[ureout]

I may have a battery problem? If a bad battery is found should all 8 be changed or just the 1 bad battery. I always have heard that they should all be changed as a set. Is this true? Does age of batteries matter? Is there any info or web site to read about this....thx

[Frank7]

Depending on the battery age and condition it may be possible, but this is what the manufacturers say.

Can I replace just the bad batteries?

You can, but manufacturers don't recommend it. As a result of charging and discharging, the older battery's ability to hold a solid charge is not there. The charger treats the pack as one system and it may boil the new battery while it tries to bring the others up to full charge, which can eventually ruin the new battery.

Putting a new battery in a golf cart leads to a meltdown of battery connections, cables, and even exploding a battery. The system is only as strong as its weakest battery. The current traveling through the cables and batteries will find the weakest spot and meltdowns occur because it gets hot in that area. The new battery that was installed will become the same as the old batteries due to the heavy draw from the old batteries. Old batteries do not become refreshed by putting new batteries in the cart. The old batteries will draw off the new batteries until they become equal with the old, its that simple.

The life expectancy of golf cart batteries is generally 3-5 years. but 5 years or less seems to be the norm for all batteries, especially on golf courses and in golf cart communities where the batteries are run through the gauntlet of charge and discharge cycles.

Bottom line is how old are the batteries?