Common Mistakes People Make With Their Golf Cart Batteries

Driving around in your golf cart is always an enjoyable pastime. Whether you’re on the course or cruising around the neighborhood, taking care of your golf cart is vital. For most carts, a good 48-volt lithium golf cart battery will power your cart and treat you well for several years. However, there are a few common mistakes that people make with their golf cart batteries that may significantly shorten their lifespan. Pay attention to these tips and know precisely what to avoid with your machine.

Letting the Battery Fully Drain

It’s rarely a good idea to let your battery fully drain before charging it up. Forcing the battery to use as much juice as possible before hooking it back up to a charger can result in long-term damage and negatively affect its charge cycles and overall lifespan.
Remember to charge your golf cart’s battery after you’ve finished using it for the day, and try not to drive your cart until it dies. This keeps your charge cycles flowing healthily and reduces potential risks to your cart.

Overcharging the Battery

While it’s vital not to run the battery for too long or let it drain completely, it’s also important to avoid overcharging your battery. Overcharging is perhaps the most common mistake people make with their golf cart batteries and has one of the most harmful impacts on its lifespan.
Many careless cart owners leave their batteries on a charger whenever the cart is not in use. This might seem like a good idea to ensure you always have a fully charged battery, but overcharging eventually results in shorter cycles and less power.
To avoid over-charging, we recommend investing in an automatic charger that turns itself off when the battery finishes charging. This change allows your battery to remain on the charger without reducing its longevity. In addition to this, also ensure the batteries in your cart are equipped with a reliable Battery Management System, or BMS. A BMS comes with built-in protections to prevent the battery from over-charging and over-discharging.

Ignoring Hazardous Weather

It’s always good to know how the climate outside may affect your cart and its battery. If you live in a region that receives ample rain, we recommend keeping your cart someplace dry. Excess moisture may damage your cart, and while it may not impact the battery directly, it could still cause problems in the long run.
The good news is that as battery technology evolves, temperature becomes less of a concern, but you should still keep an eye on it. For most lithium-ion battery packs, you’ll want to store your cart and the battery in an area between 32° and 95° Fahrenheit. During the hotter summer months, you may notice a slightly faster charge, and in the winter, this speed drops. Storing your battery in a hotter temperature may lower its total capacity, while colder temperatures might shorten its life.
Essentially, keeping your battery within a safe temperature range and free from humidity will benefit it. This may be slightly more challenging depending on your location, but keeping your cart and your battery in working order is worth the effort.

Pushing the Cart Too Hard

It should go without saying that a golf cart is not the same as a car. One of the quickest ways to cause permanent damage is to push it too hard. Driving your cart for extremely long distances is ill-advised as you risk putting too much strain on the battery. At worst, you may run out of juice during your trip, leaving yourself stranded.
Instead of driving your golf cart to harmful distances, we advise transporting it to your location using a truck or trailer. Keep in mind that golf carts are not the best for tackling steep hills, so caution is necessary when driving over rougher terrain or at high speeds, as these factors all contribute to the longevity of your cart and its power.

Neglecting Regular Maintenance

Regular maintenance is an invaluable step when it comes to taking care of your batteries. If you own a newer golf cart with a lithium-ion battery, maintenance isn’t as vital as it is for older lead-acid batteries, and some require zero maintenance at all, such as with BigBattery’s golf cart kits. However, it’s still a good idea to take proper precautions.
If you start to notice any irregularities with your battery, such as decreased power or longer charging times, consider taking the battery to a licensed technician who can inspect it. Replacing lithium-ion batteries before the end of their expected lifespan is rare, but it can be relatively expensive if you need to, so keeping an eye on things and taking regular care of your cart’s battery allows you to prolong its life and widen the gap between new battery purchases.

Since the casing of lithium-ion batteries are typically inaccessible, there are limits to how much maintenance you can do without opening up the entire battery. In some cases, a battery manufacturer’s warranty could even be voided if the battery is opened. If this is the case, as with BigBattery, you’ll want to connect with the manufacturer or distributor you purchased the battery from to determine the best way to get your battery inspected. One thing we recommend is taking the time to ensure all cables are tight and firmly connected to the battery and any other attached components. Sometimes, a loose cable is enough to throw off the entire battery, so your problem may have an easy solution.

Running Accessories Too Much

When driving your golf cart, you probably have access to regular accessories like air conditioning, headlights, and the radio. All of these devices draw power from your golf cart’s battery, so it’s not recommended to run these devices while your cart is idle. If you’re driving a gasoline-powered cart, you may require a jumpstart to get your cart running again. With electrical carts, you can risk over-discharging if you operate the accessories too much, which isn’t good for the battery in the long run.
When properly cared for, lithium-ion golf cart batteries last for many years. These lightweight, powerful batteries are a great addition to any golf cart. We highly recommend lithium-ion batteries for any golf cart enthusiast looking to add some power and longevity to their mode of casual transportation.
If you have any comments or questions about lithium-ion batteries for your golf cart, the experts at BigBattery have everything you need to get things rolling. We’d be happy to help you set up everything you need with your cart and find the right battery kit for your individual cart. Feel free to reach out to us today with any questions, comments, or concerns by phone at (818) 280-3091 during normal business hours, or send us an email anytime at Sales@BigBattery.com.