Storage Of Your Golf Car Battery

Throughout the year, changing seasons or inclement weather requires the storage of golf carts for unpredictable amounts of time. These long periods of storage can negatively impact your golf cart’s batteries, but there are several steps you can take to ensure your batteries will power your golf cart for your next round of golf.

It’s important to remember that deep-cycle lead acid batteries will self-discharge when not in use for an extended period of time. Before putting your golf cart batteries in storage, be sure they are fully charged to maximize battery capacity and overall life. Storing discharged batteries may cause irreversible damage to your deep-cycle batteries.

The amount of self-discharge depends on the temperature of the storage location and the duration of time your batteries are in storage. It’s important to either disconnect the batteries from the golf cart while in storage, to remove any parasitic loads which can discharge the batteries, or based on the type of charger you have, keep the charger plugged into the golf cart.

Some chargers will check battery volt-age automatically while the batteries are being stored and will provide the necessary boost charge when they are connected to your golf cart’s battery bank. Refer to your car manufacturer’s manual for proper charging instructions specific to their charger.

Keep them in a cool area and stay away from areas that are near heat sources such as radiators or heaters, since hot temperatures accelerate battery self-discharge. In addition, always avoid areas where freezing temperatures are expected during the storage period.

The battery self-discharge chart below illustrates the specific gravity measurements in relation to the duration of storage.

Monitor battery voltage every six weeks while in storage and give the batteries a boost charge when they are at 70 percent state of charge or less.

For instructions on determining the batteries’ state of charge, view Trojan’s video tutorial “Determining the Health of a Deep-Cycle Battery” at www.trojanbattery.com/trojan_tips.

Always recharge your batteries before putting them back into service. For additional tips on battery maintenance, please visit Trojan Battery’s website to view our latest Trojan Tips video tutorial which will provide detailed in-formation on a variety of information on battery technologies and maintenance practices.

For a list of Battery Chargers, many of which will tend to a battery, see our chargers page.