Electronic advice needed

[Big Cliff]

Friend has an electric golf cart, 36V system (6-6V batteries) One of the batteries is toast. He has an 8V battery same physical dimensions, any issues with replacing the dead 6V battery with the 8V?

 

 

[OhioFisherman]

https://www.golfcartgarage.com/what-is-my-golf-cart-battery-voltage-volts/

I would be a bit leery of mixing them up.

[Big Cliff]

Thanks, couldn't find the answer in that link but I am a little leery too so that's why I  decided to ask on here hoping someone could give me a definitive answer. 

[Terry]

You need to look at the motor and get the operating voltage range. Chances are it will be no problem  because most items have more then a 2 volt variance range

 

[OhioFisherman]

 

" Can I use a 36 volt charger on a 48 volt golf cart?

No. You must match volts to volts. A 36V cart requires a 36 volt golf cart charger. A 48V cart requires a 48 volt golf cart charger. You can burn up your batteries if you do not charge with the proper voltage. Check out our 36V vs. 48V Guide for more information. "

I am assuming from that if you have a mix you may have problems?

https://batteryoutlet.ca/

maybe you could call?

[Terry]

Your answer does not address his question

if he asked if he could use a 48 volt charger on a 36 volt system I would say no

But that is not what he is asking 

[OhioFisherman]

No clue Terry, but wouldn't an 8 volt battery in a system that uses 6 volts be constantly under charged?

[Terry]

No

most chargers  charge to a higher voltage then the rated batteries.  When your car battery charges it will read between 13.8 and 16 volts without harming anything 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Terry

[DanD]

It should work; but he'll be shortening the life of all the batteries. The 8 volt battery will never get a full charge due to the cart's charger, charges the batteries as a pack; adding up to approx 36 volts. So that 8 volt battery will only get a partial charge. The 6 volt batteries will also get cheated in charge; for the same reason. The charger looks at total voltage not the individual battery(s). What he'll likely notice is the the range of the cart will continually become shorter after some time.

Dan.

 

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by DanD

[Terry]

When batteries are in series the only thing you want is the same amps. They are only as strong as the battery with the lowest current output 

I  decided to google to make sure I was right 

 

 

 

You can definitely connect batteries that have different voltage in series. It is recommended to have batteries with equal current output, but it will not damage your circuit if they are different. In series circuits the output voltage will be the sum of all voltages outputs of the batteries connected in series.

 

Edited March 3, 2020 by Terry

[Big Cliff]

Thank you for all the information, I  finally convinced him to buy a load tester and we quickly determined that he had one really bad battery and 5 that were borderline. $750.00 later and the golf cart runs like new.

I really appreciate the replies!