So, what can you do? For starters, don’t toss your golf cart’s old battery into a bin with your household recyclables and leave it on the curb. The battery, also referred to as a lead-acid battery, contains about 21 pounds of lead, three pounds of plastic and one gallon of sulfuric acid. These items can be toxic if handled improperly.

If you are the do-it-yourself type, take your spent battery to a quality auto parts retailer that is committed to battery recycling.

Approximately 90 percent of all lead acid batteries are recycled. Almost any retailer that sells lead-acid batteries collects used batteries for recycling, as required by most state laws. Reclaimers crush batteries into nickel-sized pieces and separate the plastic components. They send the plastic to a reprocessor for manufacture into new plastic products and deliver purified lead to battery manufacturers and other industries.

Many states have regulations in place requiring battery recycling. (Thirty-seven states in the U.S. require lead-acid battery recycling; making retailers collect used lead-acid batteries from customers who buy new batteries.)

As neither sulphuric acid nor lead are exactly good for the environment you have to be careful when you dispose of old lead acid batteries. Leave it for recycling. You can also leave your old battery where you buy your new one. If that should not be the case, contact your local municipality to check where you can safely dispose of old batteries. In the old days, when we changed a battery, we threw out the old one and never gave it a second thought. Today, we know better. We know that:

• Individuals who become poisoned by lead can experience symptoms including irritability, stomach aches, poor appetite, diarrhea, colic, distractibility, and lethargy;

• Lead acid typically consists of 40% sulfuric acid, a corrosive that can burn skin; and

• The improper disposal of lead-acid batteries can contaminate soil and water. The toxic metal is not able to dissolve in water or biodegrade, dissipate, decay, or burn, making it an extremely harmful hazard.

It seems as if most people take this seriously. Battery lead is the most highly recycled consumer product and about 93% of all battery lead is recycled. Help in making sure we go towards 100%!

For additional information on golf cart batteries including how lead acid batteries work; how to use a hydrometer; changing batteries and troubleshooting golf cart batteries, please visit:

The Electric Golf Cart Battery Guide

First of all you should clean your golf cart batteries and ensure that all the cell caps are snugly attached. Then unplug the charger and wash the battery compartment. Spray Battery Neutralizer all over the tops of the batteries by starting on one side of the golf cart. Be sure to spray between the batteries, down on the battery racks, and the inside walls of the body panels, if they are metal. Use an old paintbrush to scour all the battery tops and sides. Water from a garden hose using plain water, or use a solution of Baking Soda (about 2 tablespoons to 1 gallon of water) to neutralize the acid.

Clean, tighten, check and treat all of the battery terminal connections. Be sure the cables are tight to the post. Carefully wriggle each cable end side-to-side and then gently up & down. There should be no looseness or sideways movement. If your battery terminals are badly corroded, you will need to do some serious cleaning.

Check the water levels in each cell. Make sure the electrolyte (distilled water) in each battery cell is above the plates. In cold climates, when the cart will be left uncharged for several months, leave the water level a little low. This raises the specific gravity of the acid, which will help prevent freezing. A lead acid battery keeps much better in the cold than in the heat, as long as the charge stays up.

A fully charged battery will not freeze until 60 to 70 below zero whereas a discharged battery can freeze at 20 degrees above zero. As a battery discharges, the acid turns into water by the basic chemical nature of the lead acid battery. The more discharge, the more water and the more likely it is to freeze. Also a dirty, acid covered battery will self-discharge at a faster rate than a clean treated battery, even in cooler temperatures.

Don’t leave your electric golf cart plugged into the charger for extended periods of time. After the charge is done, unplug the charger from the cart and from the wall.

Turn the key off and leave the cart in neutral. Either way, scotch the wheels so you can leave the hill brake released. This prevents strain on the cables and the brake shoes can’t lock to the drums.

Plug your Charger in for a few hours once a month to insure a full charge is maintained If you are not going away for the winter. The charger should be unplugged from the car and the wall after charging.

Finalize for winter storage by checking the tire pressures and inflate to 20-25 psi.

Roll down the rain curtains and zip them part way down. If you have to leave the cart under an open shed, or out in the open, neatly fold the rain curtain and bring it in the house till Spring. Very cold weather will cause the see through vinyl to become very brittle and a puff of wind will blow it out.

For additional information on electric golf cart batteries including how lead acid batteries work; charging batteries; how to use a hydrometer and troubleshooting golf cart batteries, please visit:

The Electric Golf Cart Battery Guide