Do you find your golf cart not working anymore? If the key switch is working perfectly fine, but you still can’t start your golf cart, then it may be time to check the batteries.
Not everyone is aware, but golf cart batteries work very much like a vehicle’s battery. However, it is a little-known fact that their standards, requirements, and maintenance are different. That’s why we unlikely suggest manipulating car batteries to fit into a golf cart.
Take note that golf carts run with a set of batteries built to supply enough amperage and voltage. With such factors, the power and size requirements will be extremely necessary when purchasing replacement batteries. Further, many carts work on a 48-voltage or 36-voltage standard and require a set of cells to supply sufficient power.
Identify These Common Problems with Golf Cart Batteries
So, let’s say you currently have a malfunctioning golf cart? What should you do?
Maybe you found out that the problem lies within the batteries. One would think that a poor battery was the most typical cause of golf cart concerns. Nevertheless, it is not as typical as many golf cart owners can change the battery or charge it regularly.
Still, they may not identify the divulging signs of a total battery failure—the problem develops when the battery no longer charges correctly and does not hold any electricity at all.
Normally, that issue occurs when the cells or the battery itself have gotten too old and can’t operate as efficiently as they did throughout the years.
On top of that, several battery issues occur when the battery is cooked by overcharging or not discharged between trips.
Hence, it is important to ensure that you know how to test your battery for that problem. But if you’re not, don’t worry. This article aims to present you with all the information you need to know about checking your golf cart batteries. But before we go into that, let’s learn common signs of such problems.
Here are some signs that your golf cart batteries are having a problem and need immediate checking.
- Low voltage power
To identify how much life your golf cart batteries have left, you need to do testing. Do you notice some discrepancies or that they’re lower than they should be? It’s most likely to be time to change the batteries for good.
- It won’t support accessories
Most individuals run accessories off their cart batteries. Those may involve extra radios and lights. Won’t your golf cart seem to turn the fan on or play the radio? Then the batteries might be beginning to go.
Take note that accessories could strain your cart batteries. Ensure they are always disabled before you leave the cart.
- The cart has difficulty climbing
You will have difficulty going up a slope even if you cannot get your golf cart moving. You may see that if you have more than one individual riding on the cart, it gets extremely slow to climb a hill.
The slow down will be quite obvious if your batteries are going bad. You’ll feel as if you need to get out and push your cart up the hill.
- Reduced traveled distance
A lot of golf carts could go miles without even the need to re-charge. Most could hold at least ten to fifteen miles per charge.
For instance, suppose your standard trip to the golf course is two miles. By the time to reach your destination, the battery is down to the halfway point. In that case, you may need some replacement sooner or later.
- Strange charge times
Do you own your golf cart for some time now? Then you’re aware of how much time it takes for them to be fully charged. But if you notice these batteries take forever to charge, they could be on their way out.
How to Test Your Golf Cart Batteries?
One of the common causes of battery failure in golf carts is charging for too long or not charging enough. When you overcharge, you’re making for too much heat that is more likely to dry out the battery.
Meanwhile, if you undercharge—because you are in a hurry to get it over with or a low-quality charger—the battery is not getting the necessary quantity of volt and amperage for re-charging.
Below are the necessary steps you need to follow to test your golf cart batteries with a multimeter.
- Begin by turning off the golf cart and place it in a neutral position.
- Open up the battery container and detach the connecting wires from the engine.
- Touch the negative probe of your digital multimeter to the negative ground or terminal of the battery. Do the same process with the positive end.
- If your golf cart’s battery is healthy, you will receive a 50 to 52 volt reading on that multimeter. Take note that most batteries hold about forty-eight volts. If it is lower, then that’s a clear sign that you need a replacement.
Just a tip: Don’t forget that a digital multimeter will only identify whether or not the batteries have electricity. To confirm its power, you must check the battery bank first. Check the individual battery using the device to understand if only a single battery is the issue or the entire bank.
Final Thoughts
How to check golf cart batteries is another concern that troubles many people. Testing and checking a battery charger is relatively easy. Doing basic tests such as running on the battery charge to determine if the battery is receiving charge may work very well.
Further, you can also check the amount of power the battery produces by connecting a multimeter to the negative and positive clamps of the charger.
To sum up, checking your golf cart batteries is crucial as you need to be more aware of any concerns present and fix them with possible solutions.
But now that we have carefully explained how to do it in the most basic way, you don’t need to think about the complex process. Just visit this page again if you’d like to test the batteries if they give you warning signs.
