Alright, terrific you just received your new golf cart battery meter from Petes Golf Carts and you are ready to head to the garage and install it on your golf cart. Pete will now walk you thru the install of a new golf cart battery meter to keep up with the current status and state of charge of your golf carts battery bank.
Safety First!
Let’s head to the garage together. Let’s first talk safety, nothing serious here but if you do decide to install on the dash of your golf cart, power tools will make the job a lot easier. So with that being said, watch out for anything long or hanging when using high speed rotary tools, drills, dremels, etc… pull back hair, baggy shirts, tie, sunglasses on strap, etc… and wear safety glasses to avoid eye injuries from flying debris.
What you will need
You will need a few tools and some supplies for this little job installing your golf cart battery gauge.
Tool list
- Dremel or similar tool to cut slot for meter (holesaw and drill if you have a round meter)
- Digital or Analog Voltage Meter
- Razor knife
- Screw drivers
- Wire cutters and striper
- Vice Grips or Crimper
- Butane Torch or Lighter
Supplies
- 3′ of wire 14-18 Gauge (or longer depending on where you intend to install the battery meter)
- Heat shrink or Electrical tape
- Butt Connectors
- F2 terminal Connectors ( Included)
- Mounting Screws (Included)
Step by Step – How to Install Your New Golf Cart Battery Meter
Step One – Where to Mount your Meter?
First let’s determine where you intend to mount the golf cart battery meter?
Step Two – Get started
Let’s assume you are to mount on the dash.
You will then need approx. 3 pieces ( 3 pcs.) of 8-12″ of wire… 14-18 ga. is plenty.
Step Three – Prep your wires
Next prep the ends with the clippers, and strippers for terminal ends and butt connectors. (I recommend the marine-style ones because they have heat shrinking casing and glue inside so once connected and crimped then heated, they create a sealed connection from the outside environment (i.e. – no corrosion).
Step Four – Attach
Now you can attach the provided connectors and butt connectors to the wires.
We do a lot of Club Car Precedent model carts because I like the aluminum frames and lower plastic accessories that are easy to replace and are readily available in the event of damage.
So I will use this as a subject for this installation.
Note: All golf carts are very similar in nature so if you have a different model Club Car, you will most likely look at the same stuff I describe here in this article, or if you own a Ezgo or Yamaha golf cart likewise.
If you own a Club Car Precedent it will have an extra set of wires coming off the wire harness behind the dash and ignition switch. These wires are designed exactly for this type of battery indicator gauge or battery meter and will reflect the current battery bank voltage… Check with your multi-meter/digital voltage meter to be sure before connecting the prepared wires you are grabbing the correct wires.
Should indicate approx. 48v or 51 volt or so if fully charged battery bank. Sometimes you can use those wires directly to the meter. If you mount the meter close enough to the switch, the factory wires will reach.
Note: Some models of golf carts will require wires run from the positive and negative terminals on the battery bank to get the battery bank voltage. An alternative is tracking down the input voltage on a golf cart voltage reducer that are on some custom golf carts that have other 12v accessories like stereo or lights.
Step Five – Connect the signal terminal to ignition
Next step will be to connect the wire to the signal terminal on the meter to the ignition. You will need to add a jumper from the ignition on /off switch to the tab on the bottom of the battery gauge which is a signal wire. This way the meter only comes on when you turn the golf carts ignition on.
All of these meters are also clearly marked on back of the meter.
