1996 DS, charger will not excite, new batteries

Hello and TIA,

Let me explain that I have been over some of the older posts about this topic but none seem to hit smack in the middle of this issue.

I have a 1996 Club Car recently purchased and had tried to get the installed batteries to charge. There was no indication that the charger was working. When the charger is plugged into another Club Car, it works fine. Assuming it was the batteries I purchased 6 new 8V batteries and installed. The cart now operates fine but does not charge, no indication it is working. I tried another charger and it does not indicate either.

So.., I hesitate here because what I did next could be considered fairly stupid, I removed the positive wire off the first battery inline that went to the electric motor and plugged in the charger. It attempted to charge the batteries for about 7 seconds then it shut off. I tried multiple times and each time the duration of charging decreased until it was less than a couple seconds.

I am unsure how to verify if the cart charging port is working properly. What could be the problem with it not charging and how do I diagnose/troubleshoot? Did I break something else?

Much obliged, Sam