I have an older club car cart I bought last year. The batteries are/were new in 2021. It's been in my heated garage since last fall when it got too cold to use around the estate. According to the manual, it's supposed to remain connected to the charger while in storage and it's supposed to periodically check the battery level and top it off.

Over the winter I've checked the batteries and topped them up with distilled water where necessary, enough to cover the plates. I can't say I've ever noticed the charger cycling on or off but I'm not really surprised by that.

Anyway I drove it for the first time this year today for about 5 minutes and it functioned just fine. When I put it back into the garage I plugged it in to the charger as usual.

I just went out to the garage and the charger is running and I can hear the water in the batteries - all of them - bubbling, which I've never noticed before. I can also smell something, not burning, but as if the batteries are gassing off. They are all a little warm to the touch too, not hot, just warm enough to notice. I've checked the water levels and they are just fine.

What's going on? Anything I should do? Normal?

be careful. It's hydrogen gas. Very volatile, as in flammable or explosive.

honestly if it's in an enclosed garage, I might consider calling the FD for advice.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
be careful. It's hydrogen gas. Very volatile, as in flammable or explosive.

honestly if it's in an enclosed garage, I might consider calling the FD for advice.

That's all I need. A bunch of hairy assed farmers turning up for a Chinese fire drill!

Joking aside, I'm aware of the hydrogen gas thing and I've got the cart in a adequately ventilated area. I just checked on it and the charger has cycled off and all is quiet and cool, and no smell of anything, even hydrogen - which I believe is odorless anyway.

I've just never noticed it before, which doesn't mean much, I don't spend hours and hours out there normally.

Normal. I would leave a door or window open to the outside vent the hydrogen gas out.

Rotten egg smell? It's the sulfer cooking in the cells. Always water the cells after being charged and use the cart until the batteries are near dead before charging. You will kill your batteries faster by "hot shotting" them.

I have a used club car precedent.

My mechanic says in FL the batteries last 3-4 years. The batteries were almost two years old when we bought it, and we got two more years out of them.

The water should be up to the line in the cells under the cap. If you are just covering the plates you might be low on water.

That could cause overheating while charging.

My charger shuts off when it reaches full charge.

I need to physically disconnect it from the charger to get it to start changing again.

I can turn off the outlet remotely but that did not restart the charger.

Mine bubbled slightly when I charged it not being charged all summer.

Mines the same. Have to unplug the charger from the cart to reset it.

In Florida my repair guy recommends storage to be unplugged.
Then monthly plug in and fully charge.
Then top cells off with water.
Repeat until you bring it into service again.
In season he recommended charging when parked and periodically topping off water AFTER a full charge. Filling prior to charging causes expansion and leaking.

https://alliedlithium.com/page...art-batteries-brands

If you want to upgrade from the lead acid to the lithium ion batteries, I would recommend these guys. My 80+ year old father in law converted his older club car to these a short while ago. His cart lost over 200 lbs in battery weight, they hold charge great, and are guaranteed for 8 yrs I think. It was expensive, but so is replacing the heavy lead acid ones every 2-3 years. They took a while to be shipped, but the wait was worth it. You can get batteries, gauge, harness and swap it all yourself. They actually answer the phone too.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MRBTX,

Sounds normal, agreed that your water just covering the plates is low, it should be just at or below the plastic inside of the holes.

Use distilled water only, don't use tap water, you can buy it cheap at the grocery store by the gallon.

These make good battery fillers, reduce overflow, you have to loosen up the cap a bit to get good flow.

Link

Sams club has good prices on deep cycle batteries for 6 volt units from $92 each and up depending on the model.

8 volt are a bit more, around $140 at Interstate etc.

Keep it plugged in, run it, and when you get back, plug it in, there is no reason to let it "sit unplugged" ever.

Club Cars are great, aluminum frames, nothing to rust out.

I'd double check the individual battery voltage, the connections, and a cell check with a hydrometer to sure it doesn't have a bad connection or bad cell.
Both can make the charger think the battery is low and in need of a charge.

Thanks everyone.