2023 Yamaha gas golf cart - Battery Drain
 

I have a 2023 Yamaha gas golf cart bought from the Villages. I’ve had three recent instances in which the battery has drained and left me stranded. The cart does have those LED strip lights on the side that run whenever the cart is on. In each of the three cases, I’ve connected a small battery charger (not a battery tender) which charges it back up to full strength in about 24-48 hours using the low-power mode.

After this third time, I called the service department to schedule service. They mentioned to me that if I’m not driving it near daily for at least five miles, the cart doesn’t have enough time to fully recharge the battery. I live close to a championship course and just doing a round of 18 ( stop, start, stop, start )isn’t enough time to recharge the battery. Seems a bit strange to get such advice from the service department, as I’m picturing every cart barn at any club would just be full of carts sitting around on battery chargers every night.

It’s getting more difficult to be able to trust the cart won’t leave me stranded. I’m tempted to take it back and ask them to put those running lights on a [on/off] switch to minimize the drain.

What are others doing? Is this normal? How often do you connect your battery tender?

Thank you in advance. :-)

My 2023 has been sitting in the garage since September. It’s driven for 5-10 minutes once per month and it hasn’t drained the battery. Also it should have a quick disconnect on the battery that you just turn. That will help if you aren’t driving it much. Our salesperson showed us this.

Need to load test the battery and see if you any drain while it’s setting. Also probably need to check volts when engine running. I find that story hard to believe also. This device will tell you exactly what you’re battery doing.

ANCEL BST200 or similar.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kDc8gAypW4


If all else fails to find anything get bigger (CCA) battery. I sure they put the cheapest one they could buy in cart.

Sounds like you have a parasitic drain happening somewhere in your your system. I had one on our car a couple years back. Found out of all things it was the car's radio console intermittently coming on. The radio itself was still off but the console was shorted. I found it and replaced it.

The lights won't drain the battery unless they are on. In your garage they ought to be off so not a problem.

I can imagine you might have a problem if:
- You live close to the course and don't drive far to get there
- You do a lot of stopping and starting with only a short distance in between (like on a golf course)
- You leave the key on the whole time

With the key on, the headlights or running lights will be on using some small amount of charge. Every time you start moving the starter motor uses some amount of charge to get the cart moving. If you only drive a short distance the amount of charge put back into the battery would be less than what is taken out - over time you lose ground.

If that is what is happening then over a matter of time (a month maybe?) the battery will eventually lose enough charge that it will not start.

Going for a longer drive or attaching a charger occasionally should help.

You might also want to check the voltage at the battery, it should be higher when the engine is running. If it is not higher then that would be an indication that the charging circuit is not working correctly which would also explain why it loses charge over time. Hopefully, this is not the problem but it should be covered by warranty if it is.

evfan, a lot of good advice so far. To expand a little, check the small belt to the starter/generator and make sure it is tight. Next if you have a digital meter, set for 20 VDC and connect to the battery terminals should read close to 12.5 VDC, place the golf cart in neutral, and start the cart, at medium RPM, the voltage should go to 14.5 VDC for charging. Final test, disconnect the positive battery lead, set your digital meter for AMPS start at the 5 to 2 amp range, and connect the meter between the battery positive terminal and the positive battery lead, if you get a reading you have a parasitic load. Start removing the fuses one at a time until you find the source of the drain. The repair of the parasitic drain will depend on what is causing it.
Hope this helps.
NOTE: I have the equipment and expertise to help you if you do not, let me know.

Yes, I have the same problem. My cart from Golf Cars at Sumter Landing after 2 years has 40 hours on it. I Ieave it on a trickle charger when I am not in TV but something is draining the battery and I want them to take whatever it is that’s doing that off. I can’t be a slave to driving my cart enough each day just to make sure I don’t get stranded.

THE VILLAGE TINKER IS SPOT ON.... my guess is, it could be anything from a bad relay to
bad starter switch... Let us know after you find the problem...

Mine sits in the garage for months at a time, and starts fine.

A month ago, wife left the key on and the lights drained the battery.

I have this
Amazon.com

I connected to battery, and drove around for about 30 minutes. It’s been fine since.

BTW, I also love this product to fill tires with air every 6 months.
My tires should be at 36 PSI, some were under 20.

I can’t believe that they wouldn’t have you come in so they can check it out. It must be still under warranty. Another thought is the alternator or what ever charges the battery. Once or twice our battery was low after it was sitting but I just connected a jump start battery and drove to charge the battery. I would definitely insist on an appointment, everything here is good advice but why should you do it if it is under warranty.

That happened in our Club Car and it was the radio. There is a non switched hot wire that constantly runs power to the unit to keep the stored radio channels in memory. I disconnected the wire and problem solved. Now we simply have to manually tune the radio. As already mentioned, if you don’t have a radio, there could be several other electrical issues causing either the drain, or lack of charge. The cart obviously should be immediately covered under warranty unless you have done wiring on it yourself since purchasing. Best of luck.

As a couple others have said, we have a 2023 Quietech and our Home Watch service takes it for a short drive every other week. It starts right up each time. I don't think it's normal that your battery is draining that way. Good luck.

Our 2023 quiet tech is doing the same thing. Went away for the weekend and came back it won’t start. This is the third time.

Mine also came from the villages. I Just called and told me if I don’t drive it every day battery needs to be kept on a trickle charger.

My 2006 and 2016 Yamaha, can sit for weeks on end and start right away. We have neighbors with the same issues drive daily or no start. There has to be something going on for all of these carts to Need to be driven daily or it won’t start.

36?

The Yamaha owners manual states 22 PSI, if you are looking at the side of the tires, this is the MAX pressure, not the recommended pressure, and at 36 PSI your tires are going to wear out prematurely.

I looked at the side, saw 36. I guess i will take some air out.

I was informed by a very knowledgeable mechanic that the 22 PSI number has been universally recommended by Yamaha since long before carts were used primarily on pavement. He told me that 22 PSI is ideal for golf course use when the cart is driven on turf or at lower speeds on a cart path. He recommended 30 PSI for Villages use where the carts have high speed gears and are primarily driven on pavement. He said ideally, 28 - 30 in the front tires and 32 - 34 in the rear. I keep our carts at 30 all the way around.

Bad Battery
 

We had a two year old battery on our cart that would charge, but not hold one. I disconnected the terminals and placed it on the charger. It would charge to 100%, but the green charged light would never come on on the charger. Eventually we just replaced it. Zero problems have occurred since the change.

If you ever do replace the battery, the easiest way is to remove the seat, remove the drive handle (there is a retaining clip), remove the panel seat panel (eight pop ins), remove the battery guard plate (2 bolts) and then pull it out. Suitable subs are sold at autozone.

My 2023 Yamaha green knob quick-release on the ground side vibrates loose.
Need to tighten it on occasion.

The cart has a 5-year warranty so just jump it and bring it there and ask for the service manager.

Could be the "Cheetah Speedometer" unit.
 

I had a similar problem with a 2023 Quietech.

The resolution was to fix a wiring error of the "Cheetah Speedometer" unit that resulted in the unit being powered on all the time. After the wiring error was fixed, about a year ago, by Villages Golf Cars, no further battery issues. I noticed after the fix, the speedometer takes a minute or so to activate (syncing with the GPS satellites) after the key switch is off for more than a few minutes, not a problem for me.

Hope this helps

have this for 1/2 the price, sworks great.
Amazon.com

I have the exact same problem with my wife's 2023 QT. Also had the same problem with her 2020 QT that we had to sell because Village Golf Carts in Sumter and Brownwood could not fix the problem. Service manager at Sumter explained to me the same problem and suggested remedy. It makes sense, but I can't believe they don't upgrade the cheap batteries that Yamaha puts in their new carts. I have an EE degree so I understand everyone's suggestions, and I have checked for parasitic loads on both carts (found zero). VGC is apparently now selling all their new carts with a battery tender/maintainer included. A $50 battery tender/maintainer will fix the problem, but it's a pain trying to remember to plug it in.

Had the same problem. Had the shop tow it in. There was a short in the steering column

The same thing happened to us with our 2023 Yamaha cart. We were told by The Villages Golf Cart people that the speedometer with the GPS is what is draining the battery. We had a battery charger installed and now plug it in when not in use.

The LED lights are not enough to drain the battery, you probably have a bad connection somewhere (note ground) but I don't even take mine 5 miles and over 2 years have never had an issue with battery drain. Don't take it to Villages find an independent to look at it, as taking it to Villages just may be your problem with it.

I have had same problem three time. Previously NEVER had to recharge battery even for weeks. IF I wanted to plug in my cart I would have bought an electric vehicle. Seems like too common of a problem now. Could it be inferior batteries or a bad cell or electrical in speedometer. Poor excuse by the Villages

I have a Yamaha quiet tech 2023 also, and I got stuck on the 17th hole at Orange Blossom. The dealer said I let it sit too long to start...this after a full round of golf, and yes that is more than enough to keep the battery from draining on the 17th hole. There is a problem with these carts. I called Yamaha and they would not admit to anything and the dealer is clueless. I now carry a small jump box and turn off the speedometer display when playing golf, looking for possibilities.

I had the same issue with my Yamaha gas cart, I took it in for service and they found that the speedometer on the steering wheel was draining the battery when the cart was turned off. They rewired it and now when I start my cart up it takes 20-30 seconds for the speedometer to calibrate and startup but I no longer have any battery issues.

Same issue with my 2003
 

What replacement battery should I be looking for? Make, model, etc. Want the best/most reliable available. Thx.

As others have said you can have the battery load tested to see if it's defective.

Not that this is completely relevant but I have a 2022 Suzuki king quad and the way they designed the new ones is that there is a load on the battery all the time for the electronics (I don't know anything about golf carts). the place that sold it to me told me to buy a trickle charger that you connect to the battery when you're not riding it. It was like 50 bucks and it works perfect. It has a cable that you attached to the battery and leave there so all you have to do is plug it in to the unit that plugs into the wall. it monitors the state of discharge of the battery and only charge when it needs to.

The main reason they told me to buy it is because in Minnesota, your ATV usually sits for longer period of times during the winter.

The one I have is a YUASA:
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Why not just get rid of the parasitic GPS speedometer? Our carts are set to max out at 20 MPH, so no speedometer needed. If you feel a need to know your traveling speed that bad, there are numerous apps you can use on your phone that are extremely accurate.

The speedometer does not need to be parasitic. While the carts only go 20mph and there are navigation apps on our phones, it is the odometer portion of the GPS speedometer is what I use most often.

My GPS speedometer seems to be wired to turn off completely when the key is turned off. This means it takes a few seconds to find satellites and its location each time I turn it on. Since GPS doesn't work well indoors, it would probably take a few seconds to find its location anyway.

I talked to the Club Car dealer on 441 in Lady Lake. They said to charge my Club Car every day even if I haven't used it.

I use this one and have been very happy with it. I have a pair of water-resistant ones the same company makes for the place "up north" for the jet-ski and the boat. They work great, winter after winter without issue.

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Marine battery
 

I replaced my battery with a Marine starting battery from Autozone. These batteries can take deep discharge much better than standard auto batteries

It shows a lot more information than only speed. Fuel level, heading, temperature, odometer, range until empty, battery voltage, time+date.

Had similar issue with two Yamahas. Went to Advance Auto Parts and purchased a small toggle switch (~$40) for the battery. Literally takes 5 seconds to toggle on or off. I do it each time I start or return to the garage. Problem solved.

I guess I’m a minimalist. Our carts have a fuel gauge, an hour meter, a compass, and I wear an analog wrist watch. Have never felt the need for any additional information while driving the cart.

Did they tell you that before brought cart? Sounds like load to me. Glad mine is older cart I don’t have any problems with it.

2nd article I have seen today about newer golf cart which had unusual problem and Villages Golf Carts gave incompetent answer.

Have had my cart 3 years and use it on short and long trips and let it sit for 7 weeks. Battery still great. 50% of the time I use my golf cart to play champ courses. Probably drive at least 5 miles and cart is probably started about 100 times and cart still starts effortlessly. Most of the other trips are < 2 mile roundtrip jaunts to the local stores.

To answer your last question, have NEVER used a battery tender or a charger. Looks like you have a bad battery that is not capable of taking a charge. Those LED lights(if not on) should not be wiping out the battery. As an aside Villages estimated the cost of replacing the well for the clubs at 2X my actual repair cost at Country Power. Might go to an auto parts store and see if battery is OK