club car battery questions

[tdump]

Ok a friend called with a club car that would not go at all.
I pulled the seat and it has 6 8 volt T 860 battery's.
I checked a couple with a Simpson volt meter and 1 was showing about 6 the other,I had to go to the 2.5 volt scale and switch leads as the polarity had reversed on the battery and it showed about a half volt.
2 others had done the reverse polarity bit.
I could not get the charger to turn on.
I measured the total voltage on the circut and it was about 12.
I think this is why the charger would not come on.I think it needs a bit more than that to trip the relay in it.

So I told her she needed battery's and felt like I did the right thing.She said she would call the folks she bought the cart from and have them bring a set.
She told me she trys to charge it at least once a month.I did not say anything in regards to that because it use is limited to a 2 acre area.
I felt it should be ok.


My questions are,
1, Why and how does a battery reverse it's own polarity while still hooked in series in a circut?
2, Is there anything the person could be doing wrong to cause it? If so I need to tell the lady as she is 80 and uses the cart to get around the yard.