According to Market Research Future, the golf cart battery market is projected to grow by around 6.50% during the period forecast.
Golf carts make it easier to get around golf courses. Golf carts are helpful because they help golfers avoid long walks.
They make it easy for golfers to navigate around the course. But what if the batteries go flat on you?
Rather than throwing away your battery when it’s dead, learn how to recondition a golf cart battery and save money by not having to buy a new one.
Golf cart batteries wear down from constant discharge and recharge. They start to lose their life when golfers don’t take care of them.
You can take action with some regular upkeep. It can make your battery last three times longer.
Well, if you are interested to know how you can refurbish your golf cart battery and make it last, you should not skip a single line of this article till the last line.
Because in this article, I have mentioned the perfect step-by-step guide to revive the dead golf cart battery that has the potential to save you a lot of money.
Factors That Reduce Golf Cart Battery Life
To have a battery last longer, you should make sure it’s exposed to heat only in extreme weather, keep track of and replace when necessary the fluid level, discharge the battery below 50%, and avoid overcharging.
Well, below are the factors that affect the life of the golf cart battery.
1. Charging Habits
golf cart batteries won’t last long when you’re overcharging them, draining them completely, or using the wrong charger.
Inspect your batteries while charging with a golf cart battery meter.
2. Procedure of Maintenance
The new performance golf cart batteries vary depending on the maintenance they’ve received. If you apply this, you can prolong the battery life and get more use out of it.
3. Battery Quality
The quality of a battery is based on the type, and not necessarily the price. Typically, you get what you pay for.
With cheap batteries, you may need to replace them frequently.
4. Utilization Frequency
Well, it’s very common, but the very important factor, the frequency of usage of your golf cart affects your golf cart battery life a lot.
It doesn’t mean that you use very less, it’s just to inform you that the utilization frequency impacts your golf cart battery life.
5. Features of The Golf Cart
You will have to consider how your golf cart’s features affect battery life. Golf carts with fewer than four wheels usually require two batteries, while carts with four or more wheels can use a single battery for various purposes.
The more accessories on a golf cart, the more battery power it will consume.
Accessories like horns, headlights, fog lights, windshield wipers, etc… play a major role to affect your golf cart battery.
They hardly affect your battery life and you could always purchase a portable power bank.
These are the essential factors that affect your golf cart battery life, and that is why you should pay attention to it if you could do better in improvement in them.
Required Tools To Rejuvenate Golf Cart Battery
Before we start to go through the process of reviving the golf cart battery, let’s focus on the tools that you will require.
You are advised to do not to ignore the tools that I am going to mention below, because, without them, you will not be able to achieve your goal of a golf cart battery reviving.
- Safety goggles
- Gloves
- Soft brush, paintbrush, or toothbrush
- Baking Soda
- Distilled Water
- Flathead Screwdriver
- Battery refurbishing liquid or Epsom salt
- Turkey Baster
- Battery charger for your golf cart battery
8 Steps To Recondition Your Golf Cart Battery
Well, you have gained pre-knowledge about reviving the golf cart battery, but the thing is how to revive the battery of the golf cart, right?
Don’t need to worry, just follow the steps mentioned in this guide, which will help you to refurbish your golf cart battery at your home.
Step 1: Clean and Inspect The Battery First
Firstly, you should remove the battery from your cart. Removing it is done by sliding under the seat and pulling it out.
At this point, you should start by cleaning the terminals. Wear safety goggles and gloves while using a corrosion remover to avoid getting any harmful chemicals in your eyes or on your skin.
Make a solution by adding baking soda and water to the battery terminals. This can be completed in order to remove corrosion away from the terminal regions.
Add water to the corroded battery and use a brush, paint, or toothbrush to remove any corrosion. Repeat the rinse with plain water. Inspect for leakage or cracks.
Step 2: Refill The Battery Cells
Next, use a flathead screwdriver to remove the caps from the battery cells so you can put distilled water on them.
Make sure you have the turkey baster handy to put distilled water all over the cells of a battery.
If you use tap water, it will damage your battery and make it short-lived. Avoid minerals in tap water to make your battery last longer.
Step 3: Remove The Plastic Caps
You’ll need to remove the caps with a slot screwdriver that covers the cells of the battery.
For every half inch, you’ll have to push the end of your slot screwdriver under the cell cap and then pry upwards until it comes off.
Fill any empty battery cells with distilled water. Pour enough water to cover all the plates in exposed areas.
Step 4: Charging The Battery Overnight
Fill the cells with distilled water then connect the charger to the battery. Leave it to charge overnight, and check on its status by morning.
After plugging in the battery charger, you can take it out when the battery has been charged.
If you’re troubleshooting a battery for your golf cart, replace it with a new one and try charging it.
Step 5: Recharge The Cells Of The Battery
To recover a computer battery, you will need either a refurbishment liquid or a solution of Epsom salt. Making them is easy.
To create a bath soak, stir about 8 oz of Epsom salt into 2 quarts of hot water.
Dissolve Epsom salt in the water and make sure to stir enough so that all of the Epsom salt has been dissolved.
You’ll need only half of a cup of solution for this. Mix it with water and then pour it over the cells.
To start, place the battery cells in the recharger, and then shake them so that their solution will be blended well. Leave it to charge overnight at this point.
Step 6: Check The Charging
Make sure your golf cart battery stays on charge and is not drained. The next morning, check the battery’s charge to see if it will last through the day.
If it appears the battery isn’t charging, plug it in again and repeat steps 4-5 about two more times.
Step 7: Drain The Battery Acid
After a few minutes, you will notice that the acid has risen to the top of the cell.
Use a clean object to tip the battery on its edge and allow half of the battery acid to run out.
Dip your brush in a solution that includes baking soda, and clean to remove dirt from the battery.
You can de-sulfate the cells of a battery by pouring plain water on the batteries, ensuring that none of the contaminated water gets inside the cells.
Step 8: Charge The Battery
To take care of the battery situation, continue to charge the battery overnight and use Epsom salts to clean any dirt off the battery plate.
Check the battery in the morning and fix it if it still won’t take a full charge.
If your battery is charged, replace the cell caps and use your cart normally.
Put on a trickle charger every night to keep your batteries at high-performance levels.
Safety Concerns When Repairing A Battery
The chance that you will spill battery acid on your skin or in your eyes while renewing the battery is slim, but small.
If you follow proper safety procedures such as wearing eye protection and gloves, there is little to no risk of this happening.
Irritating fumes and active chemical reactions, acid can lead to severe damage to your body.
For example, getting acid in an eye causes blindness, and it can also severely corrode your contact lenses.
Avoid injuries and accidents by only working on projects in a safe environment.
Wearing gloves and safety goggles is an important part of the restoration process.
It is also a good idea to button long-sleeve shirts all the way up to your neck to protect you from chemicals.
To avoid acid burns, you should minimize any chances of contact with the actual product. If the acid landed on your shirt, it will only cause minor burns.
When not in use, the battery acid needs to be sealed in a plastic container. This way you can prevent spills or leaks when handling or getting rid of it.
Some cart owners may be wary of battery rejuvenation, as they don’t know much about it.
They should get professional help in that case, because a professional company can provide a comforting experience and proper knowledge.
Tips to Improve Golf Cart Battery Life
Yes, now, the time is to go through the steps and tips that have the potential to extend your golf cart battery life.
1. Always Use Distilled Water Only
Battery maintenance should be done in a well-ventilated area on a flat surface.
Remove the cap from each cell, fill it with water, and never use plain or tap water.
The level of water should never drop below the plate and never rise over the top plate.
It should never touch the edge of the battery. Put it just under that lip to make sure the batteries are submerged.
In order to prevent acid spillover, you should ventilate the area below your batteries by opening the garage door.
2. Never Over Charge The Golf Cart Batteries
Use an automatic golf cart charger to keep your batteries at 100% charge. When you don’t, your battery life will be shorter and it will not hold a charge as well.
3. Always Discharge After 80%
Do your golf cart batteries to 50-80 percent before using them, do not charge the battery until it is 100%.
Periodically check the measurements for accuracy by charging each cell and measuring with a hydrometer.
An imbalance in voltage can indicate a need to be equalized, while voltage tests will identify if the battery is charging properly.
Load testing will help identify when a battery is going bad and causing problems for batteries that are still operating well.
FAQs:
Does Epsom salt help golf cart batteries?
In some cases, battery acid in your cells may become old and stop working. If this happens, you can remove half of it and replace it with Epsom salt and water to help distribute electricity throughout the cells.
How often should you add water to golf cart batteries?
Put the batteries back in when they’re charged, but not fully. Thirty days seems to be the approximate time you must wait before filling them again.
Final Words
Well, this article helps you to revive your golf cart battery, and as a final word, only to say that don’t go out of the process mentioned in the article, it will help you to save a lot of money.