melted the post off on the battery???

169stang

New Member
Hello,
N00B here. I have an 03 club car. 48V with a little situation. I was riding around yesterday and the cart suddenly lost power. Pull up the seat to see the Post on the first battery melted off. The battery cables were HOT. I did manage to hold the cable to the melted post just to get it home.
So...my battery is done at this point. I've never heard of replacing the post on the battery itself. I put all new battery cables on last year. What would be the cause of this?
I do know that the controller is not an IQ controller.
 

theCrusher1234

New Member
most obvious thought is the terminal was loose or the batteries were low on water. loose terminal creates high amperage which creates heat which creates broke down. same situation with low water in batteries. where ALL the batteries hot?
 

StreetGlide

New Member
Hello,

Sounds to me like a loose and/or highly corroded battery terminal connector.

I suggest when replacing the battery, to find used one that is same age (and capacity) as others or replacing all.

I'd clean all posts and terminal connectors, adding a anti-oxidant, highly conductive compound before tightening the terminals.

It's a good idea to check all connections when you do your water level checks and other scheduled maintenance...

Just my
twocents.gif
worth!
 

169stang

New Member
Much appreciated! I keep up on the water levels in the batteries. I do know there is some corrosion on the terminals. It seems I am constantly cleaning the terminals though. I've tried spraying that red terminal corrosion stuff on it, but that doesn't seem to help too much.
Last week, it wouldn't move upon pressing the pedal. I checked all the cables and nothing appeared to be loose. I checked the volts and all were good.
It's going to be tough to find a 6 year old battery.....or is it?
 

169stang

New Member
hmmm....may try that. Not sure there is enough material there though. I'll definitely give it a try! Thanks!
 
What kind of batteries are you using? What post is melting burning?
I service carts, most have Trojan T105s. I have drilled and replaced melted positive posts just like the illustration.
This seems to happen when the tops of the battery cases are full of acid.
Some posts have melted even with good soldered cables and clean tight copper to lead connections
and #4 welding wire cables.
I think the poor connections are inside the cast lead at the head of the bolt, caused by acid leaking
down the threads into that space.
My Clients who have clean (no acid) on top of their battery cases don't seem to have as many melting terminal problems?
[email protected]
 

169stang

New Member
I think you are correct. The sides of my batteries are wet sometimes. I did drill and screw in a new stud. It works just fine, but I'm pretty sure the issue will happen again. I did melt off most of the material and it is pretty much fragile at this point.
My connections were all tight. I'm not sure about within the battery though....which are Trojan batteries (burgandy in color). Not sure of the model batts though. It was the positive post on my #1 battery (passenger side, rear batt). I just noticed the pic above again. I put a stud in the original location....not on the portion that goes directly into the battery. Maybe I should redo....not drilling more the 3/4":)
I also noticed my water levels were down to the top of whatever is inside of the batteries. Took about 2 gals of water to top off. I also noticed the water in the batteries seemed to be boiling when I had it on charge for a couple hours. I was tempted to take the top off of one battery to see if it was boiling...but that was against my better judgement!

so....are you saying to keep the tops acid, corrosion free all the time. At this point, I'll clean them everytime I use it! Is there some method to prevent the acid on the post? I've tried spraying that red crap on there....which obviously didn't help much.
 

169stang

New Member
I'm so tempted to just change out the motor and controller. I'm not in Florida anymore and it's very hilly here (W. PA). Besides, I plow my driveway with it. I do like the torque and would probably go for more torque over speed. Then....what's the next weak link?
 

StreetGlide

New Member
Hello,

Are you over-filling your batteries? Once they are charged you should fill them to cover the plates by about 1/8th of an inch, no more than 1/4". If they are over-filled the bubbles of acid will kinda "pop" up through the hoes in the top of the filler caps that might be causing most of your corrosion problems.(?)

If your batteries have gotten dry (meaning water too low) there could be some plates that are shorted that could be causing your problems.

Six year old batteries could be the problem. What make are they? If you have used tap water and not distilled water for 6 years I'd guess you have some with shorted plates.

I suggest you measure the voltage of each in the present state of charge, then charge them, measure the voltage of each, then wait a couple of hours and measure them again. Post all those voltages and let some of the experts take a look and comment on those readings......

Yes, just another
twocents.gif
worth!
 
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