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CathyA
3-31-11, 1:07pm
I need a little advice.
We bought a used golf cart last Fall. It was 4 years old, but looked great. I'm discovering that it looked great because it was totally re-painted, lifted, with a seat added in the back. Its starting to not look so good now. Recently, I had trouble keeping air in the (new) tires and found out they had dry rot, and fortunately the guy who sold it to me replaced them free of charge (as he should have).
I thought my recent decrease in battery power was from the increased resistance in the bad tires. But I'm discovering, after getting the new tires, that the batteries are having their own problems.
Before I approach the guy again, I'm going to clean up the terminals. A couple of them are corroded. I've been adding distilled water as needed and try to clean off the area with baking soda and water.
There are 6 6 volt batteries. They too, are close to 5 years old. I charge them every so often with the battery charger that came with it. The batteries appear to charge fairly well. But the charge doesn't seem to last very long.
Sorry to ramble......
Here's my question......is there any shock hazzard in cleaning off the terminals? I have a post and clamp cleaner. I've read to disconnect the negative first.
I just don't know if the rules change if there are 6 batteries connected to each other.
Any other advice would be appreciated. I do intend to buy a device to determine if the battery solutions are still good.

I have real conflict over this used vehicle. I don't know how much to hold the seller responsible for problems that have arisen within 6 months of buying it.
Anyhow......battery info would be appreciated.

MagicRat
4-16-11, 1:23pm
Disconnet one negative battery terminal first. Then disconnect the terminals and clean them, and the posts. Also carefully clean off any dirt on top of the batteries.

There is a BIG shock hazard when working with batteries. Do NOT touch a negative and positive post together. Do NOT let any metal tool touch the negative and positive posts at any one time. Doing so will create a short circuit which may burn you, or possibly cause a battery to rupture and explode because a spark has ignited hydrogen gas in or around the battery.

Batteries have sulfuric acid in them which is really corrosive. Wear thick clothes (ie - denim) long pants, long sleeves, gloves and eye protection. A full-face shield is even better. If a battery does rupture (due to a spark/short circuit) and spray you with acid you need to be protected.

As for battery life - 5 years is nearing the end of the lifespan for lead/acid batteries. If you plan to use this a lot, consider replacing all the batteries with new deep-cycle batteries. Regular 6-volt batteries are not nearly as good for this application. They must be the "deep cycle" type.

Good luck.

CathyA
4-16-11, 1:56pm
Thanks MagicRat,
I ended up reading up on it as much as possible and then I cleaned them all. I also replaced a slightly damaged cable. I have the deep cycle batteries. Now that I understand that I really need to charge it almost every night, its running better. I also learned that I was filling the cells just a little too full, so now I know better. Thanks for your help!

setis
5-12-11, 11:39pm
The batteries loose length of charge. The more they are charged the shorter the time of operation gets. Especially if they are run "dead".There is no danger as long as you do not touch both positive and negative at same time.You should always disconnect the negative first. They are connected as such to produce 24 volts to the cart.There should be a charge control. Some times they go bad.I really think you will need to replace the batteries.Coke a cola will clean the terminals just pouring it on the terminals

CathyA
5-13-11, 8:31am
Thanks setis,
I'm slowly learning. I did clean off all the terminals awhile back and discovered that one of the connections was breaking, so I replaced that one. I do check them often now and clean off any acid that may have bubbled out during charging.
I'm also learning that I really have to charge it almost every night, all night, and it can maintain its charge during the day fairly well. I didn't realize that I needed to charge it fairly often all winter. Since I didn't use it, I thought it wasn't necessary. But that wasn't good for it.
I'll probably need new batteries in the near future, but at least now I'll now how to take better care of them.
Thanks again.

Dharma Bum
5-13-11, 9:05am
I know for boats they make trickle chargers that you keep basically on all the time and they keep the batteries topped off. I asssume there is something like that for carts too.

CathyA
5-13-11, 9:49am
We don't have a garage, and I keep the cart in a Shelter Logic shed. I have to run a very long extension cord to it, and I'd rather not have it plugged in all the time. Maybe someday when we might have a garage, I will do that.
Thanks for your input Dharma Bum!

setis
5-15-11, 4:39pm
Do you have a Harbour Freight Store any where near you? If not go to their web.There are solar battery chargers and maintainers. just plug in or clip on. Check out and see if maybe the charge controller is in operation there should be on it prevents over charge and non use discharge if there is not a short in the electrical system.