Can you charge golf cart battery too much? What Myrtle Beach experts say

Constantly charging your golf cart may be more dangerous than you think, according to the Myrtle Beach Fire Department.

Thousands of people either own or rent golf carts in the Myrtle Beach area.

Many those people will often leave their vehicle charging for long periods of time. However, golf cart batteries can overheat and spill out a noxious odor, called carbon monoxide.

Although golf cart fires don’t happen frequently, it does happen, including a recent call to the Myrtle Beach Fire Department, Myrtle Beach Fire Department Public Information Officer Jon Evans said.

The bottom line is that it’s important to not overcharge the battery, Evans said.

“It’s really just like your phone. You wouldn’t leave a charger plugged in all the time because it could cause issues with the battery like overheating,” Evans said. “Plug [it] in overnight or while you’re gone. If it’s low when you get back, plug it in, set a timer. That way it’s not constantly on that charger.”

But some disagree that over charging is a major concern.

Scott Watson has been working for Graham Golf Cars for more than 25 years, he said. He’s now the service manager, and said that he hasn’t seen a golf cart burn for years.

“I have a golf cart in my garage,” Watson said. “I wouldn’t think twice about plugging it in and leaving it.”

Most of the malfunctions that Watson sees is from exposed wires or another defect, never a charger itself, he said.

The main risk comes from people not using the charger that comes with the golf cart and using a third-party charger instead, Evans said. Many third-party chargers do not have the same safety features that the original may have which can cause overheating.

Watson also recommended golf cart owners avoid using after market chargers. Many of those chargers do not have the right amperage to properly charge a cart battery, Watson explained.

But almost all sold golf carts come with automatic chargers, Watson said. Automatic chargers prevent overcharging and a check on the battery’s life and cleanliness to prevent accidents or malfunction.

Evans added that he wasn’t sure if anyone in Myrtle Beach has gotten carbon monoxide poisoning from overcharging a golf cart, but it’s a possibility that was worth bringing up during a Market Common neighborhood watch meeting.

Evans did not provide exact numbers of incidents the fire department has responded to because of faulty golf cart charging, but he said that the fire department had to respond to a call near his house in the north end recently.

Fire Department calls are not categorized by cause, so he would have to go through every fire department call and determine which ones were because of a golf cart, Evans said.

“It’s not like an epidemic or anything,” Evans said. “It’s just one of those things to think about that if you have a battery golf cart to take the proper steps to charge it properly and and prevent that happening.”

Watson explained that although golf cart overcharging or burning has happened, people shouldn’t be too worried about taking care of their batteries.

There aren’t any reports of a golf cart battery burning or malfunctioning at golf courses, Watson said.

“People are fine charging their golf carts in their garages if they have to. Absolutely 100%,” Watson said. “They do it all the time. They do it at golf courses every day.”