Prolonging Your Golf Cart's Battery Life

Golf cart battery care is one of the most critical obligations of a golf cart owner for a couple of reasons. First, because it’s fairly easy to damage your golf cart battery by charging malpractices, and second, because golf cart battery replacement is not exactly cheap.

Replacing your golf cart battery can mean shelling out anywhere between $65 to $200 out of your own pocket to cover the cost of battery replacement and installation. If you’d rather save yourself the headache and the dollars, then it’s not too late to learn some golf cart battery care practices.

Regular, consistent, and thorough maintenance is one of the secrets to prolonging the life of your golf cart battery. By conducting a routine check of your battery’s health, you can diagnose issues before they blow out of proportion and warrant replacement. Having a charging system in place, especially if you don’t have an automatic charger, also helps prevent common charging issues that usually send cart owners prematurely shopping for a new golf cart batteries.

But another very important key to keeping your golf cart battery healthy is knowing which common mistakes you as a cart owner should avoid doing in the first place. A lot of cart owners think that, as long as they charge their carts properly, these carts should be good to go all the time. What they fail to realize is how seemingly simple and negligible errors can lead to the damage of their vehicles.

This is what premier golf cart parts supplier Golf Cart Garage wants golf cart owners to know in the following visual guide to the most common golf cart battery maintenance mistakes committed by owners. Direct and informative, the infographic explains why these errors can lead to cart battery damage and includes some tips on how you can make your cart’s battery last for a long time. We also recommend checking out the troubleshooting and FAQ guide.

 Tips for Making Your Golf Cart Battery Last Longer

1. Don't Let Your Batteries Lose All Voltage or Run Till Empty

Avoid driving your golf cart, or allowing it to sit uncharged, until the batteries are almost empty or totally dead. This can shorten battery life significantly and risk damage to other expensive parts.

2. Make Sure You Don't Overcharge Your Golf Cart Battery

If your golf cart charger does not feature automatic shut-off or trickle charging, you should unplug it when charging completes. The best solution is a modern automatic charger that does all of the work for you, worry-free!

3. Remember to Turn Off All Electrical Components

This will dramatically run down your battery. Always turn off any electronic components in your golf cart while you're not driving like the radio or lights. 

4. Don't Push Your Golf Cart to the Limit With Either Distance or Slope

Pushing your golf cart over the limits or adding more weight than its capacity will wear down your batteries fast. The quality of your battery has a significant role and this is one area where investing in good equipment will get you the best performance out of your golf cart. Note that adding larger, heavier golf cart tires can also affect battery life.

5. Avoid Overfilling Batteries When Adding Water

Keep the water levels in your batteries at around 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the plates with distilled water to avoid the impurities in tap water that conduct electricity and can shorten battery life. 

6. Prevent Corrosion or Dirt Build Up

Corrosion is one of the major factors in shortening battery life. While you should not allow batteries to discharge too much, corrosion does occur more when charging.

7. Charge Batteries Completely and Often Enough 

If left half-charged, batteries can form a "sulphation memory" and may not be able to accept charge beyond that point. Some batteries have built-in features to prevent overcharging and support long-term storage.

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