How to store a golf cart for winter
Written by the Hawke Electric Vehicles Service Team
Quick answer
Storing a golf cart well over winter means fully charging the batteries and keeping them topped up, protecting the tires from flat spots, treating or draining gas fuel, and keeping the cart clean, dry and ventilated. It takes an hour or two to set up and saves a dead pack, corroded terminals and a cart that will not start in spring. The single most important step is battery care.
Tools needed
- Battery charger or maintainer
- Multimeter
- Tire pump and gauge
- Cleaning kit
- Breathable cover
Parts needed
- Distilled water for battery top-up
- Fuel stabiliser for gas carts
- Terminal protector or grease
What this prevents
A winter of neglect is what leaves owners with a dead, sulfated battery pack, corroded terminals, flat-spotted tires, stale gas that will not start the engine, and damp that corrodes connectors. This procedure heads all of that off, so the cart comes out of storage ready to use rather than needing repairs. It applies to both electric and gas carts, with the fuel steps for gas only.
Tools and parts
Parts
- Battery charger or, ideally, an automatic maintainer for the pack
- Distilled water to top off lead-acid cells
- Fuel stabilizer (gas carts only)
- Terminal protector or grease
- Breathable cover, not a sealed plastic sheet
You will also want a multimeter to check pack voltage, a tire pump and gauge, and basic cleaning supplies. This is a low-difficulty job that takes an hour or two to set up, plus a quick check once a month through the winter.
How to do it
1Clean and dry the cart
Wash off grass, mud and salt, then dry the cart thoroughly, paying attention to the underside and around the battery tray where damp lingers.
ExpectedA clean, dry cart; trapped damp and road salt are what start corrosion over a still winter
2Check and top off the batteries
On lead-acid packs, check the electrolyte covers the plates in every cell and top off with distilled water where needed, following the battery watering procedure.
ExpectedEvery cell covered; low cells topped to the correct level before charging, never after
3Fully charge the pack
Give the batteries a full charge so they go into storage at their peak, because a lead-acid battery left partly discharged sulfates and loses capacity over time.
ExpectedA full, rested pack reads about 38.2 V on a 36 V system or about 50.9 V on a 48 V system
4Keep the batteries topped up over winter
Either connect an automatic maintainer suited to your pack, or plan to recharge the pack roughly once a month. Clean the terminals and apply terminal protector before storage.
ExpectedThe pack stays near full through the winter rather than slowly draining dead
5Treat or drain the fuel on gas carts
For a gas cart, either add fuel stabilizer and run the engine briefly to circulate it, or drain the fuel system, so the gas does not go stale and gum the carburetor.
ExpectedStabilized or drained fuel; this is the step that most often decides whether a gas cart starts in spring
6Protect the tires
Inflate the tires to the pressure on the sidewall or in the owner manual, and if the cart will stand for months, move it occasionally or support it so the tires are not loaded in one spot.
ExpectedCorrectly inflated tires that are not left bearing full weight in the same position all winter
7Cover and ventilate
Set the parking brake off to keep the shoes from sticking, or follow the owner manual, then cover the cart with a breathable cover in a dry, ventilated space, not sealed plastic that traps moisture.
ExpectedA dry, covered cart with air able to circulate around it
Check it came through winter
8Recommission in spring
Before first use, measure the pack, reconnect anything you disconnected, check the tire pressures, and on a gas cart confirm the fuel is fresh, then take a gentle first drive.
ExpectedA healthy pack voltage, correct pressures and normal running; anything off is easier to fix now than mid-season
When to get professional help
Call a technician if the pack will not come back to full after storage, if a battery was damaged by a hard freeze while dead, or if a gas cart will not start on fresh fuel after a winter laid up. A pack stored dead can be beyond saving, so if you are unsure about maintainer choice or the batteries are already tired, it is worth a check before the cold sets in rather than after.
Common questions
Should I leave a golf cart on charge all winter?
Use an automatic maintainer built to hold the pack at full and switch itself down, rather than a plain charger left running, which can overcharge. If you do not have a maintainer, recharge the pack roughly once a month instead. The goal is to keep the batteries near full, because a lead-acid pack stored dead sulfates and loses capacity.
Do I need to disconnect the batteries for winter?
It helps reduce the slow drain from onboard electronics, but it is not a substitute for keeping the pack charged. Whether you disconnect or not, the priority is a full pack that is topped up over the winter, with clean, protected terminals.
Can cold weather damage the batteries?
A fully charged lead-acid battery handles cold well, but a dead or partly discharged one can be damaged by a hard freeze because its electrolyte is more likely to freeze. That is another reason to store the pack fully charged and keep it topped up rather than letting it run down.
What about the tires over a long winter?
Inflate them to the correct pressure and, if the cart will stand for months in one spot, move it occasionally or support it so the tires are not loaded in the same place the whole time. This cuts the chance of a flat spot that you feel as a thump when you first drive in spring.
Did this fix it?
Every guide is written from manufacturer service documentation and workshop practice, then reviewed before publication. Read how we write and review our repair guides.