How to extend the life of your golf cart batteries
The golf cart owner can have a huge impact on the lifespan and optimal performance of his golf cart batteries. Regular maintenance and usage recommendations by the manufacturer’s guidelines can significantly extend the lifespan of golf cart batteries.
Prevent deep discharges
Deep discharges of your golf cart battery can negatively impact you battery life span and battery performance. Make sure if you are using lead acid, AGM or gel batteries that you don’t discharge below 80%. Always when driving your golf cart keep an eye on your battery meter.
Lithium batteries are better resistant to deep discharges below the 80% border. You can normally discharge them for almost 100% without effect on battery performance.
Drive with care
Usage patterns have a lot of effect on the lifespan of a golf cart battery. Using your golf cart for an extended period with full speed and a lot of hill climbing will lead to a shorter life span. Especially if you combine it with the earlier mentioned deep discharger.
Proper storage
If you store your golf cart battery, make sure you do it the correct way. This is especially important for lead acid, gel and AGM batteries.
Avoid storage locations where freezing and cold temperatures are expected. Freezing can lead to damage of the battery case and plates, that are not repairable. Storing lead acid batteries with an high state of charge also helps preventing the batteries from freezing.
Avoid storage locations close to a heat source to prevent extreme heat, like a radiators and heaters. High temperatures accelerate the discharge rate of lead acid.
Also keep in mind that lead acid, gel and AGM batteries need to be stored with a full state of charge. And always check the state of charge every 2 to 3 months, because if the state of charge drops below 70%, you need to charge the battery again. And if you pull the battery out of storage for usage, always make sure to first fully charge.
Lithium golf cart batteries you can store with partial state of charge, but it is always recommended to store it with full state of charge as well. A lot of lithium batteries have a sleep mode that engages after a certain time to prevent the battery management system from draining energy during storage. After storage you have to press the on button to activate the battery.
Avoid extreme temperatures
Not only with storage, but in general it is best for battery life to avoid extreme cold temperatures and extreme hot temperatures. You should not charge for example batteries during extreme temperatures. And in general with cold temperatures the capacity of the battery is lower than normal during usage. Using your golf cart during extreme high temperatures can lead to battery damage and shorten its lifespan.
Use compatible battery chargers
To prevent the golf cart battery from overcharging or undercharging you need a golf cart charger with a compatible charging profile for your specific battery type. The wrong charging profile can lead to permanent damage to your batteries and shorten its lifespan
Proper maintenance routines
The life span of a golf cart battery is highly impacted by how well it is maintained. The maintenance requirements of lead acid batteries are the highest.
Battery inspection
Check your batteries regularly for visible signs of damage. A battery leaking acid leaking or a failing battery with cracked terminals should be repaired or replaced. This also helps prevent corrosion in the rest of your golf cart if you are using lead acid.
Proper water levels
If you are working with lead acid batteries you need to check water levels of all battery cells. If it is below the minimum level, add more distilled water. Please note, use only distilled water.
Cleaning
If you are using lead acid, gel or AGM batteries you need to clean them regularly. Especially lead acid batteries, because acid can escape through the vents and can make a mess of your golf cart. Yes, they say that gel or AGM are zero maintenance, but this is only related to the watering and not to cleaning the terminal and batteries.
Through time the batteries can become very dirty. It is very important to clean the battery terminals with a mixture of baking soda and water. When you are done with cleaning the batteries and you have reconnected all cable clamps to the terminals, you can spray the terminals with an anti-corrosive spray or silicon gel.
Correct torque values
If you are done with cleaning and you are connecting all the cables to the terminals make sure that you use the correct torque values (use manual for exact values). When you don’t use the correct torque values you cable can become lose and create friction and heat. It is then possible that during usage of your golf cart the terminal melts and the battery causes fire. You also want to prevent that the torque is to tight and causes the terminal to crack, this can lead to the same issues.
Spray terminals
When you are done with cleaning the batteries and you have reconnected all cable clamps to the terminals, you can spray the terminals with an anti-corrosive spray or silicon gel. This helps you prevent corrosion in your golf cart.
要延长高尔夫球车电池的使用寿命，可以采取以下措施：
避免深度放电：
谨慎驾驶：
适当储存：
对于铅酸、凝胶和AGM电池，正确的储存方式尤为重要。
避免在可能结冰或低温的地方储存电池，因为冻结会损坏电池外壳和极板，且无法修复。
避免在热源附近储存电池，如散热器和加热器，因为高温会加速铅酸电池的放电速率。
铅酸、凝胶和AGM电池需要满电储存，并每2到3个月检查一次电量。如果电量低于70%，需要再次充电。
如果从储存中取出电池使用，请确保首先将其完全充电。
其他建议：
定期维护和按照制造商的指南使用可以显著延长高尔夫球车电池的寿命。
对于锂电池，由于其自放电率较低，可以放置更长时间而不会耗尽电量。
在极端温度条件下使用或储存高尔夫球车时，请遵循制造商的特定建议。
通过遵循上述建议，高尔夫球车车主可以最大限度地延长其电池的使用寿命和性能。
