Are you thinking about upgrading your golf cart to lithium batteries but uncertain about what you'll need for the conversion? If you're exploring lithium batteries for your golf cart, it's likely that you're looking to replace the original lead-acid batteries to enjoy the many advantages of lithium power. Converting to a lithium-ion golf cart battery can be a straightforward process, but it largely depends on the specific lithium option you choose for your vehicle. Here are some key considerations to keep in mind before selecting the lithium golf cart battery for your conversion.
What Size Battery Do I Need?
The first thing to consider when upgrading to lithium is to choose a drop-in replacement battery that fits your existing setup. The most common lead-acid golf cart battery is the group-size GC2/GC8. By selecting a lithium battery of the same size, such as 48V lithium golf cart battery, you can simplify the installation process, as it will fit directly into your existing battery compartments without the need for any modifications.
Next, assess your battery size requirements, we often recommend our InSight 48V battery, which provides 48 volts and 30 amp-hours, making it suitable for 48V golf carts. These batteries connect in parallel, allowing you to scale your power as needed. With 8-volt lead-acid batteries, you must use six batteries to achieve the required 48 volts for your vehicle. While various batteries are available with different energy capacities, once you choose a specific one, you're committed to that capacity for the lifespan of the battery set. For instance, if you install batteries with 170 amp-hours, that will be your capacity for the entire battery set's life.
When using a 48V lithium battery connected in parallel, you aren't restricted to a specific number of batteries to meet voltage requirements—you can install as many batteries as needed to achieve your desired mileage range. Depending on your needs, you can use as few as two batteries or up to six in a typical golf cart.
How Do I Determine My State of Charge?
Consider installing a fuel gauge to easily monitor your state of charge. Over time, we've found that voltage-based gauges are not reliable for measuring lithium battery chemistry. That's why we developed a fuel gauge that receives real-time current data from all parallel-connected battery CANs, calculating the remaining amp-hours as a percentage from 0 to 100%.
The fuel gauge provides various messages during its operation, such as the number of batteries detected and the state of charge expressed as a percentage. It also displays a "LOBATT" message when the battery bank drops below 20% state of charge, and this message will flash when the level falls below 10%. Additionally, RELiON offers a remote button that can be mounted externally to the battery compartment, allowing you to turn all batteries connected in parallel on and off with a single button press. If you purchase both the remote button and the fuel gauge, a CAN splitter cable is included, but make sure to choose the correct length for the wire harness based on the distance between the battery compartment and your desired mounting location.
When upgrading your vehicle to lithium batteries, a suitable charger is essential. Before discussing the recommended chargers, you need to confirm a few things. First, ensure that the charge profile on your charger is appropriate for lithium batteries by checking the voltage setpoints. You can find the voltage setpoints for our batteries in the lithium battery charging instructions document on our website.
For optimal performance, select a lithium battery and charger that either comes pre-loaded or can be loaded with the correct charging algorithm. If you're uncertain about your charger or the availability of an appropriate algorithm, reach out to the manufacturer for guidance on effectively charging your lithium batteries.
Your message must be between 20-3,000 characters!
