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Everything You Need To Know About Golf Cart Batteries

Aug. 28 2019 Golf Cart Information By Matt Scheessele

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Greetings Everyone!

At Carts Gone Wild we hear all types of questions about golf carts and golf cart maintenance.  One of the most questioned topics is BATTERIES!  Battery type, battery maintenance, & battery age are the three most questioned areas.  The batteries are obviously the most important aspect of an electric vehicle.  Understanding what type of battery to use in your cart, knowing how to maintain them properly, and being able to identify how old the batteries are can help you add and understand the value or your cart.  In this blog, we will discuss these three areas and help share our knowledge to help you better understand your cart!

BATTERY TYPE:

Carts Gone Wild we carry two different levels of battery: Trojan & Black Box.  For nearly 100 years, Trojan Battery has engineered and manufactured one of the best performing batteries in the industry. Trojan is currently the leading supplier of quality deep-cycle batteries. Trojan has played an essential role in enhancing the golfing experience for decades. Trojan works hard to produce a dependable, high-performance battery that can be counted on to last day after day and year after year.  Trojan is the highest quality battery that is offered at Carts Gone Wild.  If you use your electric vehicle (or maintenance equipment) on a high workload schedule, then the Trojan Deep Cycle Battery will be the best choice for your vehicles needs.  The Black Box Deep Cycle Battery is an alternative option that is less expensive in price.  The black box option will produce a quality result, but less life and run time than the Trojan option.  When cost is the main consideration, Black Box is the answer. Trojan & Black Box Deep Cycle Batteries are offered in 6V, 8V, & 12V.


PROPER BATTERY MAINTENANCE

Proper battery maintenance is the key to lowering the maintenance of your electric golf car. The owner’s manual has key information regarding maintaining the batteries.  We STRONGLY ADVISE you to read the owner’s manual (if you have one) or you can usually find it on the internet, even if you have previously owned an electric golf cart; some models are different than others. In general, following these three recommendations will help maximize the life of your battery pack:

            Store in “Tow”: There is a switch under the seat (some older carts may not have this) to put the cart in “Tow” mode. If you are not going to use the cart for two weeks or more at a time, flip the switch to “Tow”. This turns off the computer in the cart and will keep it from continuously drawing power from the batteries. In the winter, or when you are not going to use the cart for two weeks, we recommend putting the cart in “Tow” and charging the cart once per month. (Do this by unplugging the charger cord from the cart, not from the wall, then plugging it back in.) A good battery will not freeze if it is charged and this will prolong the life of your battery pack.  Note: not all carts have a Tow switch, i.e. EZ Go TXT).  If that is the case, disregard all language referring to Tow.  See image:

            Maintain Proper Water Levels:   Deep Cycle Batteries are the standard in the industry. These batteries must be properly maintained to keep them operating correctly and to maintain the battery life. The basic procedure is to pull off the caps covering each cell in the battery and look down at the water level of each cell. If the metal plates are covered, charge the battery pack and then recheck the cells. The water level after charging should be ¼ inch above the metal plates.  If the cells are dry, cover the metal plates with DISTILLED water and then charge. After charging, bring the water level up to about ¼ inch above the metal plates. DO NOT OVERFILL your batteries. If you fill them to the top of the battery, they will boil over causing excessive corrosion not to mention a nasty spot on the floor. In average use conditions this should be done monthly, heavy use, weekly. Battery filling bottles are available to make filling cells to the appropriate level easier and more accurate.

     

            Maintain Battery Terminals: Clean and tight battery terminals are very important to the performance of the golf car and to battery longevity. With the battery caps on, pour a supersaturated mixture of baking soda and water onto any corrosion that naturally occurs in these electric carts. After the baking solution has had time to eat away at the corrosion, spray the battery pack off with a garden house. When the battery terminals are dry, check the tightness of the nut on top of the cable. A loose cable will ruin a battery and may melt the battery post causing you to have to replace a battery. After tightening the battery terminals, apply a battery terminal protector to the terminals. This spray-on solution will minimize the amount of corrosion on the battery terminals. Spray it on the hold down rods to keep them from corroding as well. You can get this at your local auto store. Do not over-tighten the terminals. That may break off the terminal.

   

AGE OF BATTERY:

A common question we get, and something we see people often confused by when purchasing used from individuals, is how to tell the age of batteries in an electric golf cart. There are several ways you should be able to easily tell how old batteries are. Most batteries are stamped on the post with a letter followed by a number. The letter indicates the month it was manufactured (A=Jan. B=Feb. C=March etc.) and the number signifies the year. For example, the photo here reads H2: August 2012 If the battery post isn't stamped, there may be a sticker on the top or side of the battery that reads the month and year in the same way. In this example, it shows C9, which indicates March of 2019. If all else fails, you may be able to pull up the sticker on the top of the battery and find the specific date of manufacture printed on the battery like you see here.

All of these topics are important to maintaining and understanding the value of your golf cart.  Golf carts can be a rather large purchase.  Carts Gone Wild has everything you need to get the most out of your cart.  Whether you are a do-it-yourself person, or someone who would rather have scheduled maintenance handled for you, Carts Gone Wild is equipped to help solve your problem.  It’s not possible to eliminate every issue that may take place.  Taking the steps necessary to know what products are best, the proper way to maintain them, and knowing the age of items will go a long way to increasing the longevity of your cart!  Enjoy the remaining weeks of SUMMER!  We’ll be back with another topic in the next few weeks!!