Ezgo ST SPORT 2+2 Service Manual - page 39
OPERATION AND SERVICE INFORMATION
Page 23
Owner’s Manual and Service Guide
Read all of manual to become thoroughly familiar with this vehicle. Pay particular attention to all Notes, Cautions and Warnings
To prevent battery explo-
sion that could result in
severe personal injury or
death, extreme care must be used with aerosol con-
tainers of battery terminal protectant. Insulate the
metal container to prevent the metal can from con-
tacting battery terminals which could result in an
explosion.
Use care to connect the battery wires as shown (Ref. Fig.
30 on page 23) and (Ref. Fig. 30 on page 23). Tighten
the battery post hardware to 80 - 110 in. lbs. (6 - 8 Nm)
torque
.
Protect the battery terminals and battery wire ter-
minals with a commercially available protective coating.
BATTERY CHARGING
The
battery charger is designed to fully charge the bat-
tery set. If the batteries are severely deep cycled, some
automatic battery chargers contain an electronic module
that may not activate and the battery charger will not
function. Automatic chargers will determine the correct
duration of charge to the battery set and will shut off
when the battery set is fully charged. Always refer to the
instructions of the specific charger used.
Before charging, the following should be observed:
Do not overfill batteries. The charging
cycle will expel electrolyte and result in
component damage.
•
The electrolyte level in all cells must be at the rec-
ommended level and cover the plates.
•
The charging must take place in an area that is
well ventilated and capable of removing the hydro-
gen gas that is generated by the charging pro-
cess. A minimum of five air exchanges per hour
is recommended.
•
The charging connector components are in good
condition and free from dirt or debris.
•
The charger connector is fully inserted into the
vehicle receptacle.
•
The charger connector/cord set is protected from
damage and is located in an area to prevent injury
that may result from personnel running over or
tripping 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
contacts.
AC VOLTAGE
Battery charger output is directly related to the input volt-
age. 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 a manufacturer 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 max-
imum capacity. Maturing may take up to 100 charge/dis-
charge 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 partic-
ular 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.
Fig. 30 36 Volt System Battery Connections
!
!
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
Front of Vehicle
BL +
BL -
Ref Bat 1