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Golf cart charging going problems
Hello everybody- I know this subject might be a little bit of a stretch for you guy's, but I figure I would throw it out to see if anybody wants to take a swing: I have a Club Car 48 volt cart which was probably made in 01-03. I have been having problems getting the batterie to charge, and since they were three years old, low quality batteries, I replaced them. The old batteries were 8 volt, so the cart required 6 batteries. I replaced these 6 8 volt batteries with 4 12 volt batteries. The cart ran at full power for about ten minutes and then decided to quit, luckily right by the back of my shop. At this point I am assuming my problem might be with the on board computer- does this sound like the right thought process, or am I missing something?
Also, I know the charger is good.
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Golf cart charging going problems
Me and electricity don't mix well but my guess is the cart runs on 48 volts and the computer and or charger on 8 volts.
By switching battery types, you possibly smoked the computer or the charger is running at the wrong voltage and won't recharge correctly.
If you individually charge the batteries (while disconnected) with a normal charger and get the batteries to full power, does the unit work?
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Golf cart charging going problems
Dumb question, are there any fuses that blew or circuit breakers that may have tripped? In engineering it's called a "smoke test". Did anything smoke or smell?
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Golf cart charging going problems
Ok, you say the charger is good, so we'll jump straight to the batteries.
First of all, although it's really tempting to spend less on batteries, try to run the 8 volt deep cycle batteries if possible, they will last a LOT longer, and run much, much further on a single charge.
Next, the batteries you bought, are they good quality deep cycle batteries, or just regular car batteries?
Assuming the batteries are good, and the charger is fine, the only other likely culprit is the on-board computer (OBC). Although I don't know for sure, I've never run 'other' batteries than those spec'd for it, I've heard that the OBC won't handle a big power load without toasting.
If your batteries weren't up to the task they would drop quickly. As voltage drops the current goes up proportionally. The OBC is also a known trouble-maker on those carts.
Best of luck.
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Golf cart charging going problems
No stretch for me -- I've been using my 36V Electrac since 1972.
As the others have indicated, if it stops suddenly that's usually a breaker that tripped from something overheating, and if your batteries are not "deep cycle" or perhaps "marine," they will take only so many deep discharges before giving up.
Can't you get a service manual from the maker?
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Golf cart charging going problems
Thanks fo all of the replies- I'll will try to address all of the questions with one reply:
Same voltage, 48 volts to 48 volts. The batteries we are using are deep cycle marine batteries, typically used for trolling. We stopped using the more expensive batteries around these parts because I cant count on my staff members to get them recharged on a regular basis- so what ends up happening (over and over) is the batteries get drained to nothing and the cart dies in the woods. Thus, killing the battery, or that is what the battery people tell me. However, the batteries in question were brand new. There was no smoke or smell when the cart died. No, I have not tried to recharge the batteries solo with a car charger- I will try that tonight.
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Golf cart charging going problems
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We stopped using the more expensive batteries around these parts because I cant count on my staff members to get them recharged on a regular basis- so what ends up happening (over and over) is the batteries get drained to nothing and the cart dies in the woods.
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I think you just solved your own problem.
As I said before, the voltage in a battery drops off, the current rises proportionately. I've heard from many different sources that this is the number one killer of the OBC.
Best of luck.
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Golf cart charging going problems
Murf- are you suggesting that going to fewer batteries with higher voltage would cause a the increase of current that I wouldnt have with more batteries with identicle overall voltage? The mathmatics behind this(if I understand you correctly) would suggest that the current increase would be identicle with identicle voltages.
Please explain how I have this wrong.
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Golf cart charging going problems
It's not a matter of right or wrong.
The reason the OEM battery is an 8 volt instead of a 12 volt is that you would be getting far more reserve amps and running amps with the six 8 volt batteries than you are presently getting from the 12 volt deep cycle marine batteries.
Look at the label or spec's on your batteries. Each of the six OEM 8 volt batteries have a 190 Ah capacity and 340 minutes at a 25 amp draw which is normal running load.
Notice I said EACH, so multiplied by 8 you would have 1,520 Ah capacity and 2720 minutes of 25 amp draw in total.
I'm willing to bet the deep cycle 12 volt batteries you are now running about the same output each, but with only 4 batteries not 8 installed you automatically have only half the capacity.
Having said that, my point was that with a much lower reserve and capacity in your batteries, the voltage begins to drop off a LOT faster than it would with the extra capacity and reserve the original batteries would have offered.
Best of luck.
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