Golf Car Options Magazine March 2020 GCOptions Mar20 MAGZTER | Page 45

the service
If you have an old cart and old batteries
that have not been taken care of, here
are some tips for maintaining them.
1. Charge the Batteries
Be sure your batteries are fully charged then
check the electrolyte level.2. Clean the Bat-
tery Posts Disconnect the battery terminals
from all batteries.
Warning! Danger! Do not wear any jewelry such
as rings or bracelets. A ring shorted to the ground
can take off your finger. Your finger and the
battery would both be trashed. A metal bracelet
or necklace can cause equal damage. Be careful
with the tools you use. Do not let the tools touch
any battery posts and anything else at the same
time.
2. Check all the battery posts for corro-
sion.
If they are not bright and shiny, they are
corroded. Use a wire brush battery terminal
cleaner? Absolutely not! They are next to
useless. The battery posts should be bright
and shiny. Taking wide screwdriver and scrape
the side of the post and you will see the shiny
difference. The posts should be shiny all the
way around. You can find a simple tool for this
at any golf cart shop.
3. Clean the Battery Terminals
Next, you need to clean the inside of the bat-
tery terminals. These are the round fasteners
at the end of the battery leads. Use the same
method as above to make the inside bright
and shiny. If the battery leads are frayed or
partially broken, replace them. If the cable
ends are badly corroded, soak the ends in bat-
tery acid neutralizer until all corrosion is gone.
Another caution is that jostling the batteries
can cause active plate material to slough off
and reduce battery life.
4. Check the Battery Holder Frame And
Hold Down Brackets
While you have the batteries disconnected, lift
them out and check the condition of the frame
that holds them. If the frame this are rusted
or corroded, they must be cleaned. It would
also be a good idea to paint the frame with a
rust preventative once they are cleaned. If the
hold-down brackets are in bad shape, they
should be replaced.
5. Clean the Entire Area with Battery Neu-
tralizer
& repair hub
It is not a good idea to use baking soda to neu-
tralize battery acid. The byproduct of baking
soda and acid is environmentally unfriendly.
Instead, paint all the areas with a good battery
neutralizer and wash everything down. You
can get this neutralizer at any golf cart shop.
6. Anti-corrosion Gel for All Connections
Now that everything is nice and clean and
properly reconnected, apply the anti-corro-
sion gel to all connections. You can get the gel
at any golf cart shop.
MARCH 2020
45