What should my golf cart charger read when fully charged?

Understanding whether the cart is charged can be confusing when you buy a new golf cart. If your golf cart is not sufficiently charged, it can turn off in the middle of the road. What about when it is sufficiently charged? What should my golf cart charger read when fully charged? Here is the short answer.

If you have 8-volt cells in a 48-volt system, you must check the 8.2 to 8.3 volts per battery reading. In contrast, if you have a 36-volt system with 6-volt cells, you should see approximately 6.2 to 6.3 volts for each battery.

Thus, if you recently got your hands on a new Golf cart and need help understanding if it’s charged, we are here to help you. Keep on reading to know more. 

How do golf cart batteries charge

Before we discuss understanding whether or not your golf cart is charged, we need to have a clear idea about the working procedure of golf cart batteries.

All battery chargers function in the same manner, including golf cart chargers. While charging, the charger first injects and transfers a DC voltage throughout the battery. 

Additionally, the battery’s internal composition changes to maintain the charge. Golf carts often utilize lead acid-flooded batteries or wet cells.

Golf cart chargers attach to your batteries and continuously pump power into them until they are fully charged. The only drawback to these chargers is that you must manually turn them off.

What Should My Golf Cart Charger Read When Fully Charged?

Golf cart chargers come in different variations depending on how powerful the batteries are in your cart.

However, the reading method is precisely the same for all types of batteries. Keep on reading to know more.

You will first need to understand your golf battery charger’s reading. Generally, golf cart batteries come in two voltage ratings, each of which will show a different rating.

Using a Led-Based Indicator charger

If you are using modern, newly designed Golf cart chargers, they should come with an LED indicator showing when the battery is fully charged.

Different light will indicate different charge levels. Down below, we will talk about the various charge level indicators.

LED Color	Charge Level
Short Green light	Less than 80%
Long Greenlight	80% +
Static Greenlight	100%
Red light	Charging Error

Using a charger with an LED display

Some chargers also come with a LED display that shows the total voltage when the battery is fully charged.

So knowing about the voltage reading will help you to understand if the battery is charged or not. Read below to learn more about these voltage readings. 

• 48 V battery

If your golf cart has 48-volt golf batteries, the goal voltage is 57.6-58.8 volts. So, if the system uses eight batteries, you may anticipate 8.2-8.3 volts per battery, and you should be able to see this reading on display. 

• 36 V battery

For a 36-volt golf cart battery, the reading should be around 37.2-38.8 volts. If you see a reading in this range, it indicates that the battery is fully charged.

Using an old manual charger

Now, if you use an old manual charger to charge golf cart batteries, you should have already seen that these chargers come with an ammeter scale. 

So, when you plug in the battery for charging, the indicator should point toward the reading of 15+ Amps. 

This reading will gradually reduce as the battery keeps charging, and the indicator should be closer to 0 Amps when the battery is fully charged. 

Check the battery indicator on the dashboard

You can also check if the battery is fully charged by turning on the cart’s engine and checking the battery charge indicator on the dashboard. It will show you the total charge percentage on the battery.

Things to consider when charging Golf Cart Batteries

It is important to charge the batteries daily to ensure proper working of the battery, which will also increase their longevity.

So, down below, we will talk about a few tips which will help you while charging your Golf cart batteries. 

Regularly clean the batteries

Over time, batteries will get dirty due to dirt and greases. So, you must clean the batteries regularly, as dirt can reduce the battery’s longevity in the long run.

Water Requirements in the Battery

All batteries require water, and Golf cart batteries are no exception. How frequently you need to water your batteries depends on the type of battery. 

While brand-new batteries don’t require much water, if you use them more frequently, you’ll need to water them once or twice per month. Never use your cart again without refilling when the batteries run out of water.

Avoid Overcharging

Overcharging can damage the batteries beyond repair. When you overcharge the batteries, more water is used, and as a result, it leads to acid corrosion in the battery plates.

FAQs.

Down below, we will talk about the FAQs which might be wandering around after reading our guide so far. This section will further clarify your confusion regarding golf cart battery charging.

Conclusion

It can be challenging to understand when the golf cart batteries are fully charged, especially if you have not faced it already. and overcharging them can damage them. So, follow all the methods we have discussed in this guide. 

When buying a new charge for your golf cart, ensure to buy the newer one. Newer chargers come with LED displays and indicators, which makes understanding the battery charge level much more straightforward. 

Additionally, always make sure to do proper maintenance of the battery, like cleaning and watering them regularly if you want them to work for very long.

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