need help testing batteries

[redman34]

A guy just called me and said he has a cart that has been sitting for 9 months , uncharged.

Supposedly, he had new batteries, less than ayear old, and his grandson drove the cart, jumped a curb, and brought the cart back with a loud clunking sound.

The guy let the cart sit, because he didn't have the money to have someone look at it. So now, he decided to try and charge it, but the batteries won't charge. Again, supposedly 9 months!

I told him I would come look at it.

So now I am asking for help, as to what all i can try when I get there. I would like to only make one trip, and hopefully come up with a solution to get his cart charging again.

The priority is the batteries, will get to the clunking later.

So if someone can give me a list and order of doing things, i would be greatly appreciative.

[dougmcp]

If it's an Ezgo and the battery pack voltage is less than 28V, the charger will not come on. The easiest way is to take an 12v automotive charger and charge in pairs (or a 6v and charge each battery) until the voltage is up to a point where the cart charger can take over. Each battery needs to be at least 4.8v.
You don't need to disconnect anything to do this.
Regardless how new the batteries are/were, chances are the batteries are shot if they sat for months in an uncharged state. You can kill brand new batteries in a month if you run them down and never charge them.
Good luck and don't forget your voltmeter.

[andy4639]

Doug is 100% correct. I have a cart sitting now in the back yard the guy let sit for 12 months with no charge. Brand new T 105. They are gone. I tried for two days with my 50amp charger to get them up. No luck. I would bet money they are gone. I've been waiting since October for him to buy new batteries.

Take 2 12 volt chargers with you and hook them up to the 1 and last set of batteries. Let them charge for a little while and plug the regular charger in and see if it will kick off. If not forget about them.

[redman34]

How long do i need to let the 12 volt chargers run before I know if they are taking?

I have been communicating with a company that has a dynapulse battery restoration charger. This thing supposedly is what the military uses on airplane and forklift batteries to desulphate them. Thousands of dollars to buy the unit. Suposedly club car is using these to restore their batteries.

[andy4639]

Check batteries voltage before you hook the 12 volt charger up.
Charge them for 20 - 30 minutes and take the charger off the batteries. Let it sit about 5 minutes and check it. If it reads more than it did to begin with keep charging if it doesn't stop it's a waste of time.
I'll be real surprised if it does though!

[Michael Eddie]

How long do i need to let the 12 volt chargers run before I know if they are taking?

I have been communicating with a company that has a dynapulse battery restoration charger. This thing supposedly is what the military uses on airplane and forklift batteries to desulphate them. Thousands of dollars to buy the unit. Suposedly club car is using these to restore their batteries.

I wouldnt think that golf cart batteries are to military specs. Putting so much voltage will probably just explode the battery. That does sound interesting though

[redman34]

I will report back in next week. I am trying it out next week.

[Michael Eddie]

Awesome keep us posted

[andy4639]

I bought this charger a few years ago off craigslist and it has brought back some dead batteries. If they haven't sat long they can be saved sometimes but if they have been sitting for several months I doubt you do any good. You may get them to charge but I bet they want stay up long.

[redman34]

That looks like a very cool charger, i like the versatility.

The unit I am buying is dyna pulse restorer

[dougmcp]

If this is for using on customer's carts I don't see that the Dyna Pulse would be a worthwhile investment for golf cart batteries, IMO they are too cheap to be bothered with.

Facilities that use these pieces of equipment are aviation and forklift places that have expensive battery packs and want to extend their battery life expectancy.
They are basically for desulfating a battery and require constant monitoring for charge level and temperature. In the case of golf cart batteries, all chargers go into an equalization stage at the end of the charge which keeps sulfation to a minimum if they are recharged regularly and not left sitting in an uncharged state.

It is a difficult task to overcome a customer's lack of maintenance with any magic machine like the Dyna Pulse. If there is any lead left on the plates it may bring a battery back to a certain level but it will not perform like an new battery for long and then you're back to the customer maintenance issue.

You may be better served to sell the customer new batteries and educate him in proper procedures of charging, watering and cleaning.

[redman34]

I am heading over to check out those cart batteries this morning. If they won't charge, i will see if i can bring them home. I have a pulse technology presentation this week, hope to see what , if anything, i can learn.