Golf cart dead and won’t charge

[Greg L]

Let town for 6 weeks and forgot to put cart on charger. Got home and it was dead and the charger will not turn on. Someone told me I have to jump charge the batteries so there is enough power to rum the onboard charging computer. Any advise appreciated

[golfing eagles]

Let town for 6 weeks and forgot to put cart on charger. Got home and it was dead and the charger will not turn on. Someone told me I have to jump charge the batteries so there is enough power to rum the onboard charging computer. Any advise appreciated

Yes, trade it in for a gas cart

[rjm1cc]

No experience. Buy or better yet see if you can borrow a car battery charger. Then try charging the batteries. The charge will be 12 volts so do not know if you will have to do each battery or if you can do all together. My guess do all together for a day or two and you will have gotten some charge back into the batteries.
My guess is the batteries are probably old and should be replaced. I don't think leaving the batteries off the charger for 6 weeks would cause this problem.
Also get a volt meter and measure the voltage in each battery. They may have a charge and the charger is the problem.
If you can borrow a cart charger and see if that works.
Probably do my suggestions in reverse order.

[ohioshooter]

Yes, trade it in for a gas cart

What I have done in the past it put a 12v charger on one of the batteries. After a while the regular charger will work. It needs to see some voltage.

[Arctic Fox]

Yes, trade it in for a gas cart

and if you posted here with a sensible question regarding a fuel problem with your gas cart I suppose you'd be delighted if someone replied with the comment "get an electric cart"?

[golfing eagles]

and if you posted here with a sensible question regarding a fuel problem with your gas cart I suppose you'd be delighted if someone replied with the comment "get an electric cart"?

Wouldn't mind it at all. They'd be wrong, but that's OK.

[frose]

find someone with a load tester for the batteries.. it is the most accurate test i know to check their condition. measuring specific gravity or just voltage is not a real great way to check them.

[williewonka]

Make sure your charger is still working. My charger has a fuse that blows rarely.

[sdeikenberry]

When you leave for any time at all, its better to put a slow trickle charger on your batteries. That will ensure they are still charged when you get back, and prolong the life of the batteries. Any auto parts store carries a slow trickle charger, it's small, and is easy to use. Worth the money in the long run.

[Bay Kid]

Be safe. Call your cart repair guy, like Willys.

[Worldseries27]

Bite the bullet. Hire a nuclear engineer to figure it out

[Duppman]

Let town for 6 weeks and forgot to put cart on charger. Got home and it was dead and the charger will not turn on. Someone told me I have to jump charge the batteries so there is enough power to rum the onboard charging computer. Any advise appreciated

Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0123-Junior-Charger/dp/B000CITK8S/ref=asc_df_B000CITK8S/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198093653755&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9575380699015866880&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9019543&hvtargid=pla-370669784302&psc=1)

[loutapes]

I have used a trickle charger to power up the battery when dead. You should also be able to jump the battery via cables.

QUOTE=Greg L;2135371]Let town for 6 weeks and forgot to put cart on charger. Got home and it was dead and the charger will not turn on. Someone told me I have to jump charge the batteries so there is enough power to rum the onboard charging computer. Any advise appreciated[/QUOTE]

[jimkerr]

Use a trickle charger or a standard battery charger to get enough juice in those batteries to start your charging. In the future just have a neighbor take your cart out on occasion.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Great time for a lithium conversion.
You won't even think it's the same cart.
Power and Range.

[nancyre]

Be safe. Call your cart repair guy, like Willys. Battery Brothers or Battery Boys came checked ours and got the charger going. If you have cart rescue they might have the appropriate charger.
DO NOT jump it with a care charger - they are not the same

[Susan1717]

I have heard of a few electric cart fire problems in garages? That scares me. Plus where did these batteries come from and go when they die. What fuel is used to bring them to our country? Could farmers really use electric in their fields? I’ll stick to gas. I don’t believe any of this. Bring oil production back here. We produce way less negatively into our global environment than most other countries due to our standards. Save the fuel to transport it globally. My resident building in other location I live could not handle the grid if condo owners got electric nor would there be room for the 340 condos owners to have 340 charging stations built.

[Elixir34]

[QUOTE=sdeikenberry;2135544. Any auto parts store carries a slow trickle charger, it's small, and is easy to use. Worth the money in the long run.[/QUOTE]

Auto parts stores likely carry only 12V trickle chargers, not 48 volt chargers. You don’t want to connect a 12V charger across your 48V golf cart battery. Amazon does carry 48V trickle chargers, however. They are approx. $300. They also (supposedly) de-sulfate the batteries over time to extend battery life.

[ronwinger]

Some Cart Chargers will not charge if your batteries are too LOW/DEAD. You may need to disconnect each battery independently and charge each battery, one at a time. Once the batteries get enough charge in them, your Cart Charger will do the job. That is, if, your Charger is not malfunctioning. IF and I say IF... you are not comfortable disconnecting or being around your batteries, PLEASE call a person that is as the batteries can explode ot at the least scare the hell out of you. Either way be careful and take precautions.

[Steve]

and if you posted here with a sensible question regarding a fuel problem with your gas cart I suppose you'd be delighted if someone replied with the comment "get an electric cart"?

I doubt if very many people would.

[Berwin]

My Club Car has 8 volt batteries so I'd be careful about putting a 12 volt charger on yours until you check the voltage. I guess a 6 volt charger would be OK to get a little juice back in mine knowing that I would not be able to fully charge them. Older chargers I used had a switch for the voltage but my new charger automatically senses between 6 and 12 volts so who knows. Six 8 volt batteries in series for a total of 48 volts.

[TraceJustice]

What kind of cart? If it is electric, what voltage?

[Flyers999]

The OP didn't mention what brand model cart he has or how many batteries it has or what the voltage of each batter is.

I have a 2012 Yamaha YRDE. It has a shutoff switch I'm supposed to use when charging as well as when I don't use it for over a few hours. I also turn it off when parking at a busy parking lot to prevent someone from jumping in with a bootleg key.
I often wonder why all electric carts don't have this. Or why not just disconnect one of the batteries when you go on an extended trip?

[Flyers999]

I believe one is not supposed to put distilled water into an uncharged battery unless it needs it. I only add water after charging.

[MARBAR]

Let town for 6 weeks and forgot to put cart on charger. Got home and it was dead and the charger will not turn on. Someone told me I have to jump charge the batteries so there is enough power to rum the onboard charging computer. Any advise appreciated

Unless you have a 48V source, jumping won't work. The easiest way is to purchase a 48v trickle charger (pricey) or call your golf cart mobile service to have them come out with a 48v source.

[OhioBuckeye]

Just hope it’s not a Lithium battery or whoever you buy one from doesn’t talk you into one. Not cheap!

[jimschlaefer]

Let town for 6 weeks and forgot to put cart on charger. Got home and it was dead and the charger will not turn on. Someone told me I have to jump charge the batteries so there is enough power to rum the onboard charging computer. Any advise appreciated

Couple of points to consider (assuming you have a gas cart with 12 volt battery):

You probably should borrow someone's car battery charger and put a fresh charge into yours
Secondly, you can get a "trickle" charger at Walmart for under $20 that you can hook up to your battery when your not using it and that will keep a steady, full charge on it. I use these for my motorcycle and carts for years. (Don't leave home without one ������)
Your battery shouldn't run down just sitting there. You may have something drawing power when everything should be off. You might want to have that checked out also

[Belva100$]

Set of jumper cables on TOTV or Nextdoor. $5.

[kkingston57]

6 weeks to drain batteries and sounds like nothing left on. Looks like more than a battery problem. Need a good mechanic

[villagetinker]

OP, after a lot of mixed information and some misinformation, did you ever get your electric cart batteries charged?

[pauld315]

Unless you have a 48V source, jumping won't work. The easiest way is to purchase a 48v trickle charger (pricey) or call your golf cart mobile service to have them come out with a 48v source.

What ? A 48V electric cart normally has 4 - 12 V batteries interconnected. You can charge them one at a time if need be.

[villagetinker]

What ? A 48V electric cart normally has 4 - 12 V batteries interconnected. You can charge them one at a time if need be.

Actually I have seen 8 6 volt batteries, and 6 8 volt batteries, so care must be taken to use the correct charger, if trying to charge individual batteries.

[DAVES]

Let town for 6 weeks and forgot to put cart on charger. Got home and it was dead and the charger will not turn on. Someone told me I have to jump charge the batteries so there is enough power to rum the onboard charging computer. Any advise appreciated

Translation of what people are telling you in original post. I assume you have lead acid batteries but it almost does not matter.

Some say my cart is 48 volts. That is true of many carts. Then you hear it is 6 -8v batteries. It can also be 8-6v batteries or 4-12 v batteries. They all equal 48 6x8,8x6,4x12. Each of those batteries is a pile of cells, each cell, lead acid is 2 volts.

You are not supposed to run the batteries all the way down. One cell will always be weaker than the others. When you run the battery too far down the stronger cells will reverse the polarity of the weaker cell and destroy it.

Sometimes you can have someone put a too high voltage charger on it and make it TEMPORARILY work. It is only a very short term fix.

You want to take your charger into a shop and have it checked to see if it is working properly. If there was a short in your battery it may have damaged the charger.
You will likely need to replace the batteries. There is a date code on your batteries.
Will be endless posts. Lead acid batteries, life is 4-6 years.

[DAVES]

Translation of what people are telling you in original post. I assume you have lead acid batteries but it almost does not matter.

Some say my cart is 48 volts. That is true of many carts. Then you hear it is 6 -8v batteries. It can also be 8-6v batteries or 4-12 v batteries. They all equal 48 6x8,8x6,4x12. Each of those batteries is a pile of cells, each cell, lead acid is 2 volts.

You are not supposed to run the batteries all the way down. One cell will always be weaker than the others. When you run the battery too far down the stronger cells will reverse the polarity of the weaker cell and destroy it.

Sometimes you can have someone put a too high voltage charger on it and make it TEMPORARILY work. It is only a very short term fix.

You want to take your charger into a shop and have it checked to see if it is working properly. If there was a short in your battery it may have damaged the charger.
You will likely need to replace the batteries. There is a date code on your batteries.
Will be endless posts. Lead acid batteries, life is 4-6 years.

Those suggesting charging one battery at a time. If, you measure it you will find the charger puts out a higher voltage than the battery. To get current to flow into the battery you are trying to charge the charger must be higher voltage than the battery. A 12 volt battery and a 6 volt charger the battery may well destroy the charger or blow a fuse, a circuit breaker etc. You can buy a 6v charger for cars.
Many be hard to find. Six volt systems were used in antique cars. I think my 64 VW was 6 volts. There are chargers that have a switch 6v and 12 volt. I expect there are 8volt chargers, I've never owned one.

[DAVES]

What ? A 48V electric cart normally has 4 - 12 V batteries interconnected. You can charge them one at a time if need be.

More confusion as posted by me 48v and how you get there 4x12=48, 6x8 is 48, 8x6 is 48.
Why use 6 or 8 batteries when 4x12 is 48. That answer is total capacity, ampere hours.
You can perhaps think of it as a bucket of water or even a gas tank. A bigger tank will go farther.