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? |
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