At the company I work for we own a 2002 Gem 4 seater. All six lead acid batteries are giving a reading of 12.45~ volts but it never fully charges. For instance right now after unplugging to test the voltage of all the batteries I turned it on and got 75% charge on the display. Plugged it back in and charging indicator light went back to red. I’ve heard that sometime that the chargers go bad. Does anyone have any ideas about why this might be happening?
Are all the battery cells full of fluid? My 2002 with FLA is cooking off the water in a few weeks. When full and charged (and warmer outside) it will charge to 100. As soon as they are low on water it won’t show a full charge. In my case only one cell in a couple of the batteries will go dry much faster than all the others.
Also a corroded or loose connection will cause an issue.
That was the next thing I was going to check. This will be my first time working with lead acid batteries. I know to only use distilled water and only fill until the top of the cell is covered. Any other tips for working with them?
Yes distilled and wear eye and skin protection as you will get acid on you. The fumes are corrosive and so be sure to check your connections for corrosion also.
I find I need to check every 3 weeks.
The more you run them the better they work. Sitting kills them.
Good to know. Should I disconnect the positive and negative terminals before checking or does that not matter?
Safety Sam would say yes, disconnect a/c and trip main cutoff switch under back seat. You can also be very careful not to ground anything…
Hey thanks for all the help.