Simple Steps for Maintaining Your Golf Cart Battery
Electric golf carts are a great way to get around, but they do require some maintenance work to function properly. Specifically, you’ll need to make sure that you take the time to ensure your golf cart battery is properly charged and maintained. After all, you won’t get anywhere if you suddenly find yourself with a dead battery. If you’re in the market for a new or pre-owned golf cart, the knowledgeable staff at I-5 Motorsports is here to help. From our showroom in Chehalis, Washington, we proudly serve the communities of Vancouver and Seattle as well as Portland, Oregon.
Keeping Your Golf Cart Battery Charged
Charging your golf cart’s battery is obviously essential to proper operation. Generally speaking, this is as simple as plugging in the battery and letting the charger do its work. However, you should still be aware of a few important safety rules. For starters, always ensure that you charge the battery in a well-ventilated area. You should also never smoke when charging your battery or performing any other maintenance. In addition, ensure that your battery and charger are working properly and not damaged in any way. Specifically, pay attention to the battery terminals, and never attempt to charge the battery if the terminals are corroded or loose.
It is usually not necessary to recharge your battery every time you use your golf cart, but it is a good habit to have. However, you shouldn’t keep the battery connected to the charger for extended periods of time since this can eventually cause the battery to lose some of its charge.
Cleaning and Maintaining Your Battery
Keeping the battery clean and free from corrosion can go a long way towards extending its lifespan. What this means is regularly checking the terminals for any signs of corrosion. Any corrosion should be scrubbed off the terminals using a toothbrush and a mixture of water and baking soda. After cleaning, it is also a good idea to coat the battery terminals to help prevent future corrosion.
Another aspect of maintaining your golf cart battery is to ensure that the cells have adequate water. Each battery cell has a water reservoir that will need to be checked and filled periodically. Ideally, you’ll want to check the water every two months or so. You’ll want to make sure that the water level is above the battery’s lead element, which means filing the reservoir to about an inch below the top of the cell. When doing this, it is vital that you only ever use distilled water since tap water could damage the battery.
Need help with maintaining your golf cart battery? Don’t hesitate to contact I-5 Motorsports. The staff at our Chehalis dealership are happy to offer advice, assistance, and service to all our customers in Vancouver and Seattle, Washington as well as Portland, Oregon.