apr
2019
feature article
3. CHECK THE WATER LEVEL: It is important to
check the water level on your batteries before you
start charging your batteries. Open the caps (using
a Cap-Off Battery Cap Removal Tool will help with
this) and if you cannot see any water in your cells,
then you must add distilled water until the water
just starts to cover the cells. Once you have just a
very bit of water covering the cells you can begin
to charge your cart.
4. CHARGING THE BATTERIES: Hopefully, you have
been keeping your batteries charged up over the
winter months, as lead-acid batteries need to be
stored charged. If you have stored your batteries
for a long period of time without charging them
you can cause serious damage to them. If cart
won’t move and your charging won’t turn on,
typically this is because your battery packs are so
low that it won’t turn the charger on. If you have
checked to ensure your tow run switch is in the
run mode then the next step is to find a friend
with the same voltage cart as you and connect
their cart to your cart with jumper cables. Once
connected you can plug your charger in and it will
turn on, as you have fooled it into thinking that
your battery pack is charged. WARNING: If you
do not know how to properly jump a cart, please
check with your local dealer or someone in your
area that can help, as you can do serious damage
to your carts electronics.
5. CHECK YOUR TIRE PRESSURE: With the cart
charging it is a great time to check the tire pres-
sure and make sure they are all even and at the
proper operating pressure.
6. GREASE & CHECK YOUR FLUIDS: You will also
want to grease any fittings and check your differ-
ential fluids at the same time.
7. CHECK YOUR BRAKES: Next it is a good idea to
check your brakes by jacking up the rear of the
cart, safely supporting it and then removing the
6
WWW.GOLFCAROPTIONS.COM
wheels to access your brakes. It is a great time to
take some compressed air and blow out the brake
dust. Then you can check the thickness of your
pads.
8. CHECK YOUR BRAKE PADS: Also check the play
in your brake pedal, you may need to adjust it so
that you don’t have excess play.
9. TIGHTEN YOUR SCREWS & BOLTS: Have a look
at any visible bolts and screws ensuring that they
are tight.
10. CHECK YOUR BATTERY CABLES: Also be sure
to check your battery cables and make sure the
connections are tight. A loose connection or bad
battery cable can burn up a battery post in no
time.
If you follow these simple pre-season tips you will
be sure to have a great trouble free season with
your cart.
If you’re not a “Do It Yourself’er” your local golf cart
dealer will most likely offer a pre-season mainte-
nance package that includes a complete inspection
of your cart. Some even offer a convenient pickup
and drop off service.
Maintenance packages generally include:
• Checking the brake pads and function of the brakes
• Inspecting the battery cables
• Checking the correct function of all front end
components
• Ensuring the air pressure in the tires is correct
• Checking all fluid levels
• Complete check on batteries including an
electrolyte test, load test, and charger test