[Teleplayer]

My golf cart battery has been showing a constant 14.7-14.9 volts (on the Striker Speedometer) until today, when I went to play golf, the cart would hesitate on start-up, sometimes seeing the voltage drop to 8-9 volts, and start up veeeery slowly before reaching normal speed while increasing to 11.7 volts when running at normal speed. At times a red light would flash in the upper right corner of the speedometer.

At the turn, I left my cart and rode with another player.

On the way home, there was less hesitation and the voltage was around 13-13.1.

Do I need a new battery? If so, where's the best place to buy one? Costco? Walmart, One of the auto supply places?

Thanks in advance.

[NoMo50]

You don't say how old your battery is. But...if you need a new one, the place to go is Rural King in Leesburg. You can get a new battery there for about $75.00 with a 5 year warranty. Their batteries are made by Exide.

[CarlR33]

Most auto parts places can do a load check on the battery to see if it’s near the end of life. If the battery is just old then replace it. My wife’s car was nearing the end of life so pro active I stopped by and had it checked and sure enough it was near the end.

[tophcfa]

Batteries are typically good for about 4-6 years with frequent use or if it’s left on a trickle charger when not used for long periods of time. In the intense Florida heat in garages, they tend to last on the lower end of their expected life, especially if left for extended periods not hooked up to a trickle charger. As already stated, a load test would indicate if your battery needs replacement. I have one at our Villages home that you could borrow, but unfortunately we won’t be there for another month. A good battery should read about 12.6 standing volts (using a multi meter) and about 14.5 volts when the cart is running and getting a charge from the cart’s alternator. I’ve heard that rural king has good battery deals, but have never been there. Costco sells good quality interstate batteries at a very reasonable price. If your cart is a Yamaha, they sell a crap load of the batteries that fit them at a fraction of the price of Auto Parts stores. It’s best to call first to be sure they have them in stock because they fly off the shelves there.

[JD Tremor]

I skipped the good deals as wife and my carts were having battery issues periodically.... I put in a WattCycle 100ah smart mini LIFPO4 battery in each. You can monitor several parameters from the app. SOC, charging/discharging watts, time to dead, based on current use etc.
I like being able to monitor them. Not to mention they have a smaller form factor and are significantly lighter than the Group 24 batteries (making them easier to remove/replace if necessary). At slightly less than $200 they are about the same as a quality AGM group 24 battery.

Been using them for well over a year and they work like a charm. Also, the built in BMS (Battery Management System) allows you to actually turn off the battery from the app (both charging and discharging separately if you want) So when cart isn't being used for awhile, just turn off the battery with the app. Also the BMS prevents overcharging, as it will cut off the charging if the cart generator is providing too many volts (common in the Yamaha gas carts, I understand)

Not everyone's cup of tea, but we like them.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

My battery just died. Yamaha 5 year old battery, I charged it to 12.5 V, but with the battery disconnected, the battery wouldn't hold the voltage overnight, it lost 3/4 of a volt each night. . That means the battery is dead, can't hold a charge, time to replace.

And Yamaha batteries take tools to get out, loosening the heat shield, etc. .

[Teleplayer]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

My battery just died. Yamaha 5 year old battery, I charged it to 12.5 V, but with the battery disconnected, the battery wouldn't hold the voltage overnight, it lost 3/4 of a volt each night. . That means the battery is dead, can't hold a charge, time to replace.

And Yamaha batteries take tools to get out, loosening the heat shield, etc. .

My old man is a television repair man. He has an ultimate set of tools. I can fix it!

-Jeff Spicoli

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

My battery just died. Yamaha 5 year old battery, I charged it to 12.5 V, but with the battery disconnected, the battery wouldn't hold the voltage overnight, it lost 3/4 of a volt each night. . That means the battery is dead, can't hold a charge, time to replace.

And Yamaha batteries take tools to get out, loosening the heat shield, etc. .

It’s a pain in the a$$ to swap out the battery in a Quiet tech versus an older Yamaha g29, which only takes about 5 minutes. The price of making the cart quieter I guess?

[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by Teleplayer

My golf cart battery has been showing a constant 14.7-14.9 volts (on the Striker Speedometer) until today, when I went to play golf, the cart would hesitate on start-up, sometimes seeing the voltage drop to 8-9 volts, and start up veeeery slowly before reaching normal speed while increasing to 11.7 volts when running at normal speed. At times a red light would flash in the upper right corner of the speedometer.

At the turn, I left my cart and rode with another player.

On the way home, there was less hesitation and the voltage was around 13-13.1.

Do I need a new battery? If so, where's the best place to buy one? Costco? Walmart, One of the auto supply places?

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like a bad, loose or corroded connection on the battery, the starter solenoid or the motor/generator. It could also be the early signs of a single cell failure in the battery. I would take out the existing battery to an auto parts store and ask them to test it, then you can make a decision on replacing the battery.
If the battery tests good, then you need to look at the starting solenoid and the started/generator brushes.

[Win1894]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Batteries are typically good for about 4-6 years with frequent use or if it’s left on a trickle charger when not used for long periods of time. In the intense Florida heat in garages, they tend to last on the lower end of their expected life, especially if left for extended periods not hooked up to a trickle charger. As already stated, a load test would indicate if your battery needs replacement. I have one at our Villages home that you could borrow, but unfortunately we won’t be there for another month. A good battery should read about 12.6 standing volts (using a multi meter) and about 14.5 volts when the cart is running and getting a charge from the cart’s alternator. I’ve heard that rural king has good battery deals, but have never been there. Costco sells good quality interstate batteries at a very reasonable price. If your cart is a Yamaha, they sell a crap load of the batteries that fit them at a fraction of the price of Auto Parts stores. It’s best to call first to be sure they have them in stock because they fly off the shelves there.

Suggest not putting a battery on a trickle charger. Instead put it on a battery tender, not the same thing as a trickle charger.

[Teleplayer]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

Sounds like a bad, loose or corroded connection on the battery, the starter solenoid or the motor/generator. It could also be the early signs of a single cell failure in the battery. I would take out the existing battery to an auto parts store and ask them to test it, then you can make a decision on replacing the battery.
If the battery tests good, then you need to look at the starting solenoid and the started/generator brushes.

Exactly what I was thinking. Except I didn't know the names of all of those other parts. The connection's are not loose, nor corroded.

Actually, what I was thinking was that it might not be the battery and it might be the starter (I have no idea where that is or how to test it). I lifted the seat, checked the connections, looked at some other things that the battery was connected to and decided, "Welp, I'm out!" Auto repair was never one of my strong suits.

I watched a video on how to remove the battery. To quote Dana Carvey as GWB, "Not gonna' Happen".

I called Todd Casey. He's coming by tomorrow.

[Teleplayer]

Originally Posted by Win1894

Suggest not putting a battery on a trickle charger. Instead put it on a battery tender, not the same thing as a trickle charger.

I had a battery tender when I wasn't here full time.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

My battery just died. Yamaha 5 year old battery, I charged it to 12.5 V, but with the battery disconnected, the battery wouldn't hold the voltage overnight, it lost 3/4 of a volt each night. . That means the battery is dead, can't hold a charge, time to replace.

And Yamaha batteries take tools to get out, loosening the heat shield, etc. .

Originally Posted by tophcfa

It’s a pain in the a$$ to swap out the battery in a Quiet tech versus an older Yamaha g29, which only takes about 5 minutes. The price of making the cart quieter I guess?

Mine died at just about 5 years also.

There should be a YouTube that show how to remove the battery by taking off the panel and sliding the battery to the front. Need to remove the clip for the Forward/Reverse lever then a few push pins and it should slide right out. Here is one video, use the alternate method starting at 6:34.

I made a mistake when I replaced mine and purchased the wrong one. Mine was a group 24 but I purchased a 24F instead. I won't make that mistake again.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Win1894

Suggest not putting a battery on a trickle charger. Instead put it on a battery tender, not the same thing as a trickle charger.

A better tender is a trickle charger that has a sensor that suspends the charge when the battery is fully charged. We only use trickle chargers that have that technology built in.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Teleplayer

At times a red light would flash in the upper right corner of the speedometer.

Originally Posted by villagetinker

Sounds like a bad, loose or corroded connection on the battery, the starter solenoid or the motor/generator.
If the battery tests good, then you need to look at the starting solenoid and the started/generator brushes.

Depending on the sequence of the flashing light on the speedometer, it could indicate the source of the problem and very well be one of the issues listed by VT. Our Yamaha G29 had a 46 code (four long flashes followed by 6 fast flashes), which indicated a charging system or voltage supply problem. I changed out the starter/generator brushes and still got the code. Then I replaced the voltage regulator and problem solved.