battery voltage test, newbie

[dans8555]

Well I am ready to get started to try to solve a few problems. I bought a battery voltage/amp tester and I am going to test each battery on my old Melix cart. I will do this after the charger needle bottoms out. I will check the water level first before charging. What would be an acceptable - good battery voltage reading?

[pggroves]

For state of charge as related to open circuit voltage and specific gravity:

For 6 volt batteries:
6.37v is 100% charged.
SG Temp corrected to 80* is 1.277.

This is directly from Trojan website. http://www.trojanbattery.com/Battery...e/Testing.aspx

You know it is required reading for sparkie owners right?

[dans8555]

thank you PGG. OK, you got my curiosity, what is a "sparkie owner"? And by the way, I was a big fan of Charlton Heston, former NRA president and 2nd Ammendment advocate.

[pggroves]

Sparkie \spahr-kee\, noun

noun:
1. commonly overused acronym for electric vehicles.

Sparkies routinely and easily outperform gassers (a.k.a. stink pots) on any given day.



Now that ought to get a few posts.

See what you started dans8555???

On the 2nd amendment, I will never cease to be amazed at the incredible intellect and forethought of our founding fathers. The Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration;
quite simply it is pure genius and TJ is one of my fav's. (<--as I clean my 9mil)

[scottyb]

Danny, pggroves gets to cleaning his 9 and he forgets to mention that your batts need to settle for about 30 minutes after the charger stops before true readings can be taken...Now if you will excuse me I have a 10 to clean...

[dans8555]

Hey ScottyB, I read in one of the blogs that you also own a Melex model 212. I do too, I don't have the serial # with me, but it appears these carts are pretty old, mine was made in Poland. I understand that these are almost identical to early Ezgo models. True? If so, if needed, should I follow the electrical diagrams that are for pre-83 Ezgo's?

[scottyb]

I used a wiring diagram from Vintage golf carts.com There are two diagrams for the 212 model. http://www.vintagegolfcartparts.com/...ategory=100017 The pre 83 ezgo was also a help. Everybody and their brother tried their hand at golf cart repair under the seat of my Melex before I got it. Armed with those diagrams I removed every last piece of brittle & corroded wire. Was glad I did it that way

[dans8555]

Well my Melex DOES have SIX 12 volt batteries. These are Dynasty UPS(Uninterupted Power Supply) batteries, High Rate Series from C&D Technologies, they are sealed/no caps. I called their technical dept and apparently these batteries must be lined up parallel, which is like having two 36 volt systems, which they said just increases the capacity. They are supposed to be a 10 year design, three of these batteries were made Oct 2002 and three made Oct 2003. I tested them with a new voltage meeter and each had a reading of between 12.1 and 12.5 and this was before charging. Apparently the 36 volt Clarke charge that came with the cart is charging these.

The cart does run fast on the level, however does slow down a lot going up a hill. The accellerator seems to have only one range, as when you step on it, it is full speed not graduated, and occassionally when you step on the pedal nothing happens. What would cause this?

My questions and concerns are: am I doing any harm to any of the other components in the system(motor,solinoid,control pannel,etc) by continuing to run these batteries? Would I gain better "hill climbing" power by going to all new SIX 6 volt batteries?

If I know I have a solid/dependable "power train", then (after reading a lot of posts, you guys got me all juiced up to put on a lift, bigger tires, new shocks) and overhaul brakes and whatever else it would need. A good winter project.