EZGO ST…..48 volt. Batteries are 3-4yrs old (I’d have to look to see exactly how old). I’ve checked water regularly and made sure they were full but don’t know how they were maintained before I bought it. Last summer it ran fine for riding around the neighborhood but winter did a number on it. I kept it on charger and tried to ride it at least once a week, but this spring it’s gotten to where it struggles to get up even a minor hill on pavement, even though battery meter shows fully charged. My assumption is that it’s time to replace batteries

For those with golf cart experience, does that just sound like bad batteries? I don’t have a problem replacing them but want to make sure I’m not missing something else. I’d hate to replace the batteries only to find it doesn’t fix the issue.

you shouldnt fill the cells all the way up. You should charge it, fill it 85-90 percent up and leave it. When you fill it all the way up, then charge it. The acidic water drips on the floor. Repeated and the PH of the water is changed because you're only adding water and not acid. This reduces the capacitance of the batteries. It'll show fully charged but will discharge quicker than normal.
Yes change the batteries.
There is a way to add acid back to the batteries but it dangerous.

Really? I’ve always been told to make sure the plates stay completely covered and add distilled water when they’re not…that’s not the case?

Time to break out the wallet and replace the batteries

if you see acid stains under the golf cart after charging, you're over filling the cells. The continued loss of acid changes the PH level when only water is added.

only add water AFTER charging, as well

Most deep cycle batteries have a skirt hanging down from the opening, batteries should be filled to where they are just below that skirt.

it sounds like your batteries are toast, you can do a rough test just with a simple volt meter. check each battery they should all be similar voltage and they should add up pretty close to your total pack voltage (or you might have an issue with your cables/ connections).

for reference, battery capacity/ state of charge

50% = 6.05v
60% = 6.12v
70% = 6.19v
80% = 6.25v
90% = 6.31v
100% = 6.37v

that will give you a rough idea of where you stand.

These are 8v batteries…..I’ve watched a couple of YouTube videos on how to load test them with a meter. Gonna give that a try. I’d be tickled to find one or 2 bad ones and the rest be ok, even if it just got me by another year or so….but I’ll probably end up just replacing them all more than likely

gotcha, you can use the 6v data and extrapolate it to 8v to get to your numbers. load testing is definitely ideal, but in 9 out of 10 cases I find it's easy to tell the batteries are not taking a charge just with a static test.

I don't know how your lights and accessories are hooked up but if they are feeding off 1 or 2 batteries they will get out of sync with the others which makes the other batteries work harder to overcome the weakness. Indidvidually charging each battery can get them back synchronized and may help. Don't replace less than the whole pack unless you have some good used batteries that you can get CHEAP. Throwing a new battery or two in with old will cost more in the long run because the new batteries will be over worked and need replacing much sooner as well as being out of whack with the new batteries you install later. A vicious cycle.

Gotcha. Makes sense. Don’t have any accessories. Only lights I have are factory lights. Not sure how they’re wired but they rarely get used

Go lithium if you have to replace them. They cost more but performance is far superior and much less maintenance.

Check wires on batteries. See if one is hot after running. A battery store can check the cells with a gauge that sucks up some of the acid. If you go lithium, check out enjoybot.

I’ve considered lithium but not wild about having a lithium golf cart in my garage. Heard too many horror stories about fires. If I had a separate stand alone shop it would be a no brainer

There is a battery electrolyte additive that you can add to the cells that will help restore battery health. You can get it off Amazon. And yes you need to keep the water level just above the battery cells and use distilled water. So after adding water time you will dilute the electrolyte in the battery cell.

Remove the battery cables and clean terminals before you do anything else. It is probably the batteries going bad before t dirty cables will do the same thing.
I have a 48 volt Ranger EV and have to clean cables when performance drops off.

load test each battery, i had one bad battery and it did the same thing

Check for corrosion!!!!!

The chemistry of the LifePO4 batteries is different from those that caused fires. I've never heard of one of these causing a fire, but it may be possible. You can buy a LiTime battery from Amazon that will cost a lot less than a new lead acid pack. I paid $700 for one for my 36 volt cart. It works fine. I don't know what else I could ask of a battery except to work.

I’m with them on load testing each individual battery.

On switching to lithium, wow, tough to put next to a bedroom in a garage.