Charge question

autoteacher

New Member
Went out of town this past weekend, only to have Atlanta hit by a tornado. I have always left my '04 IQ plugged in as per the charger instructions. When I arrived back Sunday afternoon (no storm damage in my area), I found the charger had kicked on and still wasn't through charging Monday morning. I turned the cart to tow and disconnected the charger. There was a strong sulfur odor also. Having had the cart for several years, this is my first time to experience this. I did not have time this morning to check the specific gravity. The cart was last used Friday for a six mile drive without any noticeable problems. While I cannot attest to any lightning or power outages in the house, it is possible. Any thoughts?
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Sounds like it could be the OBC or a bad battery. I would check the voltages and add water if needed. If they check out ok run the cart a couple hours and try charging again. Keep a eye on things while it's charging. See if the charger shuts off. If the batteries check out good and charger still doesn't shut off after 16 hours max. I would say it's the OBC...
 

autoteacher

New Member
Sorry for the delay on my response. I checked the batteries per the Trojan web site with an 8 hour off charger reading with the following reading 1) 8.29, 2) 8.24, 3) 8.37, 4) 8.35, 5) 8.24, 6) 8.23. for total voltage of 49.8. I tried a recharge and the charger went to 15A,quickly fell to 10A and eventually to 0. I thought all was well, but while I was inspecting the reading it jumped to 5A and very shortly I heard some of the batteries bubbling. Any thoughts?
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
A fully charged 8 volt battery should read about 8.5 volts a couple hours after a full charge. Your readings are low but I'm not sure if they're low enough to turn the charger back on. Are all of the batteries full? Batteries 1, 2 ,5 and 6 aren't looking real healthy for a full charge. I'd hate to tell you your batteries are causing the problem without being sure. The only other suggestion I have is use the cart and keep a eye on the voltages to see if they start coming up closer to 8.5 after charging. Maybe someone else with more knowledge on the On Board Computer will chime in with suggestions. I'll see if I can dig up some more info on this also...
 

autoteacher

New Member
I topped off the batteries a couple weeks ago with distilled water using one of those spring loaded fillers and all cells are to correct level. All were above the plates. I have had the cart for two years and was told the batteries were new, but other than being cleaned upon purchase, I don't know. They could be orignial 2004 batteries and might be on their last legs. I know automobiles, but am just learning carts. My accessories include head and taillamps with brake lights and turn signals as well as an analog charge indicator. The charge indicator was recently added and nothing appears left on. I am leaning towards weak batteries, but hope someone with better info might help. I have a hydrometer and my first test indicated a low cell of 1.250 with the highest at 1.270 and the rest inbetween- all values temp. corrected. Thanks for any help.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Are the batteries Trojans? If they are look on the negative post for a letter and number. The letter is the month and the number is the year. A5 would be January 2005 etc...
 

autoteacher

New Member
They are Trojans. Will check this PM for date code. That might tell me the whole story. I will be out of town this weekend. Thanks for all your help.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
No problem, glad I could help. Maybe by the time you get back in town some others will have posted their opinions.
 

shadowman

New Member
check the date to see how old the batteries are, those #,s arn,t good.....so i suspect you may have at least 4 batteries that need replaced, also grab and tug each batt. cable to make sure its on there good and tight and also make certain all connections are clean.........on rare occasions an OBC will go bad where it won,t shut the charger off i have seen this only 2 times most of the time when the OBC goes the charger won,t come on.......have you load tested the batteries? have you took readings with a hydrometer to check each cell for specific gravity? if not do so readings should be between 12.50 to 13.00 BUT they should all be very close to each other like 12.50 12.60...................if you have a battery with readings say like 1 cell is 12.50 and another cell is 12.80 that could be a problem.............if your unsure about the charger taking a power spike than i would try and find another cart and see how your charger works on it......you can at least eliminate the charger as a problem but i think you may just need to replace your batteries if the charger is ok ........................................
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autoteacher

New Member
Back in town late last night. I find no date codes on the Trojan batteries. If they were paper they are gone and if stamped into battery not there either. I inspected top and all four sides of each one. I will run another hydrometer test, but the lowest cell was a 1.250 on the battery with the lowest voltage- 8.23 volts. The highest reading was a cell on the battery with the highest voltage- 1.270 with 8.37 volts. Readings of other cells on same batteries were simillar. I believe that the batteries are on their last legs, but the readings are borderline. Is there a reading that one can simply say is a time to replace value? Even the Trojan charts on their web site are vague. Thanks
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
The date code will be stamped into the negative terminal in the round flat area next to the stud. If the date code isn't there someone either filed or sanded them off. One last thing I would try before buying new batteries, take individual voltage readings when the amp meter gets close to zero near the end of the charge cycle with the charger still running and post those.
 

Andy4639

Member
One thing to keep in mind old batteries will stay on the charger longer. What kind of pedal time do you like to have? I tell people if they only use it for the grand-kids for say a hour a week then keep on using them until they want go anymore. If you need it for anything longer buy new ones.
 

gornoman

Well-Known Member
Simply look at the negative terminals of each battery. There is a letter and number stamped into the lead on top.
 

autoteacher

New Member
The firm where I bought the cart coated the terminals with a red grease protector and the stampings were obscured by the substance. All are 04A or Jan 2004, so they are all original. I use the cart for seasonal parades and to run to the stores, so the cart averages about one hour per week, except for the parades where they might get about three hours at a whack. I now believe they are on their last legs, but will stretch their life as long as I can. With our over 6000 registered carts in Peachtree City you would think I could get better information locally, but the local vendors want to keep all their knowledge close to the vest to protect their own business. Thanks to all who responded.
 
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