Vibration Damage - Club Car DS Villager 4 Maintenance And Service Manual Supplement

BATTERIES
batteries and significantly reduce battery life. If tap water is used without a deionizer, regular water analyses
must be conducted to check for impurities because water companies commonly revise their additives on a
periodic basis. The following chart lists the maximum allowable minerals, solids, and contaminates in parts
per million and their impact on battery performance. Your local water company should be able to perform test-
ing and compare their results to the chart.
If using tap water, Club Car's Service Parts Department offers two different deionizer systems: one for vehi-
cles equipped with the Single Point Water System (SPWS) P/N AM1240701 and the other for vehicles without
SPWS, P/N AM10974.
Mineral Content
For the longest battery life, use distilled water in batteries. However, if tap water is to be used, be sure the min-
eral contents are below these levels:
IMPURITY
Suspended matter
Total solids
Calcium
Magnesium
Iron
Ammonia
Organic and volatile matter
Nitrates
Nitrites
Chloride
Color
Antimony
Arsenic
Copper
Nickel
Platinum
Selenium
Zinc

VIBRATION DAMAGE

The battery hold-downs should always be tight enough to keep the battery from bouncing. Battery life may be
severely shortened if the battery hold-downs are too loose. Battery hold-downs should be tightened to 40 in-
lb (4.5 N·m). Excessive vibration causes the plates to shed prematurely and shortens the life of the battery. It
may also cause acid to leak out of the vent caps and corrosion to build up on surrounding metal parts. The
acid which is lost reduces the capacity of the battery and cannot be replaced. Battery hold-downs should NOT
be so tight as to crack or buckle the battery case. This may cause leaks which would dry out a cell or cause
internal short circuits. See Battery Replacement on page 14-17.
ALLOWABLE CONTENT
(PARTS PER MILLION)
Trace
100.0
40.0
40.0
3.0
8.0
50.0
10.0
5.0
5.0
Clear and "White"
5.0
0.5
5.0
None Allowed
None Allowed
2.0
4.0
2008-2011 IQ System Electric Vehicle Maintenance and Service Supplement
EFFECTS OF IMPURITY
–
–
Increase of positive shedding
Reduced life
Increased self-discharge at both plates, lower on-
charge voltage
Slight self-discharge of both plates
Corrosion of positive plate
Increased sulfation at negative
Corrosion at both plates, loss of capacity, reduced life
Loss of capacity in both plates, greater loss in positive
–
Self-discharge by local action, reduces life, lower on-
charge voltage
Self-discharge, can form poisonous gas at negative
Increased self-discharge, lower oncharge voltage
Intense lowering of on-charge voltage
Violent self-discharge, lower on-charge voltage
Positive shedding
Slight self-discharge at negative
14
Battery Care
Page 14-3