Maintaining the Power Within your Electric Golf Cart

The primary maintenance issue with electric golf carts is to install quality golf cart batteries and keep them in good working condition.  Some golf carts use a 36-volt battery pack, but the vast majority of electric carts use 48-volt motors which are supplied with power by a series of golf cart batteries in one of the following configurations: 4 12-volt batteries, 6 8-volt batteries or 8 6-volt golf cart batteries.  Whether your unit is 36 volt or 48 volt, you’ll need a charger that is designed to match the voltage of the entire configuration.  These units are easy to find and are quite affordable.  They allow you to plug in your electric golf carts overnight and have freshly charged golf cart batteries the next morning, without the risk of overcharging and damaging the batteries.

When shopping for used golf carts, many prospective buyers are concerned about the cost of the golf cart batteries.  If the golf cart you buy is 2-4 years old, and comes with its own set of batteries, you probably won’t have to purchase new batteries for at least a couple of years.  When these batteries get to be 5-7 years old it is time to consider replacing them.    A set of quality used or new golf cart batteries may run between $240 and $800 depending on the number and brand of battery.  Over the years that they will be in use, the cost of gasoline for a gas-powered golf cart would cost an estimated 20% to 30% more, making electric golf carts more cost effective to operate.

Most owners will find the use of sealed, zero-maintenance golf cart batteries the best way to go.  Batteries that require simple maintenance cost a bit less, but the upkeep on them is something most golf cart users don’t want to hassle with.  A top of the line set of batteries totaling 48 volts will typically deliver from 8 to 12 horsepower, enough to zip around the golf course, community, property or work place, with enough power to tackle moderate hills and off-road trails.  There are a variety of excellent manufacturers that produce today’s best golf cart batteries.  They make units designed to fit various models of the leading golf carts, much like car batteries are sized correctly to fit in specific automobiles.

To maintain a charge in your golf cart batteries a couple of options exist.  Some choose to keep the charger at home in the garage or outbuilding where the cart can be plugged into when not in use.  The second option is to install the charger on the golf cart so that it can be plugged into any outlet.  These onboard chargers are certainly more convenient and most consider them worth the slightly greater expense to be able to recharge their golf cart batteries wherever they happen to park for the night.