2016 EZGO TXT Charging/Battery issue

[JBofthe74]

Over the winter my 48V TXT was completely dead from sitting in the cold garage. It would not charge and after buying a new charger still would not charge; (the charging light on the cart would not light up). I opted to try charging each better individually which worked on 4 batteries perfectly but two remained very low (using a volt meter to check them). I was able to drive it around for a day with no issues and after this all batteries were somehow at full charge. Two days later they were low and the cart would barely move. I plugged in the charger (charging light on cart still not lighting up) and after about 4 hours it ran fine meaning it is taking a charge. The following day while out driving the cart it suddenly slowed down to a crawl and about 2 minutes later started running full speed. Again, I plugged in the charger and after about an hour water was coming out of one of the batteries. I unplugged it all, cleaned up the spill and let it sit for a day. This morning I took it out and immediately smelled a burning scent but there's no visible smoke. Any suggestions here? Do I just need new batteries? *For added context I did add buggy whips last year, run through a voltage reducer, but have had no issues until after winter.

[golfcartg]

The most critical issue is that two of the batteries are significantly weak which is causing instability across the entire pack and likely triggering voltage drops under load. This is at the core of the cart slowing to a crawl and erratic charging behavior. Closely behind that is the fact that one battery is overcharging and leaking, which could mean it's boiling due to internal damage or imbalance with the rest of the pack, potentially from being overworked trying to compensate for the weaker batteries. The burning smell could point to an overheating battery or failing internal wiring (or loose/dirty connection), potentially made worse by trying to continue using the cart with a mismatched or unbalanced pack. While the voltage reducer and buggy whips could be contributing to a small parasitic draw, they’re not likely the cause of these core problems. The root of it all still comes back to the batteries, either severely mismatched in health or aged enough to no longer charge or discharge evenly. From here you could potentially run a few quick checks with a digital voltmeter on each battery both at rest and under load to get a clearer picture.

[JBofthe74]

The most critical issue is that two of the batteries are significantly weak which is causing instability across the entire pack and likely triggering voltage drops under load. This is at the core of the cart slowing to a crawl and erratic charging behavior. Closely behind that is the fact that one battery is overcharging and leaking, which could mean it's boiling due to internal damage or imbalance with the rest of the pack, potentially from being overworked trying to compensate for the weaker batteries. The burning smell could point to an overheating battery or failing internal wiring (or loose/dirty connection), potentially made worse by trying to continue using the cart with a mismatched or unbalanced pack. While the voltage reducer and buggy whips could be contributing to a small parasitic draw, they’re not likely the cause of these core problems. The root of it all still comes back to the batteries, either severely mismatched in health or aged enough to no longer charge or discharge evenly. From here you could potentially run a few quick checks with a digital voltmeter on each battery both at rest and under load to get a clearer picture.

Great info! Thank you for the detailed explanation. After doing an individual charge on each battery, I've found two that aren't charging (hovering around 1.0-2.0 on the volt meter). I know it's a better idea to replace all batteries but looking at keeping costs down, is it a bad idea to replace only the two? One of them is the battery that leaked.

[golfcartg]

Great info! Thank you for the detailed explanation. After doing an individual charge on each battery, I've found two that aren't charging (hovering around 1.0-2.0 on the volt meter). I know it's a better idea to replace all batteries but looking at keeping costs down, is it a bad idea to replace only the two? One of them is the battery that leaked.

You can get by replacing just the two bad batteries to keep costs down, but just know the new ones might not last as long since the old ones will drag them down a bit. If you’re only using the cart for short trips and want to save even more you can run four 12V batteries instead of six 8Vs plenty of folks do it, just expect less range. Not the perfect setup but it gets you rolling without spending a ton.