How to Hook Up a Battery Maintainer to a 48V Golf Cart
How to Hook Up a Battery Maintainer to a 48V Golf Cart
If you store your golf cart for long periods of time, a battery maintainer can help keep your batteries fully charged and ready to go when you need them. In this tutorial, we walk you through how to properly connect a battery maintainer to a 48-volt golf cart battery pack.
What Is a Battery Maintainer?
A battery maintainer is a small charger designed to keep batteries fully charged during periods of non-use. They are especially helpful for golf carts that sit unused for extended periods, such as during the winter months.
Once connected, a maintainer can be left on the golf cart for months at a time to help keep the batteries charged. We use a Schauer 48V, 2.5A Electronic Battery Maintainer in this tutorial.
1. Finding the Right Connection Points
One of the most common questions about connecting a maintainer to a golf cart is: “Where exactly do I hook it up?”
A 48-volt golf cart typically uses six 8-volt batteries connected in a series string. The six batteries are connected positive to negative, creating one continuous 48-volt system.
When you look under the seat, the wiring can seem overwhelming and look like a snake’s nest of cables, but you don’t need to disconnect anything. You just need to identify the beginning and end of the battery string.
The terminals you’re looking for are the two cables that go into the cart’s controller:
- One positive terminal
- One negative terminal
The other battery terminals are connected from one battery to another. The two terminals that go into the cart are the ones you’ll use for your maintainer.
2. Confirm the Voltage Before Connecting
Before attaching the maintainer, we recommend using a multimeter to confirm you’ve identified the correct terminals.
Place the multimeter leads on the suspected positive and negative terminals. A properly identified 48-volt battery pack should read around 49 volts, confirming you’ve found the correct connection points.
3. Connecting the Battery Maintainer
Once you’ve identified the correct terminals:
- Connect the negative clip from the maintainer to the negative battery terminal.
- Connect the positive clip from the maintainer to the positive battery terminal.
- Turn on the maintainer.
The maintainer we use in the tutorial has indicator lights that show its charging status:
- Red indicates AC power is connected.
- Yellow indicates bulk charging.
- Green indicates the unit has moved into float mode.
The amount of time it takes to reach float mode depends on the current state of charge of the batteries.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
When placing the maintainer, make sure the metal case is not touching any battery terminals.
Once connected, the maintainer will keep the battery voltage where it needs to be and help prevent the batteries from sitting discharged for extended periods.
If you have questions about connecting a battery maintainer to your golf cart, contact PLP Battery Supply. We’re happy to help you find the right solution for your battery needs.