|
Well the very first time I drove the car any distance (on the junk forklift company donated batts), the car shuddered to a halt a block from the house. Waited a while for them to recover, then whipped them mercilessly down the last block. I didn't know any better at the time, but that's how you kill batteries. I did in fact ruin one that episode.
What you watch is pack voltage under load. (Resting pack voltage can be misleading, as I've discovered). Voltage drops when under load, and it's important not to let it drop too low to avoid damaging the batteries. In the case of 6v golf cart batt's, they need to be kept above 5.25v under load - normal resting full charge is around 6.35v.
The further I drive on a charge, the more the pack voltage "sags" under load, and I have to start backing off the go pedal to keep voltage from going dangerously low.
And a simple way is to just keep an eye on the trip odo. In winter driving, I know that going past about 10-12 km is getting into "feather the go pedal to protect the batteries" territory. In the summer it's more like 15-20 km.
|