97 Club Car Runs Like Batteries Are Dead

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lineman962

New Member
So i have a 97 Club Car (48 volt) runs like batteries are dead. It was running fine when i parked it saturday night. I got it out to take my son for a ride last night and it acted like the batteries were dead. put it on the charge again over night and today the same thing is happening. When i just barely push the acc. pedal it will go,once i push it down to take off it starts cutting out like the batteries are dead. When just sitting and i turn the headlight kit on the lights are very dim. My pack voltage is 49volts (after messing with it all afternoon). Any ideas on what could be wrong? My charger reads about 12 amps when i plugged it in last night. Could my charger be bad and still show amps when its plugged in? Thanks for your help.
 
JRay

JRay

Cartaholic
All connections clean and tight? Take individual battery readings and total pack voltage under load. Maybe a battery went south. That would be where to start. When a cart starts shuddering it is usually a battery problem. Charge it up and see if it comes up to about 52 or so. Report back after that. And welcome to the forum. :hattip:
 
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lineman962

New Member
thanks guys, when i was taking voltage checks monday, each battery was in the high eights or low nines. i did notice yesterday that the batteries were warm after letting them charge all day. to check voltage under load can i just put the back on jack stands and check voltage while pushing the acc.?
 
JRay

JRay

Cartaholic
Yes, on jack stands and check each one to see if one is falling off under load. Or you could use a hydrometer to check each cell.
 
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lineman962

New Member
ok, all i had time to do today is check the water level of the batteries. They are as dry as could be! How often do i need to check the water? I just filled them about 2 months ago. Could this be the problem? Im going to check the batteries under load tomorrow just to make sure there isnt a bad one. Thanks for all your help!, ROB
 
HotRodCarts

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Yes that's your problem. Before you do anything fill the batteries with distilled water until the plates are covered. Then charge them until the charger shuts off on its own. Then you can fill them the rest of the way.

How often you need to add water depends on how much the cart is used. A good rule of thumb is to check them at least once a month. Letting the acid get below the plates is hard on the batteries and will shorten their life.
Once you get them charged and full it may take a few charge cycles to bring them back up to full voltage. It's also possible they may not recover.
 
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lineman962

New Member
So this afternoon i was playin on ebay and noticed an auction for directions on how to "refurbish" a battery. I went ahead and payed the 5.99 figuring i wouldnt be out much if it didnt work. Its a mixture of epsom salt and distilled water. I made it all up and filled all my batteries, put the cart on charge for about 5 hours and, WOW this thing runs better than it ever has!!! For a cart that wasnt running at all this morning im totally surprised at how well this worked. Thanks to all who answered my questions. Had i not had you guys telling me what to look for i probably would have taken it to the shop this weekend and spent a lot more money! What an idiot i am for not checking my batteries. I will start checking them monthly to make sure they are full now. If anyone is thinking about buying new batteries try this first. If you are interested let me know i will post the steps on here! thanks again,

Rob
 
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