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Reprinted with permission from GolfCarCatalog.com

STEP 1. Cleaning the Batteries:

a. First make sure all the cell caps are snuggly attached.
b. Unplug the charger and move the car to a nearby place where you can wash the battery compartment. Lock the hill brake.
c. If you have a ‘Regen’ model, turn the master switch under the seat to ‘Tow’ or ‘Tow/Maintenance’. This turns the car completely off. If you do not have a ‘Regen’ electrical drive system, just put the Forward/Reverse switch into the Neutral position (straight up) and turn the key OFF. This also turns the car off…no battery current can run to the motor.
d. We recommend that you DO NOT disconnect any terminals unless it is necessary to clean them. (There is some other maintenance to do here and we will cover cables later.)
e. Be sure your car is in a location where the neutralized acid water, grass and mud you are about to wash off will safely wash away. Be sure you are NOT wearing your best pair of jeans or any other cotton clothing. Hydrosulphuric acid just loves cotton. It’s fond of skin too, so you might want gloves.
f. Start on one side of the car and spray Battery Neutralizer (you will find a special, environmentally friendly neutralizer in our Battery Care section of our Store...click HERE) all over the tops of the batteries. Be sure to spray it between the batteries, down on the battery racks, and the inside walls of the body panels, if they are metal. Now use an old paintbrush to scour all the nooks and crannies of the battery tops and sides. Use a little extra water if you need.

Follow the directions on the bottle in applying and rinsing the Neutralizer. This liquid will change color to signify that it has neutralized the acid. Allow this to sit and work for a few moments. Wash thoroughly with copious amounts of water, standing away as much as possible to avoid any acid splash.

NOTE: Water from a garden hose, or even a commercial high pressure washer, will not hurt the electrical parts of an electric car. Do not let the water beat on the vital parts but a good thorough washing is fine. Many golf clubs wash the battery compartment out every day…this is great! Several times a month is good, once a month is ok, and certainly at seasons end at a very minimum. Hey, it’s your investment!
g. Now, if you are a REALLY frugal type person you can use plain water, which does nothing to neutralize the acid wash, or use a solution of Baking Soda (about 2 tablespoons to 1 gallon of water) to neutralize the acid, but you will be introducing some environmentally un-friendly side effects. In fact, in some regulatory jurisdictions, this is considered hazardous waste. Besides, bicarbonate of soda does not clean. Improperly washed batteries will not only stain finished concrete but, over time, can actually cause the surface layer to decompose and start to crumble. This is certainly a larger concern for clubs rather than individuals, but I have seen many examples in private homes too.

STEP 2. Maintaining the Battery Terminals:

WARNING 1: For your personal safety always, always, always remove all metal rings from fingers, watchbands or bracelets from wrists or any loose hanging necklaces. If the jewelry becomes a short circuit between batteries, it will ruin your day…not to mention that cherished jewel!

WARNING 2: Eye safety is a vital concern too. Wear eye protection! A spark from a cigarette (NO! NO! NO!) or an inadvertent battery short, such as a dropped tool (or ring), can cause a battery to explode, spew battery acid and possibly catch fire (I know this from ‘lucky’ personal experience, thank you). Extreme caution is required. At best an exploding battery will put the hurt to your ears and a twitter to your heart for a few minutes. Should you ever drop a wrench or other tool onto a battery top—BACK AWAY IMMEDIATELY!!!!! It’s a whole lot better, and cheaper, to replace a battery than have an Emergency Room visit. Retrieve the tool after the smoke clears.

a. This is an excellent time to check, clean, tighten & treat all of the battery terminal connections. Battery cable looseness, oxidation and corrosion all interfere with the flow of electricity, create excess heat and decrease the efficiency of your Electric Golf Car. Perform these simple checks.

b. Carefully wriggle each cable end side-to-side and then gently up & down. There should be no looseness or movement sideways. If there is then the nut that secures the cable end to the battery post needs to be tightened some more. Use the adjustable wrench to tighten the nut, clockwise, just a little. If the cable will not tighten, even if the nut feels tight, there may be a problem with the battery post. Chronic looseness of the cable end will cause a heat buildup, which causes the nut to ‘freeze’ to the battery stud, and, if loose enough, cause the lead post to actually melt away from the cable end. You can see the melted lead on the side of the post, much like a melted candle…sometimes even a pool on the battery top. If it’s real bad, little beads of lead fall on the battery top and melt through the case allowing acid to jostle out as the car moves along. Be sure the cables are tight to the post. Don’t break them off, but they should be good and snug.

The up & down motion should not cause the cable terminal end, which is secured to the battery post stud, to flex…it should be rigid to the post. The cable can flex but the metal terminal end should not. If it does easily flex, or worse, it’s downright floppy, you have a battery cable end about to give it up. Fix it before it fixes you, where you least expect it!

c. If a tough oxidation crust was build up, a wire brush or Wire-Brush Battery terminal cleaner just does NOT do a good job. Both the battery post and the lead-in collar should be a shiny metal. You can do this with a sharp knife, but a better bet is an inexpensive tool designed specifically for the job.

This tool will do an excellent cleaning job on both the Positive and Negative terminals (which are different sizes). The 3rd part of this handy cleaner will thoroughly clean the inside of the collar. Get it HERE.

d. The type of oxidation mentioned in the above section is fundamentally different from corrosion. Although both are caused by the acid atmosphere in and around the batteries, but corrosion is much more sinister. The crust and/or cable looseness can cause the car to stop. Corrosion just eats the car alive. Aluminum and steel frames alike! Aluminum frames handle salt air better than steel but both are the vegetable de jour to battery acid.

Here again the positive terminals generally take the brunt but the negative posts will corrode too. If they are badly corroded, you will need to do some serious cleaning. You will probably need to remove the corroded cable end from the battery, soak it in neutralizer, wire brush the metal ends and then carefully inspect them. If the ends are ok, firmly wire brush the battery post clean, reinstall the cable on the battery and tighten the nuts securely to the battery post (are the nuts clean too? Don’t contaminate a clean cable end with a corroded nut).

Corrosion can appear as thick yellow goop (sometimes gooy, sometimes hard), white powdery fluff or as a bluish goo. Sometimes these different kinds are on the same terminal or post or battery rack. This is never a good thing, as corrosion seems to beget more corrosion. Real trouble comes when it starts to get on the frame of the car. Wave goodbye to the battery racks…and car frame in severe cases. And it is so easy to prevent! Just hose off those batteries and racks several times a year. No big deal!

e. Check the water levels in each cell. Take the hassle out of this task by using a Battery Filler Bottle (Click Here). Use distilled water (lead acid batteries can be damaged by certain elements found in some tap waters even though it is safe to drink). Be sure the electrolyte (water) in each battery cell is above the plates (which you can see by looking straight down into the battery).

In cold climates, when the car will be left uncharged for several months, leave the water level a little low. This raises the specific gravity of the acid, which will help prevent freezing. It is a little known fact that a lead acid battery keeps much better in the cold than in the heat, as long as the charge stays up. A fully charged battery will not freeze until 60 to 70 BELOW zero whereas a discharged battery can freeze at 20 degrees ABOVE zero.

As a battery discharges, the acid turns into water by the basic chemical nature of the lead acid battery. The more discharge, the more water and the more likely it is to freeze. Also a dirty, acid covered battery will self discharge at a faster rate than a clean treated battery, even in cooler temperatures.

The heat of a Florida summer can cause a battery to self-discharge in 30 days. Of course freezing is not a risk but a discharged battery will sulfate, which basically means crystals of lead sulfate clog up the tiny sponge-like cavities of the battery plates. The longer the state of discharge lasts the more this hard-to-dissolve crystalline structure builds up. It is a harmful, and costly, condition if left untended. Adequate charging avoids this situation.

f. OK, we have washed and cleaned and inspected and tightened and neutralized. Let the car drip dry for a while and then put some sort of protection on the battery terminals to inhibit future corrosion. When used on a new or clean terminal, proper protection can last for years with little care. If the terminals are corroded, treatment does little but add to the mess. Don’t believe the claims that a little spray here and there takes care of badly corroded batteries. Clean them thoroughly. Now put the car on charge. Allow the charger to run its full course.

g. We highly recommend that you DO NOT leave your Electric Golf Car plugged into the charger for extended periods of time. Lightning can travel down the external power lines, into your house, through the charger and into the Electronic Speed Controller of your car. It can blow out the charger transformer and destroy the speed controller too. You’re talking BIG BUCKS to get all that fixed. The older cars and chargers, that were build before the mid 80’s, are not so sensitive to voltage surges but nearby lightning can take these transformers out too.

h. After the charge is done, unplug the charger from the car and from the wall. If you have a ‘ReGen’ model electric (1995 and newer), be sure to turn the switch under the seat to ‘Tow’ or ‘Tow/Maintenance’. This electrically shuts the car down.

This is a very important step when winterizing the car. If left in the ‘Run’ mode, the electronic speed controller stays energized and continues to monitor for a roll away situation, even though it is on the level floor of your garage. This monitoring is powered by the batteries, which soon become discharged and susceptible to freezing or sulphation.

If you do not have the ‘Regen’ system, then just leave the car in Neutral and turn the key off. Either way, scotch the wheels so you can leave the hill brake released. This prevents strain on the cables and the brake shoes can’t lock to the drums. Again, do not disconnect any battery cables as I have seen this create more problems than it prevents. First, you cannot put the car on charge until you reconnect the batteries. Second, if the cable is not properly reconnected and tightened, a terminal meltdown can occur, possibly destroying the battery, causing a fire or other dreaded consequences…NO JOKE!!!

i. If you are not going away for the Winter, you can plug your Charger in for a few hours once a month to insure a full charge is maintained. If possible have a neighbor or friend drop by during your absence and charge the batteries for a few hours once a month. The charger should be unplugged from the car and the wall after charging. Good friend huh?

STEP 3. Finalizing the Winterization:

a. Check the tire pressures and inflate to 20–25 psi. If you have had any problems with a slow leaking tire, take some blocks of wood and put under the axle of that tire so that if it does go completely flat, the wheel rim will not sit on the deflated tire causing the sidewall to crack. While you are down there filling the tires, look at the tread and sidewalls. The tire tread wear should be even across the entire width of the tire. If the center is worn too much the tire may be over inflated. If the outer edges are worn away then a chronic air leak is indicated, maybe due to weather-cracked sidewalls or a pesky tee. If one front tire is worn a lot more than the other, or the tread has signs of feathering or scrubbing, then a front-end alignment may be needed.
b. Roll down the rain curtains and zip them part way down. If you must leave the car out in the open, or under an open shed, I strongly advise neatly folding the rain curtain and bringing it in the house till Spring. Very cold weather will cause the see through vinyl to become very brittle and a puff of wind will blow it out. Rain Curtains are NOT good outdoor Storage Covers, especially in winter.
c. Pat the car on the rear and tell it to have a nice rest.