battery charger amps

C

cbrunning

New Member
My battery charger for my 2007 pds wont show a starting charge any higher than 16 amps and doesnt ever seem to get much below 10 during a chargin cycle. Today i filled each cell with distilled water, but none of them were really that low. i was under the impression that the meter on the charger should read around 20 when i Plug it in and like most other chargers run down do zero. Is there something i can check, terminals. loading on the batteries, etc...

My dash meter never reads more than one bar above half way, but i havent had any problems with the cart. I have never run it for hours on end, but for what i use it for it seems to work fine and holds its charge. I will try this weekend to put a straight hour or two of riding on it and see what that may bring.
 
Take individual voltage readings on the batteries one hour after a full charge (without using the cart). Then take another individual voltage reading after using the cart for one hour and post the results. The state of charge meter on the dash can be reset but lets make sure the batteries are in good shape first. With good batteries and everything working 100% the amp meter should go up to about 20 and come down as the cart charges to zero near the end of the charge cycle. Also make sure that ALL the cables are good and the cables connections are clean and tight.
 
All cables are tight, and some have very little rust or corrosion on them, but not anythingn significant. I can remove and clean if need be. The cables are all 4wg and appear to be in normal visual working condition.

here are my volt readings per battery after charge and after running for an hour.

# after charge after running for hour

1 6.34 6.28
2 6.35 6.29
3 6.39 6.32
4 6.30 6.22
5 6.34 6.28
6 6.31 6.23

Now i put the cart on a lift with rear tires off the ground and ran it for a complete hour at full throttle. I am sure this put less strain on the batteries, but I couldnt cruise the subdivision for an hour straight without being questioned by some home owner.
the total volts after the running was 37.6
I have trojan batteries and they are 06 models from what I can tel on the post.
My fancy smancy battery meter never lost a bar during this trial either, it is still at 1 bar about the middle. Now if i run it all week and dont charge it, the meter does start to drop. I am assuming I dont have a battery issue, but im no pro at this. if its not the batteries, what steps can i take to reset the battery meter on the dash. the meter is only a month old and it want cheap.
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To reset the state of charge meter charge the batteries fully until the charger shuts off by itself. Wait a half hour or so after the charger shuts off and unhook the positive or negative meter wire from the battery pack and wait a minute or so and reconnect the meter. That will reset the meter. Make sure the battery charger has finished a complete charge cycle before resetting the guage.

You should never run the cart at full throttle with the back tires off the ground it can damage the motor.
 
thanks for the input on both the meter and running an off the ground cart. Would you agree that the batteries are still in good condition?
 
The procedure you used is not the correct procedure to determine SOC. Your batteries have to be rested for several hours with no draw on them and no charge on them. Then the voltage readings will have some meaning.

Jim
 
Normally a bad golf cart battery will show a low voltage after being used. So the numbers he posted are very useful in my opinion. It looks like the batteries are out of balance though. Do you have lights or any other accessories hooked to the batteries?
 
i do have lights, head and neon, along with a radio. I will eventually put all those on a separate 12 volt, but now they are hooked up to two 6 volts. exactly what is SOC and could you please explain the proper procedure start to finish. My charger is still not reaching 20 and its definetly not making it down to zero. I open to any procedures and test that need to be done to remedy the issue. I am glad my motor didnt burn up, but im not skilled on electric carts, i can rebuild and rewire a vehicle all day, but i am a beginner with wrenching skills when it comes to golf carts. i have just completed my total rebuild of this cart and am very happy with it, this is the only thing i have left to correct.

Thanks for the input everyone.
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You said some of the cables have some corrosion on them so you need to clean ALL the connections first. The next thing I'd suggest would be test all 6 batteries with a hydrometer or have them load tested.
 
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