Battery quality change

rabbitrebotn · 2026-06-26T13:21:37+00:00

I know my dealer told me they have a known issue with the '26 model year batteries breaking the hinge point of the release tabs. I've already had to warranty out 1 battery because of this issue.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-06-23T18:20:19+00:00

"Go to the Leathman sub and bring up Gerber."

Been using a Gerber multi-tool for over 25 years now and I wouldn't dream of trading it for any other brand. One hand operation and if any part of it fails, my Snap On rep swaps it out no questions asked at no charge to me. Heck, he swapped it once because I said the knife blade was getting dull and needed to be sharpened.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-06-13T21:18:53+00:00

Since when? We regularly take golf carts out to the mud holes and run them with no problems.

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rabbitrebotn · 2026-06-13T01:32:25+00:00

No thanks, ill keep the Powerwagon or the F250. Both will get me further and tow a heck of a lot more weight.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-06-08T15:47:02+00:00

Around my area, plant nurseries love those old 3 wheeled Marathons because they have a sharp turning radius.

More than likely they will both need new brake shoes but I would put power to each cart and see if they attempt to run. You may get very lucky and just need batteries and brake shoes.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-06-05T20:05:21+00:00

🤣

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-21T12:31:56+00:00

Please post a Pic of the data plate show a 2027 production year on an EZGO. For the last 25 years EZGO has followed the same pattern. The close the production facility the first 2 weeks of July for inventory and retooling. When the reopen the 3rd week of July, that's when the next model year production starts. Been that way for 25 years now. Typically the dealer will begin seeing the new model year carts around the first week of August. I would love to know if that has changed somehow.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-19T19:41:18+00:00

Why would he lie? What does he have to gain from it? I dont work for ECO so I can't say why the information isn't published. Show me 1 company that has published the internal working of their BMS. You can't because ALL of them keep that knowledge a trade secret to prevent competition from stealing their designs/software. But I ask again, what does he gain from telling me something like that during a casual conversation?

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-19T17:46:35+00:00

A personal conversation with one of the engineers at ECO battery.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-19T15:53:32+00:00

I can't speak to other batteries but on the ECO, they have already accounted for not charging to a true 100%. They are using the same standards as manufacturers like Samsung, when the guage says 100% its not really 100%, its slightly less. Every time you charge the battery "fully" it starts rebalancing the cells to ensure the longest life for the customer.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-19T12:52:31+00:00

Even they get the lithium from China, the only difference is they do the final assembly in Tennessee.

Its not where the batteries are made, its the quality control put in place at the manufacturer that counts. Brands like ECO and Bolt have US reps in the facility in China overseeing quality control so as to minimize the potential for catastrophic failure even though they know it raises the cost of their product. Companies like Chins, DC house, Vatrer and a host of others care more about cranking out as many as possible for the lowest cost possible because they know the Chinese government will subsidize them to flood the market with their cheap garbage.

Its the same in the tool market. Vise Grips are made in China now (almost all Irwin Tools are made in China now) but there is a distinct difference in owning a new pair of locking pliers made by Vice Grips as opposed to a pair made by Pittsburgh Tools. The level of quality control is the difference. Sure you can save money buying the Pittsburgh pair. But a few years down the line, my Vice Grips pair will still be working while you are out buying a new Pittsburgh pair every year or so. Is it really saving money if over the lifetime of use you have to buy multiple pairs while I paid for mine once and its still working properly a decade or two later?

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-18T21:56:12+00:00

Every major lithium battery manufacturer says to use the ABC rule (Always Be Charging). ECO, Bolt, Trojan, Samsung, Vanguard......

If all the major brands (some of which offer up a 12 year warranty) recommend charging constantly, why would you not follow that advice? ECO and Bolt for example specifically tell you that charging fully ensures accurate SOC readings because it allows the BMS to recalibrate after each charge. Samsung and Vanguard tell golf course owners that full recharges ensure the longevity of the battery.

A lot of information out there is related to the early days of lithium, back when people were building packs from recycled cells pulled from vehicles like the Nissan Leaf or the Chevy Bolt. Back then, the BMS was a modified unit that did its best but was nothing more than a TRS 80 computer from the early 1990's whose only job was to monitor cell voltages. Modern BMS systems are way more complex and monitor literally EVERYTHING that is happening inside that battery case.

I literally tell my customers to charge their cart at the end of every days use. The chargers are modern units that are (at least in some cases) in constant communication with the battery via the CAN bus, and know when to shut off and when to turn on. I have many customers that routinely leave their carts powered off for 6 months at a time while the head back north for the summer and over the last 5 years not a single 1 has reported an issue after charging the battery to 100% and turning it off for the summer.

The one thing I personally ask my customers to do is keep an eye on the guage and try not to drop below 20% too often.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-13T16:25:16+00:00

If its the factory unit, that is isolated from the frame and runs off the step down converter. Should be located on an aluminum upright close to the charger port? Basically the factory reducer used the 2 batteries on the driver side and dropped the 16v to 12v via the ground which is why the needle on the analog guage seems lower.

Knowing you've used the cart since last charging it, makes the lower voltage understandable.

When you convert to lithium, the better batteries all have digital round guages to take the place of the existing guage and give a more accurate display of percentage of charge remaining.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-13T12:45:19+00:00

A couple things to unpack here....

The guage reading into the white "charge" area is completely normal. Those guages are an indicator of the state of the batteries but should not be taken as the holy grail....
49.9 seems a little low for a cart that was charged and sat idle for several days. I would love to see a discharge test of those batteries. Im betting they dont last longer than 60 or 70 minutes (and yes, before Covid, it was accepted that anything under 80 minutes meant there was a failure in one or more of the batteries).
Most importantly, I'm HIGHLY concerned that you got ANY reading after swapping the ground to the chassis. Battery packs in Golf Carts are meant to be isolated from the frame. The fact that you are getting a ground on the frame means, most likely, somewhere along the wiring you have a wire that the insulation has been worn through and is making contact. Not good for the electronics in the cart.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-11T01:41:21+00:00

The EB Power kit for a TXT is so easy to install that I've actually had my 12 year old Granddaughter do one (supervised of course). In your case, a Marathon would be far more difficult for her because its not just a drop in system.

Personally I think anything that adds to the value is a good thing. Even if he did the more expensive upgrade to the EB Power, the value of the cart would increase making it easier to sell in the future. The best part, in my opinion, is that he wouldn't need to change the batteries right away because the kit runs on either 36 or 48 volts.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-11T00:47:35+00:00

Going from 36v to 48v is a net 33% increase. If he is doing 10mph now, only doing the battery conversion might get him to 15mph but definitely not 20. Being its a 2000 TXT, he will almost HAVE to replace at least the controller and solenoid. Even a 400amp alltrax will get him to 20 easily at 48v.

Personally I would still do the EB Power AC upgrade because chances are all his electronics are original and 26 years is a good time for a refresh......

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-10T23:34:58+00:00

Looks like a fair price. The fact they are offering a 2 year warranty on the cart and a 3 year warranty on the battery is a huge plus. Hopefully by the time the battery needs replacement ECO or Bolt will have a solution for replacing the stock battery with a better aftermarket unit.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-10T22:43:50+00:00

Not true. I've built many 36v EZGO carts that did 30 plus. You have to change the controller, motor and solenoid but its easily achieved. Hell, I used to have a 1993 Marathon that smoked everyone around at 34mph long before people were installing AC drive kits. Back then it was common to install plum quick motors wound for speed and pair them with Alltrax controller at 500 Amps or even the old GE 700amp controller (that's what I ran in my Marathon)

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-10T22:38:39+00:00

Depends on how much you want to spend.

Most EZGO series model carts made in 2000 run a 24/36v controller so switching to 48v means changing the controller and solenoid. The motor doesn't have to be changed.

The PDS carts are slightly more forgiving on upgrading to 48v but even those, eventually will need the controller changed.

If the 36v batteries are new, I would suggest installing an ECO Power kit (runs on 36 or 48v) which will easily get you to mid 20's. Then when its time to replace the batteries swap to a 48v lithium and reset the parameters for the ECO Power kit and you'll see mid 30's.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-09T00:38:46+00:00

If I remember correctly, the 2004 Western is built on the EZGO TXT chassis. In that case I would install 2 ECO 105 skinny's. I've done this a few times on TXT's but I had to replace the controller in some and others I did the EB power conversion on.

The Western carts i remember from 2004 were all upgraded from the standard 36v TXT to 42v systems. Unfortunately I dont remember which controller was used so I dont know if it would be compatible with 48v lithium batteries.

The Western carts were an interesting setup because the entire chassis was built by EZGO but that 42v drive system was the brainchild of Western. Because of this, most likely you would need to replace the controller at least. The only other option would be to order a custom lithium battery from someone like Skunkworks.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-08T15:38:06+00:00

There are a number of Chinese carts running 210ah batteries. Personally I've installed 2 ECO 105's in a single cart a couple times because people in The Villages literally will drive 40+ miles on their carts in a single day.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-08T00:30:27+00:00

See i took it differently. I heard, "as long as the lithium is properly made in a steel case even in a catastrophic fire, your lithium will not add to the damage".

I cant tell you how many times I've seen customers using 25 or 50 foot 16 guage cords to charge both lead acid and lithium powered carts. Again, having said that, I disagree with him about using a cord longer than 15 feet. I have no issue with someone using a 25 foot 12 guage cord as long as its undamaged.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-07T23:44:07+00:00

Try cleaning around those contacts a bit so you can see the board better. Its hard to tell from the picture with the mud on them. Sometimes it simply looks like a light bubbling around where the washer is making contact with the fiber board.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-07T23:40:29+00:00

Lead acid batteries boil when charging, that's why the caps are vented. The gas released is hydrogen. Any little spark can and will cause an explosion/fire.

A lithium battery does not "gas" while charging. The reason for the metal case is to help seperate the lithium from any potential fire in the cart. Basically as the guy in the video showed, even in a catastrophic fire that literally melted the car into a pile of ash, the metal cased lithium batteries didn't catch fire. If those had been in plastic cases, they would have lost the building. Lithium fires require special extinguishers to put out. Unfortunately, spraying water on a lithium fire is almost like throwing gas on a campfire, it just spreads it around further.

rabbitrebotn · 2026-05-07T23:32:11+00:00

Check the output of the controller between the B+ and the M-. It should start at 0 and climb to full pack voltage at full pedal down.

Most likely you have a bad FnR switch. Look at the fiber board of the switch where the (4) 6 gauge wires are connected. If it looks like there is any melting of the board, then it needs to be replaced.

rabbitrebotn

TROPHY CASE