Discussion:
Very Old Yale Electric Pallet Jack battery wiring

Hello all. We have a very old Yale electric pallet jack. By what I can find online, I am assuming it is from the 70s/80s. There are no data tags on it whatsoever. Time, repainting and scrapes have removed anything that was there. Up untill a few months ago this thing function perfectly. Then the batteries died and we needed to replace them. The person who removed the batteries and the wiring is no longer with us and now we are not sure how to reconnect it safely. The batteries are (2) Everstart 24DC batteries. We are not sure if they should be wired in series or parallel. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I have more pic's if these do not help.
  • Posted 26 Nov 2025 03:02
  • By Lou_Mattea
  • joined 26 Nov'25 - 4 messages
  • MO, United States
Lou
Showing items 1 - 9 of 9 results.
yep :o)
  • Posted 4 Dec 2025 08:07
  • By swoop223
  • joined 23 Mar'12 - 3,696 messages
  • North Carolina, United States
You've been swooped!
swoop223@gmail.com
Yes,

Hook up the batteries in series. Jack should run correctly.
  • Posted 4 Dec 2025 04:15
  • By garland_m
  • joined 16 Oct'09 - 224 messages
  • Virginia, United States
Work Hard and Fish Long
Hello, and thank you for your reply to my post. I can find no indication of the voltage on the motor (no tags or labels). However, I was able to get my phone alongside the steering wheel and get this pic of some solenoids. The one says 24V DC continuous. Is that enough to go on to consider it's 24v?
  • Posted 4 Dec 2025 03:21
  • By Lou_Mattea
  • joined 26 Nov'25 - 4 messages
  • MO, United States
Lou
Lou,
like garland mentions, those batteries are 12v batteries.
I made a previous post explaining that you need to determine the operating voltage of the truck before you decide on how to wire the batteries up.
You mentioned there is no dataplate on the machine so you need to determine the voltage first.
Not sure why but that post has disappeared for some reason.
I said to look on the motors, they should have a tag on them designating the voltage they run at, this will tell you if the truck operates at 12v or 24v.
Then you can decide on wiring them up either parallel for 12v or series for 24v.
Quite a few early model yale trucks like that did run on a 12v system, it was fairly common but they did offer a 24v also. The 24v became more common later on.
  • Posted 3 Dec 2025 13:17
  • By swoop223
  • joined 23 Mar'12 - 3,696 messages
  • North Carolina, United States
You've been swooped!
swoop223@gmail.com
Lou,

Looking at the picture you have with the post, are these the new ones you are connecting? If so they are 12 volts, not 24. The ones in the pictures have 6 cells, at 2 volts per cell, that's 12 volts. Use volt meter to be sure. Good Luck
  • Posted 2 Dec 2025 03:09
  • By garland_m
  • joined 16 Oct'09 - 224 messages
  • Virginia, United States
Work Hard and Fish Long
Yes,

This will be 24 volts connecting parallel.
  • Posted 2 Dec 2025 03:06
  • By garland_m
  • joined 16 Oct'09 - 224 messages
  • Virginia, United States
Work Hard and Fish Long
I just had a thought. Since the batteries are both 24V DC, and not 12V DC, should I still start with wiring them in parallel?
  • Posted 2 Dec 2025 01:24
  • By Lou_Mattea
  • joined 26 Nov'25 - 4 messages
  • MO, United States
Lou
Thank you very much for replying to my plea for help! I will follow your instructions and update you again. I greatly appreciate it!
  • Posted 2 Dec 2025 01:12
  • By Lou_Mattea
  • joined 26 Nov'25 - 4 messages
  • MO, United States
Lou
Lou,

Hookup parallel first. Most jacks this size are 24 volts. If it will not operate, connect series. I would bet the lift is 24 volts. Good Luck
  • Posted 28 Nov 2025 06:58
  • By garland_m
  • joined 16 Oct'09 - 224 messages
  • Virginia, United States
Work Hard and Fish Long

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