each "pair" for about an hour, then reconnect the wires you removed and attempt to use your golf car charger. If it still won't turn on, repeat the above and try again. If after 2 attempts it still won't turn on, either your charger is defective or those batteries are simply not going to hold any charger whatsoever.

Also, while Deka makes a great 12 volt battery for use in an E-Z-Go gas car, I would never advise anyone to purchase their 6 volt batteries for an electric powered car. They simply are not a good battery. Trojan (only their burgandy colored ones like the 105,125,145 or if you are desperate the 605), Interstate, US2200 or (if you are loaded with money and want AGM batteries) Full River Batteries are truely the way to go for Electric powered vehicles. Any other manufactures out there are typically considered "second rate" and the money you save initially will be money wasted when you have to replace them in a very short amount of time.

One of the mechanics that I work with placed a set of Deka batteries in his golf car (yes, it was done as a test and the company paid for him to do this). He is religious about checking water levels weekly and charging the car daily. His wife drives the car to and from work (the city passed a "green" ordanance that allows them to operate golf cars within the city limits on streets posted 35 MPH or less) which is approxamately 6.5 miles (basically about the equilivant of a single round of golf) 5 days a week. The batteries lasted him exactly 13 months and 1 week before they were no longer usable. Granted his car is running a 700 Amp controller and has a 8.8 HP motor in it, but his previous Interstate set of batteries lasted him just under 6 years under the same conditions.

[StixNC]

Thanks so much for the procedures. I did as u described and my cart charger kicked on and is currently charging the batteries. I turned the switch and it shows full charge on meter and headlights turned on. Very happy to find out that the charger is good. Now the icing on the cake would be if the batteries actually come back to life and even have 50% worth of run-time. I know that probably wont happen but it never hurts to hope. Thanks so much for everyones replies and comments to help me get this far.

[Bing]

I see where you can charge two 6 volt batteries with a 12 volt car charger, but can you charge a 8 volt battery with a 6/12 volt charger? My problem is that I have a 48 volt system (6 - 8 volt batteries) that are dead. I have only 9.2 volts accross all batteries. Is there a way to get the voltage up to 36 volts so my charger can come on? I don't have another cart to jump from. I don't want to go out and buy a 8 volt charger to charge each battery separetly.

[shadowman]

bing, yes you can charge a 8 volt with a 12 volt charger..........just don,t leave it un-attended and only charge 1/2 hour max each battery, i prerfer 20 minutes that has always worked for me and double check there is water in them...........................................

[kirkroediger]

I own 4 golf carts, 2 in ca. and 2 in wa. t 105 in ca last 4 yrs. longer in wa [cooler temps] I had a set of t875 go bad in 18 mos. I now have 2 sets 0f sams [$78 ea 8v] for 3 yrs and still going strong. we each play 18 holes golf 5 times a wk. kirk