no power

[ajd15]

I have an early 80's EZ GO cart that I purchased in 2005. When I purchased it ,all was well. a little over a year ago I noticed it was getting less and less distance and speed. I replaced the batteries ( new not rebuilt ) and it was better but not as before. Then the headlight fuse kept blowing out. I traced the circuit but nothing was shorted. Now I can't get more than maybe a 100 yards or so and the cart starts to slow to a crawl, last time I pushed it home. As you can probably tell I am on a very limited income and would like to get this cart up and running again. Oh, when I pushed it home I put it on the charger and within a half hour the batteries were at full charge again. I am some what handy and am not afraid to attempt my own repair. The charger is a Lester-Matic model 8714.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Tony

[JohnnieB]

Welcome to BGW!

I may be wrong, but I don't think your batteries are being fully charged.
A Lester-Matic 8714 is a manual charger - Schematic and parts list attached.
Also attached is a State of Charge chart that shows battery voltage 12 Hours or more after they come off charge. (A fully charged 6V battery is 6.37V and a fully charged 36V battery pack is 38.2V)
The on-charge voltage when a 36V battery pack reaches full charge is about 45V. (Automatic charger don't shut off until they reach that voltage)
Unless the on-charge voltage is reaching that voltage, your batteries are not being fully charged.

The type drive system you have is needed to troubleshoot cart. Plug your serial number into this website and it might tell you what is was when it left the factory, or give you a phone number and E-mail address to contact EZGO for help in ID'ing your cart.
http://www.shopezgo.com/customer-ser...ialNumber.html

Also, there is some good information on how to break in new batteries at this website, as well as good info on battery charging and maintenance.
http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Batter...n_Methods.html

Hope this helps.

[ajd15]

Thank you for this information. I will keep you guys updated.

Thank you
Tony

[ajd15]

Ok here is where I am at. The charge is working ,5 of the batteries test to 6.7, one test to 6.9. At a stand still the headlights work fine, when you drive the cart the fuse blows after a couple of minutes. I don;t know of anything to test. I appreciate all the help so far and any future suggestions will be appreciated. I checked with my local cart repair place and got no help unless they can see the cart. then it is an 50 dollar fee to check it over. I understand it, they are not in the business to go broke. Anyway that's why I'm here. Any help at all.

Thanks

Tony

[JohnnieB]

Blowing headlight fuses and lack of runtime are probably two separate issues.

1. Headlight fuses: What is the voltage going to the headlights?
Should be the voltage of two 6V batteries in series, or about 13.5V using the numbers stated in your last post.


2. Runtime: Only three possibilities, or a combination thereof.
A. Not enough electrical energy is being put into batteries.
B. Batteries have inadequate or compromised storage capacity.
C. Drive circuit not delivering electrical energy from batteries to motor.

What is the battery pack voltage immediately before taking a test drive?
What is the battery pack voltage after the cart slows to a crawl?
Did any of the high current cables/connections/components get hot?

[yurtle]

Originally Posted by ajd15

Then the headlight fuse kept blowing out. I traced the circuit but nothing was shorted.

Describe how you determined there was nothing shorted.

[scottyb]

ajd15, let's simplify things. Disconnect the 12v stuff and lets make the cart run then worry about the little stuff
Disconnect the 12v supply, both sides, + and -.
Since you are on a tight budget grab whatever tape you have,a wire brush, and your digital test meter.
Clean up the connections on the main + and - terminals. Tape the meter to the mains so the meter can sit on the seat & the wires are not pinched by the seat.
While you're in there clean all the rest of the battery terminals and verify that the batteries are all in the proper order, + to - from one main to the other. give each battery cable a good tug & twist to see if you can break it off...if not they are good. One bad cable can cause all of this you described!
Turn on the meter and write down the standing voltage... Turn on the key, put it in gear...any change in voltage? No, take the wheel and drive watching the road and the meter. Find an incline and tell us how low the voltage drops on the incline.... repeat the test 2 or 3 times to verify your reading...
If the voltage drops more than 3 volts on a moderate incline repeat the test for each individual battery. Record your finings for each battery... # the batteries 1-6 for future identification.
Note it is easiest to attach alligator clips to the test leads for some of this testing.
That will give us some info to go on; we can either blame the batteries or move on.

[ajd15]

iI checked the battery pack voltage and it was 36.6 dcv. I drove the cart about 50 yards and the volt meter kept going down .I turned around and the volts went to 10dcv. I let the cart sit for about 10 minutes and the meter read 20 dcv. when I went to move it the meter dropped to 9dcv and I again pushed it home. I didn't go far so it wasn't bad. Each battery tested to 5.7 dcv.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by ajd15

iI checked the battery pack voltage and it was 36.6 dcv. I drove the cart about 50 yards and the volt meter kept going down .I turned around and the volts went to 10dcv. I let the cart sit for about 10 minutes and the meter read 20 dcv. when I went to move it the meter dropped to 9dcv and I again pushed it home. I didn't go far so it wasn't bad. Each battery tested to 5.7 dcv.

Sir, if you haven't already killed your new batteries, you certainly trying to do so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your batteries were less than 60% charged. They should have been put on charge for 6-8 hours or more instead of being used.

Never discharge the batteries below 50% (36.31V)
Always keep them charged to the highest State of Charge possible or practical.

If those were my batteries and I had a Lester 8714 manual charger, I set it to maximum charge time (12 hours IIRC), check the electrolyte level and then charge them for another 12 hours.

Twelve hours after that, I'd measure the individual battery voltages and the pack voltage. They should be at least 6.37V and 38.20V respectively.

Then and only then, would I attempt troubleshooting the drive system, which may or may not have problems or the lights, which were likely miswired to 18V when the new batteries were installed.

Sorry to be so blunt, but in my book, battery abuse is akin to animal abuse.

[scottyb]

Here is a helpful little chart ...