What is the number 1 problem caused by poor maintenance of golf and utility cars by their owners?

Overfilling their batteries !

Having been in the golf car sales and maintenance business for over 30 years, we see time and time again the many issues caused by owners overfilling their golf and utility car batteries.  Overfilling can cause acid from the battery to get on the golf car body, chassis, battery racks, cables, frame, etc. and cause extensive damage due to corrosion in addition to shortening the life of your batteries.

Batteries are the life blood of your electric golf car and can cost you from $800-1200 to replace so extending the life of the batteries and the components under the seat will save you plenty in the long run.

Examples of Poor Golf Car Battery Maintenance

What your painted garage or driveway will look like when you overfill

The solution?

There are basically 3 solutions to this problem:

• Use a single-point watering system. This is the ultimate solution with a price tag of approximately $250. However, this most certainly will pay for itself in maintenance time savings and provide an extended life for your batteries. It makes it possible to refill all the cells of all your batteries from a single point without opening them individually. The many benefits of this system are:

• the very fastest way to refill all your batteries at once:
• batteries last longer;
• vehicle reliability is improved;
• eliminates the danger of overfilling and acid splash;
• does away with under-filling as well as over-filling;
• the likelihood of battery maintenance neglect is reduced to the ease of use.

• Use a Water Boy that automatically stops the water from overflowing and fills your batteries much quicker than by hand.

The Water Boy

• Be more careful when filling your batteries - use more care when filling manually instead of just slopping water into the cells without regards to the water level.  Many customers just take a water hose and fill them to some perceived level they fill is 'right' and generally under or over fill.

What is the proper water level when manually filling batteries?

Battery water levels should be just below the bottom of the vent well, about 1/2 - 3/4 inch above the tops of the separators (plates). Never let the level drop below the top of the plates.

Safety Issues:

• use distilled water vs. tap water whenever possible to avoid putting calcium and other mineral deposits into your batteries;
• wear safety goggles and gloves when filling batteries manually to reduce the effects of an acid splash. This most certainly can ruin your day;
• Use a mixture of baking soda and water to rinse off your batteries, cables and battery compartment in the event of spillage to reduce the corrosive effects that can be caused.