Golf Cart Battery Box

Inspecting the golf cart battery box is one task that many vehicle owners overlook or simply ignore. This can be a costly mistake. While the golf cart battery box does not have any sex appeal, it is still one of the most important parts of your vehicle. When things begin to go wrong in this area, they never get better on their own. In fact, they only progress further toward complete disaster. This article looks at a few of the things you should look for when you do your inspection of your golf cart battery box.

Most owners like to do a good cleaning of their vehicle at least once a year. This is the perfect time to check out that golf cart battery box. While you have the power source out of the vehicle and most other items are either in the upright position or pulled out of the vehicle, the area you want to look at is easy to see and easy to reach. Why pass up this opportunity when it is right there at your fingertips?

Once the batteries are out of the vehicle, begin your inspection. You may need a flashlight in order to get a really good look at all of the corners. Begin your inspection by doing a visual exam of the area. What you are looking for is anything out of the ordinary. This might include chipping paint, pools of liquid, cracks, dents, and just plain old debris.

One caution here: if you find liquid inside the golf cart battery box, do not poke your finger in it. It might be acid from the batteries and that is corrosive and cause burns. If there is not good reason for that liquid to be there, for example you did not just wash the vehicle down with a hose, then the chances that it came from the batteries is good. This means you should inspect each of your batteries carefully before you put them back in. The presence of fluid does not always mean your batteries are leaking. This could be left over water from a recent rain or recent washing. However, until you rule out the possibility of leakage, do assume it is simple runoff water from something else.

The same is true if you notice corrosion on the bottom or sides of the golf cart battery box. This corrosion is often a sign of some type of leakage. This does not mean that your batteries have a hole in them. It might simply mean that the vent caps are loose or perhaps one is missing. The trick here is to visually inspect all of your batteries and find that reason fluid is leaking out onto the enclosure.

If you find corrosion, you need to repair that as soon as possible. Corrosion inside the golf cart battery box that is left untreated will only get worse. The chemical reaction has already started and it has to be stopped. You can often deactivate this reaction with some baking soda and water. Pour the powder on, add a little water, let it sit for a few moments and then rinse off. Once the greenish gunk is gone, you can use a still brush to scrape off the rest. If the reaction has eaten holes through the golf cart battery box, you may need to get some body work done.