4 Signs You Need to Replace Your Golf Cart Batteries
Identifying it is time to replace your batteries can be a costly ordeal. That is why it is of equal importance to properly determine it is time to replace your batteries. We would like to discuss a few of these signs as well as suggest ways to test your batteries. Here are 4 signs you need to replace your golf cart batteries:
1) It takes twice as long to charge your batteries as it did when you first had them installed
As the batteries age, they will not hold a charge as well as they used to. Unfortunately the charger will not know that, so the charger will continue to charge the batteries thinking they will eventually get to a full charge which means it will take longer to charge the batteries than normal.
2) Your Golf Cart loses power very quickly
Most Golf Carts can travel at least 7 miles or more on a single charge. However, if you are used to playing golf with no battery charge issues, but then one day you start to notice you can barely finish nine holes without having to limp home, then this could very easily be a sign of weak batteries.
3) Your Golf Cart does not accelerate as fast as it used to
Electric Golf Carts are known for being fast and having acceleration power. However, the day you start to feel your electric golf cart being slower to reach top speed is typically a sign of your batteries needing to be replaced. Also, another sign may be that it has trouble climbing hills and inclines.
4) The batteries are leaking acid and are beginning to bulge
If the previous 3 are not prevalent enough, then the batteries themselves will exhibit signs of deterioration. Batteries that are going bad will expand and have bulges on the battery cases themselves. Also, batteries will be prone to leaking acid out of the case when they are on their last leg.
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Or lastly…
Another way to see how your batteries are holding up is to test the voltage of the golf cart batteries. Typically, a charged battery pack will have 2-3 volts higher on a charger than its rated voltage. For example, a 48 volt system will have 51 to 52 volts after a full charge. We can test this by using a Volt Meter. Now, just because a battery pack displays 48 volts or more after a full charge does not mean they’re good. The real test would be to test them after they have been used for a few miles. The reason is that a deep cycle golf cart battery will not exhibit signs of needing replacement until after they are fully discharged. So once the batteries are fully discharged (used for several miles of driving), it is good to test the total battery voltage and each individual battery. A weak battery pack can sometimes be indicative of one individual battery being bad. If one battery is bad, though, then we do recommend replacing all the batteries at once since it will cost more in the long run to replace one battery at a time.
