KEEP YOUR
GOLF CART RUNNING
SMOOTHLY
There are now many different golf carts used for
everything except golf. Most of these vehicles
however need certain preventative maintenance
procedures to keep them running smoothly.
Below are several things you can to do to keep
your vehicle running smoothly.
Batteries
1. Water batteries - The number one reason
a golf cart does not perform well is not charging
the batteries and the lack of keeping your lead
acid battery watered with distilled water.
When watering the batteries, do not over fill the
batteries. The water level should be just below
the cap. There usually is a ring to fill up to. The
main thing is to have the water over the plates
you can see in the cell. You must fill each cell. An
excellent tool to help with this is a battery filler
bottle. (Available from your local dealer or online
retailer)
2. Battery filling system - This neat little device
allows single fill of all the batteries by just put-
ting a bottle of water into one hose. It fills all the
batteries quickly and with hardly any effort. Well
worth the effort and cost.
TIP: Six volt batteries have 3 cell ports each. You
need to put water in each cell of the battery This
means, if you have a 36-volt golf cart you will
have six 6-volt batteries. Two volts per cell on the
battery. 48-volt carts have either eight 6-volt bat-
teries or six 8-volt batteries. 72-volt carts usually
have six 12-volt deep cycle batteries.
3. Always charge the cart first and add the
water afterwards if the water levels are over the
plates. If the water levels are not over the plates,
put enough water in to cover the plates. If you
over fill the batteries, when you charge them, the
battery water/acid mix will boil over and you will
get battery acid on your battery terminals and on
the floor. Your batteries get nasty and last less
longer.
If this happens you can buy battery terminal
cleaner. Just spray it on and the corrosion melts
away. If you get acid on the floor Just wash it off
with water and soap. If you get battery water-acid
on you, wash it off with water right away. Your
clothes also need to be washed right away or you
will get holes in them.
Battery Charging
1. Always charge your cart everyday. Batteries
last much longer if you are using the top half of
the battery then over discharging the batteries
everyday. Batteries do not have memories any-
more so you can do partial state of charges and
increase the cycles your batteries will charge.
Make sure you use a heavy-duty 15 amp charging
cord. If you use a light weight extension cord,
heat resistance is created and a fire could hap-
pen. Not only will you burn the cart up but we
have had houses go with the cart!
2. Always, keep your battery terminals clean.
APRIL 2020
7