# Golfcart batteries



## sghoghunter (Mar 12, 2017)

I think the batteries in my golfcart are headed downhill and I'm starting to look around for some new ones but I don't know anything about golf carts or what brand batteries are the best. It has Trojans in it now and may replace it with the same but not sure yet. Also trying to decide if I want to keep it with 4 12volt or change it to 6 8volt.


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## TurkeyH90 (Mar 13, 2017)

I will be watching this thread myself as I am in the same situation. Curious as to how many years you got out of the Trojans you have now?


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## rjcruiser (Mar 13, 2017)

Trojans are the brand name batteries, but I wouldn't be opposed to others.

6 8v batteries will give you better run time than 4 12s, but not sure if you'll notice.  If you do go the 6 8v route, you'll have to have a voltage reducer to run any accessories if they're currently running off of one 12v.  Not hard to add and a better set up, but another $50 or so to get.

With new batteries, just make sure you take care of them.  Keep the water level correct, only use distilled water and charge the batteries after every use.  Don't let them get run down.  The number of charge cycles per battery greatly increases when you are charging them when they're depleted only 10-20%.

Depending on use and care, they should last over 1000 charge cycles.


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## Beagler282 (Mar 13, 2017)

I have 4-12v Crown 155's in my ezgo RXV. My cart goes a long ways on a full charge with them. From what I understand they are just as good as the Trojans but better cost wise.


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## sghoghunter (Mar 13, 2017)

TurkeyH90 said:


> I will be watching this thread myself as I am in the same situation. Curious as to how many years you got out of the Trojans you have now?



I bought the cart 4 months ago and not real sure how old the Trojans are.


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## rjcruiser (Mar 20, 2017)

sghoghunter said:


> I bought the cart 4 months ago and not real sure how old the Trojans are.



There's a date stamp on trojans.  Look at the lead pole and there will be a letter and a number.  The letter stands for the month and the number is the last digit of the year they were mfg.  Also, trojan stamps usually about a month or two forward to give the battery time to get on the shelf and be sold. 

So...for example...a battery stamped C3 would have most likely been sold/installed in March of 2013.  Sellers will often mislead on when the batteries were installed and say that the batteries sat on the shelf for a long time....that the letter is the last of the month they were manufactured etc etc....but the stamp doesn't lie.

Not to beat you up, but you should never buy a cart without knowing when the batteries were made.  It would be like buying a car without knowing how many miles were on the engine.


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## sghoghunter (Mar 20, 2017)

rjcruiser said:


> There's a date stamp on trojans.  Look at the lead pole and there will be a letter and a number.  The letter stands for the month and the number is the last digit of the year they were mfg.  Also, trojan stamps usually about a month or two forward to give the battery time to get on the shelf and be sold.
> 
> So...for example...a battery stamped C3 would have most likely been sold/installed in March of 2013.  Sellers will often mislead on when the batteries were installed and say that the batteries sat on the shelf for a long time....that the letter is the last of the month they were manufactured etc etc....but the stamp doesn't lie.
> 
> Not to beat you up, but you should never buy a cart without knowing when the batteries were made.  It would be like buying a car without knowing how many miles were on the engine.






I checked the code stamped on the batteries and it showed E0. At the price I gave for the cart even if I had to change the batteries I still should be good and like I said before I know nothing about carts or deep cycle batteries. I did check the water levels and check them with a load tester but later I found out that load testing them the way I done don't work on these kind of batteries


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## rjcruiser (Mar 21, 2017)

sghoghunter said:


> I checked the code stamped on the batteries and it showed E0. At the price I gave for the cart even if I had to change the batteries I still should be good and like I said before I know nothing about carts or deep cycle batteries. I did check the water levels and check them with a load tester but later I found out that load testing them the way I done don't work on these kind of batteries



  I hear ya...and if you got a great deal, you're good to go.  I've just heard a lot of "did this....replaced the batts this date...did this to it this date"....then show up and the date stamps are a year off.

So, with that date, your batts are 7 years old.  May of 2010.  With that date, I'd say they're nearing the end of the life.  4-6 years is what most say they get out of them...but again, maintenance is key to long life.

Best of luck and enjoy the cart!

One more item...they should be able to be load tested....but you have to have a load tester (I don't have one).  Also, you can check the voltage with them and newer 12v batts should show around 12.8v if I recall.


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## sghoghunter (Mar 21, 2017)

rjcruiser said:


> I hear ya...and if you got a great deal, you're good to go.  I've just heard a lot of "did this....replaced the batts this date...did this to it this date"....then show up and the date stamps are a year off.
> 
> So, with that date, your batts are 7 years old.  May of 2010.  With that date, I'd say they're nearing the end of the life.  4-6 years is what most say they get out of them...but again, maintenance is key to long life.
> 
> ...





I was told that you can't load test them the same way as you do a regular battery for a car or truck but just going by what someone told me. They said there was a load tester made for them kind of batteries that measured the voltage drop over a long period of time. These check around 12.5 v right off the charger but just don't seem to last aslong as I think they should.


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## Triple C (Mar 21, 2017)

Bought my cart in 2012 with new Trojan batteries in it.  Still running strong.  Always hook it up to the charger when finished and keep a full charge on em.  Really surprised that they've lasted this long with so much go still in them.  They gotta go sometime but man have I enjoyed never having to go fill up the gas can.  Love the thing.


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## sghoghunter (Mar 21, 2017)

Love mine too.


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## ribber (Mar 21, 2017)

After @8-12 hours rest after a full charge, the pack should read 50-52. If they read 48 or less, the batteries are probably shot. Of course, one battery could be bad. At 7 years though, I would replace them. Brand isn't nearly as important as maintenance, but Trojans are said to be the best. Crown is good too.


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## southernman13 (Mar 24, 2017)

Chain the cart to a tree and put your multi meter on each battery and pull against the chain by driving cart. This will put a good load on the batteries. You only need to do it for a few seconds on each one. Do each battery separate.  A bad battery will have a voltage drop real quick. One bad battery will kill the whole pack. If you have a bad one and they're all older batteries I'd replace them all. Imho Trojan batteries are the best and worth the extra money. I had a rental business and had thousands of batteries to deal with.


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## mudcreek (Jun 4, 2017)

Buttin in, here. My batteries have been dead now for about 4 mos. Cart hasnt moved. How long can it sit before it starts to decline. I havent been able to find the $ for a new set.


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## rjcruiser (Jun 4, 2017)

mudcreek said:


> Buttin in, here. My batteries have been dead now for about 4 mos. Cart hasnt moved. How long can it sit before it starts to decline. I havent been able to find the $ for a new set.



What do you mean decline?  As long as the wiring doesn't get chewed on or corroded,  you should be able to have it sit for years....then just stick in a new set of batts.


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