Page H-6
Repair and Service Manual
B
BATTERIES AND CHARGING
Read all of Section B and this section before attempting any procedure. Pay particular attention to Notices, Cautions, Warnings and Dangers.
that may result from personnel running over or trip-
ping over the cord set.
•
The charger is automatically turned off during the
connect/disconnect cycle and therefore no electri-
cal arc is generated at the DC plug/receptacle con-
tacts.
In some portable chargers, there will be a rattle present in the
body of the charger DC plug. This rattle is caused by an inter-
nal magnet contained within the charger plug. The magnet is
part of the interlock system that prevents the vehicle from
being driven when the charger plug is inserted in the vehicle
charging receptacle.
AC Voltage
Battery charger output is directly related to the input
voltage. If multiple vehicles are receiving an incomplete
charge in a normally adequate time period, low AC volt-
age could be the cause and the power company should
be consulted.
TROUBLESHOOTING
In general, troubleshooting will be done for two distinct
reasons. First, a battery that performs poorly and is out-
side of the manufacturers specification should be identi-
fied in order to replace it under the terms of the
manufacturer’s warranty. Different manufacturers have
different requirements. Consult the battery manufacturer
or the manufacturer’s representative for specific require-
ments.
The second reason is to determine why a particular vehi-
cle does not perform adequately. Performance problems
may result in a vehicle that runs slowly or in a vehicle
that is unable to operate for the time required.
A new battery must mature before it will develop its
maximum capacity. Maturing may take up to 100 charge/
discharge cycles. After the maturing phase, the older a
battery gets, the lower the capacity. The only way to
determine the capacity of a battery is to perform a load
test using a discharge machine following manufacturer’s
recommendations.
A cost effective way to identify a poorly performing bat-
tery is to use a hydrometer to identify a battery in a set
with a lower than normal specific gravity. Once the par-
ticular cell or cells that are the problem are identified, the
suspect battery can be removed and replaced. At this
point there is nothing that can be done to salvage the
battery; however, the individual battery should be
replaced with a good battery of the same brand, type
and approximate age.
Hydrometer
A hydrometer (P/N 50900-G1) is used to test the state of
charge of a battery cell (Ref. Fig. 7 on Page H-6). This is
performed by measuring the density of the electrolyte,
which is accomplished by measuring the specific gravity
of the electrolyte. The greater the concentration of sulfu-
ric acid, the more dense the electrolyte becomes. The
higher the density, the higher the state of charge.
To prevent battery explosion that could result
in severe personal injury or death, never insert
a metal thermometer into a battery. Use a
hydrometer with a built in thermometer that is
designed for testing batteries.
Fig. 7 Hydrometer
Specific gravity is the measurement of a liquid that is
compared to a baseline. The baseline is water which is
assigned a base number of 1.000. The concentration of
sulfuric acid to water in a new golf car battery is 1.280
which means that the electrolyte weighs 1.280 times the
weight of the same volume of water. A fully charged bat-
tery will test at 1.275 - 1.280 while a discharged battery
will read in the 1.140 range.
NOTICE
