How To Clean Golf Cart Battery Terminals

Tony Lawrence was built-in in 1948 and spent most of his career as a self-employed computer troubleshooter for Unix systems.

Nosotros are able to bulldoze golf carts on the individual roads where we live. It'south a not bad convenience for running down to the postal center or the clubhouse.

That convenience came to a sudden halt one day. I pulled into my driveway later on a trip to get our mail and noticed that my battery meter was fluctuating on and off as I hit minor bumps.

Well, that'due south easy. Something is loose, correct? Probably merely the clips to the meter. I pulled open the seat to take a look.

I felt around with my finger and found that one concluding was very hot. I could besides feel that the nut was loose, so I went to go a wrench and came back to tighten it. I have to bank check these things every at present and so; they don't usually loosen upwards, merely I wasn't concerned. That is, until I establish that I couldn't tighten it down with the wrench. It only spun, because the thread it was attached to was spinning loose in the lead of the bombardment lug.

How to Repair Broken Final Post

Follow these steps carefully.
• Remove battery (use strap if you have one).
• Disconnect battery cablevision.
• Drill pilot hole in battery post no deeper than 3/4 inch.
• Use appropriate size spiral and washer to secure cable tight.

A normal battery mail service and cable.

Y'all can see what a normal battery terminal looks like in the picture abovet. At that place is a threaded lug that sits in a lead tab. That is what had come loose.

In the table above you'll find a summary of the steps I took to repair the loose lug. For more detail and photos, here is where I went to find instructions. It was obvious that these were the correct steps to have, just I was in a bustle and took some shortcuts. I'm going to become back and "do it right" earlier long, only I was able to become the cart going.

The problem was that I couldn't find my tap gear up. That's not something I utilize very frequently. I might have lent it to someone and forgotten nearly it, or peradventure it simply disappeared when nosotros moved. For all I know it got sold at our yard auction forth with other tools I idea I would never demand again. Who remembers? Non me.

Hugger-mugger Male Removal Methods

I called a poker buddy who lives upwards the street and asked if he had a fix. He'd misplaced his also (I nominate tap and dice fix as the most commonly lost tools in our community), and suggested just setting a screw into the lead.

Atomic number 82 is soft. Why non? Drill a little pilot pigsty no more than than three/4 inch deep (deeper and yous'll be into the acrid) and screw in a screw. Not great for maintenance, but information technology sounded like a plan. My poker pal drove down to aid.

I have a lifting strap I bought from Buggies Unlimited. I recall it would have been almost impossible to remove the battery from the carts without information technology. I highly recommend ownership one of these.

Of class we couldn't easily disconnect the cable. There wasn't whatsoever way to grab the bolt to keep it from turning, then I disconnected the cable from the other bombardment instead and then pulled the battery to get it out where we could work on information technology.

We fussed with it for half an hour, trying various futile schemes. I even tried sawing it with a hacksaw. No luck. We finally gave up and I applied the time honored traditional secret male removal technique: creature forcefulness. I tore the damn thing out of the lead with my very angry bare hands.

More Broken Stuff

We were now prepare to make a hole for the screw.

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As I said, lead is soft. It'southward sticky when y'all drill into it, and that acquired me to snap off my first drill bit. Fortunately, it didn't snap off flush, so we were able to grab information technology with pliers and coax it out. I tried again with a slightly larger bit and did it again almost instantly.

Sheesh. We were off to a good start!

I went one size larger, reasoning that would exist harder to break, and handed the drill to my friend to permit him have a cleft at ultimate battery destruction. He managed to drill the necessary pigsty without breaking another bit. Afterwards in the calendar week when we were at poker and it came my turn to deal, I pointedly did non bargain a game he doesn't like. My attempt at payback failed; he lost that hand anyway.

Afterwards repair.

Stock-still!

Nosotros establish an appropriate screw and a contumely washer of the correct size and screwed that cable downwardly tight.

Yeah, I know it will probably come loose only that might be some time from now. These batteries don't last forever, anyhow. They say ii-vii years, with the longer life coming if you lot avert discharging them fully betwixt charges and maintain them religiously. I do that, so I might be good for another five years with some luck.

If it does come up lose, I'll either put in a slightly bigger screw or effort to notice somebody here who still has a tap set. We can't accept all lost everything we ever had, right?

Epilogue

A few days later on I collection down to our garden to pick some squash. Imagine my delight when I got dorsum in the cart and found the battery meter apartment at goose egg. Of form I cursed myself for taking the easy ready and called my wife to come get me.

While waiting for her and kicking the ground petulantly, I opened up the seat to see how bad it was. To my surprise, the screw repair was holding firm. That wasn't the trouble. Fluctuant cables while watching the meter led me to the true source: the other battery terminal!

In our haste to put everything back and my joy at fixing the problem so easily, I had only paw-tightened the opposite, positive terminal, and had put away my wrench without ever snugging information technology down. That had worked loose from the comforting jolts of a golf game cart suspension.

I didn't accept a wrench with me, but I had my fingers, so I practical the Secret Male Brute Strength Bare Finger Tightening Technique. This actually worked well plenty to become me home—with my wife following, just in case. One time home, I tightened it down, still blasphemous softly under my breath.

For some reason my poker buddy thought that was rather funny when I saw him again the following week. Guess which game I plan to bargain every fourth dimension it is my turn?

It's been two weeks now and I have had no more than problems. If I do, and tin't find anyone with a tap set, I'll employ another Secret Male Technique that involves going to the store and buying an overpriced tool that I may never need once more other than to lend to someone and and then promptly forget all most it—until I do need information technology again, of course. Only past so I won't remember who I lent it to.

BANG!

New bombardment in place.

Update

I was driving back from picking some late tomatoes at our garden when a loud POP from under the seat startled me. A few feet later, the cart drifted to a halt.

The battery had blown, every bit seen in the moving-picture show to the right. No, not the post I repaired, the other post. I idea I must take been careless about pushing down on the cap after checking the h2o; bubbling hydrogen gas and a trivial spark paid me for my sloppiness.

Nope, that wasn't information technology. See bad cable causes expensive bombardment replacement for the real story.

That was a $148.00 lesson in bombardment maintenance.

I'll likewise take to get a new cable; the insulation burned away. I patched it with tape for now, merely will need to choice up a new one.

This article is accurate and true to the all-time of the author'due south knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional person advice in business concern, fiscal, legal, or technical matters.

Source: https://axleaddict.com/auto-repair/How-to-repair-a-broken-battery-terminal-post

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