Dried Out Batteries in 2009 DS

[stinkyboy]

I just bought a used 2009 DS from a reputable dealer. When it was shipped to me, it arrived with all four 12V batteries completely dry as a bone.

I had to add 500ml of distilled water to each cell (a total of 12 litres of water)

The cart runs fine - it goes 19mph

Are these batteries going to have a shortened life? Will they not hold a charge as long as another battery?

Will load testing them or testing the specific gravity tell me anything about the damage that may have been done?

Just want your opinion before I go back to the dealer.

Thanks

[scottyb]

Welcome stinkyboy

Shame on the dealer..... It is very hard to say what the long term effects of the dry batteries will be. Because you do not know how long they have been dry and if they have been recharged dry ( big factor).. I would call the dealer and tell him you are shocked by such obvious neglect and possible abuse of the batteries you recieved and you intend to return the cart unless he gives an extended battery warranty. Period

[rabbitreborn]

Hell I would demand a different set of batteries..... and as a dealer, I would quickly honor that request because I know that bad publicity is death in this industry. I haven't a clue how much you paid for the cart, but I agree with Scotty, demand that something be done on threat of returning the cart. In Florida, you have a 3 day buyers right to cancel a deal based on just cause (which you have in this case) but you have to notify the dealer in that 3 day period IN WRITING. If you paid by Credit Card, you also have protection from your CC company on this deal.

I can tell you, as a dealer, I have NEVER let a cart leave my shop with dry batteries......

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Originally Posted by rabbitreborn

Hell I would demand a different set of batteries..... and as a dealer, I would quickly honor that request because I know that bad publicity is death in this industry. I haven't a clue how much you paid for the cart, but I agree with Scotty, demand that something be done on threat of returning the cart. In Florida, you have a 3 day buyers right to cancel a deal based on just cause (which you have in this case) but you have to notify the dealer in that 3 day period IN WRITING. If you paid by Credit Card, you also have protection from your CC company on this deal.

I can tell you, as a dealer, I have NEVER let a cart leave my shop with dry batteries......

[stinkyboy]

Thanks for the help

I am only getting about 5 hours of drive time before the battery warning light comes on

How many hours would a new battery be rated at?

[shadowman]

Originally Posted by TahoeDawgZ71

whatever you do don,t let this person off the hook......is it going to effect runtime and battery life? do bears crap in the woods................................

[rabbitreborn]

not possible to say the actual drive time. When we dealers test batteries, we use a discharge machine that takes the batteries from a full charge down to the shutdown voltage of the cart (for example, on a 36 volt system, the cart is considered in "shut down" at 32.5 volts on the pack under load). The length of time it takes do do this, coupled with the ambient temperature, gives us a rough idea of the life of the battery pack (as well as points out any bad batteries in the pack). As a general rule of thumb, any discharge time above 80 minutes is considered fair, above 90 is considered good, and above 100 is considered very good. A brand new set, properly charged and broken in should discharge at approximately 110 minutes.

The reason I gave all that information is that during "normal" operation, you are not actually running with the pedal down for 5 hours. If you were to start out and run full pedal down without let-up, the batteries should last roughly the same as a "discharge test"

I still feel you should demand a different set of batteries (personally I would even go so far as to demand a NEW set, and let them talk me down to something 1 year old or less). Regardless of what you have done (adding distilled water, charging properly), the damage has already been done to the set. Any portion of the plates that became exposed to the air is now a dead portion of the battery and will not come back to life.

[shadowman]

a good full charged set of 8 volt batts should get you about 22 miles of riding before needing charged........................................... .......

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Originally Posted by shadowman

whatever you do don,t let this person off the hook......is it going to effect runtime and battery life? do bears crap in the woods................................

haahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[gornoman]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Welcome stinkyboy

Shame on the dealer.....

If he doesn't play ball, tell him his company name will be published on the largest golf cart forum in the universe. If he balks, give ME the name and I'll publish it. Club Car could pull his dealership over this......