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Maintaining Your Golf Cart

Dec. 17 2019 service By Paradise Power Sports

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Golf Cart Maintenance

Regular maintenance on your golf cart is critical to the health and longevity of your vehicle. Protect your investment, read this blog post! While its not every detail of service, its a most of the important stuff!

Your golf cart service manual is a good source of information that provides a very detailed list of a periodic service schedule. If you bought your golf cart second hand, you can very often find your service manual on the internet as a downloadable PDF file. 

What do I need to do at home?

Gas & Electric:

  • clean clean clean! Regularly clean your golf cart with non abrasive soap and water. Where we live, your golf cart can develop corrosion simply from sitting in its parking spot from salty air. Corrosion is your worst enemy! Every manufacturer will develop corrosion and rust, no matter what anyone tells you.

"I bought a Club Car because it won't rust"


EXHIBIT A: 2018 Club Car Precedent

This picture was taken in 2019, 1 year after this cart was manufactured. This was the first time the customer had come to our facility. It was on our lift to install a lift kit. We asked the customer how often she cleans her cart. Her response: never. We asked the customer how often she brings her cart in for service, her response: I didn't know it needed to be serviced. So we installed the lift kit, gave the cart a deep and thorough detail, and sprayed the dickens out of the entire cart with anti corrosion spray (your golf carts BFF!). She left with a full service and the link to our blog as well. (Mary. Girl. You're a queen and we love ya!)

  • Visually inspect prior to each use for safety measure - tires, brakes, lift kit, steering wheel, is your gas cap on? are your battery caps tight? do your head lights and tail lights work? If you see anything concerning at all, give us a call!
  • Don't get stranded! Make sure you have plenty of gas or have fully charged your golf cart prior to leaving your home base.

Electric

*Always wear protective gloves and goggles before touching batteries. Battery acid can be dangerous. Wash your hands immediately after*

  • Proper Watering: "Golf cart batteries need the correct level of electrolytes to properly perform the chemical process of creating electricity." For this reason, electric golf carts require you to fill your batteries with distilled water. 
    • Overfilling or under filling your batteries can negatively affect the life and effectiveness of your batteries. Too much water will cause the electrolytes to overflow during the charging process. Too little water in the battery will cause sulfation, which is a direct result of the lead plates not being covered by water during the charging process. Sulfation will cause permanent damage to the lead plates. The charging process increases the electrolyte level, and that is why it is best to add water to the correct level after charging. The exception is when the plates are not covered by water. 
    • Always check your vent caps to ensure they are tight. 
  • Proper charging is critical to the battery health of your golf cart. (this assumes you have a smart charger)
    • Inspect your charger before every use. Do not use a charger with broken or exposed wiring. Bring this to a professional!
    • Charge your golf cart after every use, whether you drove it for 5 minutes or 5 hours.
    • Charge your golf cart in a well ventilation area. You can lift the seat for more ventilation.
    • Put your charger on a flat, dry, hard surface. Do not put your charger on a towel, a blanket, a box. Your charger can get very hot!
    • Do not leave your charger outside!
    • Put your cart in tow mode to protect the cart in an event of electric shock! - We've seen customers have their homes struck by lightening, the carts were not in tow mode, and severe electrical damage was done to the cart!
  • Never allow your batteries to go dead. If they do, charge immediately, don't wait!
  • Use them! Don't leave the cart for long periods of time unused, this is bad for the health of your batteries.


What do I need to do at the dealership?

Gas

  • Major manufacturer's recommend that you have your oil changed every 125 hours or at least once a year, but twice if you are giving your golf cart heavy use, which for street legal golf carts (LSVs), every 6 months is highly recommended.
  • Aside from a semi annual service, some manufacturer's call for an additional service at certain hour and mileage increments. Here is an example of Yamaha's QUIETECH EFI service maintenance schedule. You can find the increments at the top and the services performed on the left column.

Electric

  • Bring your electric golf cart in annually. We'll perform the following:
    • Safety Inspection
    • Alignment
    • Brake Adjustment
    • Check Steering
    • Check Tires and tread depth
    • Discharge Test and fully inspect batteries
    • Notate any items that need to be addressed for at home preventative maintenance

Here is an example of Yamaha's AC 48 Volt Electric Maintenance Schedule:

Time for new batteries? Golf cart batteries should last for 5-6 years. So after 5-6 years if you're finding your golf cart is getting sluggish, it may be time for a new set of batteries. We suggest purchasing either Crown or Trojan Battery brands for best results. While they are the more expensive batteries (averaging $1,000 for a set!), they come with a warranty, are recommended by the manufacturer, and last longer if they are appropriately maintained. Always replace the set, don't replace one at a time.

What will happen if I don't do this?

We've heard many people say, I don't use my golf cart very often, I don't need to service it. We can't stress enough that regular maintenance and at the recommended service intervals will protect your investment. Letting a certified technician inspect your golf cart at least annually will allow you to be proactive with any potential issues on your golf cart.


Important to Note: If your cart needs service, but you can't get it to us: we pick up for free and deliver for free in New Smyrna. We charge a small fee for pick up and delivery in other areas of Volusia County. If you live in Volusia County and bought from us, we always deliver the first time for free!*** Additionally, every cart we sell has a warranty on it, so you can buy from us confidently knowing that while regular service is not covered, any potential issues that may come up are covered!


References:

https://diygolfcart.com/blog/golf-cart-garage-the-maintenance-checklist-for-every-diy-mechanic/