E-Z-GO Express S6 - Electric Owner Manual - Page 71

MAINTENANCE Read all of this manual to become thoroughly familiar with this vehicle. Pay particular attention to all Notices, Cautions, Warnings, and Dangers. Use care to connect the battery wires as shown. Tighten the battery post hardware to 90 - 100 in. lbs. (6 -8 Nm) torque. Do not over-torque the terminal stud nut, this will cause a "mushroom" effect on the battery post which will prevent the terminal nut from being properly tightened. Protect the battery terminals and battery wire terminals with a commercially available coating. Protect the battery terminals and battery wire terminals with a commercially available coating. Front of Vehicle + + BL+ to BL- to B- Solenoid on ESC To Charger + + - Battery Charging - - - - + - - - The battery charger is designed to fully charge the battery set. If the batteries are severely deep cycled, some auto- 5 matic battery chargers contain an electronic module that may + + + not activate and the battery charger will not function. Auto- matic 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 char- ger 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 recommended level and cover the plates. • The charging must take place in an area that is well ventilated and capable of removing the hydrogen gas that is generated by the charging process. A minimum of five air exchanges per hour is recommended. • The charging connector components must be in good condition and free from dirt or debris. • The charger connector must be 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 electrical arc is generated at the DC plug/receptacle contacts. 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 voltage 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 outside of the manufacturers specification should be identified 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 requirements. The second reason is to determine why a particular vehicle 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 battery is to use a hydrometer to identify a battery in a set with a lower than normal specific gravity. Once the particular cell or cells that are the problem are identified, the suspect 5 - 19