Club Car 1998 DS, Maintenance And Service Manual Supplement

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BATTERIES General Information
Page 13-2 1998/1999 PowerDrive Plus Maintenance and Service Supplement
13
General Information, Continued:
The batteries supplied with an electric vehicle must supply 100% of the energy required to operate the vehicle.
These batteries therefore, receive deep discharge down to 30% to 40% of their full charge capacity. Then they must
be recharged, hence the name “deep cycle.” The average amperage draw is considered to be 56 amps on a 48 volt
vehicle, although it varies greatly depending on the vehicle and how it is operated. PowerDrive Plus vehicle batter-
ies are specifically designed to handle this type of service.
The rechargeable lead-acid battery turns chemical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. The main active ele-
ments within a battery are the positive plates, the negative plates and the electrolyte (sulfuric acid). Another very
important element (but inactive) is the separator. The separator does exactly what its name implies - it separates the
material of the positive and negative plates and prevents them from touching each other, which would create elec-
trical shorts. The separator is porous enough to allow charged ions to pass through between the positive and nega-
tive plates, but not allow the two materials to contact each other.
Whenever two unlike metals are immersed in an acid solution, an electric current is generated.
Figure 13-1 Charged Battery Figure 13-2 Discharging Battery
Figure 13-3 Discharged Battery Figure 13-4 Charging Battery
+
PbO2 Pb
H SO
2
4
CHARGED BATTERY
+
Pb
Pb
H
2
2
4
BATTERY IN USE (DISCHARGING)
SO
O
MOTOR
+
PbSO4
4
PbSO
H O
2
DISCHARGED BATTERY
+
Pb
Pb
H
2
4
2
BATTERY CHARGING
O
SO
CHARGER