street rod
New Member
What are the pros and cons of run the lights and stereo off the golf cart batteriers are is a aux batterie the best way to go
lights and stereo
- Thread starter street rod
- Start date
StreetGlide
New Member
Hello and welcome to the forum!
Needless to say, operating with an aux battery you don't draw current away from your cart batteries. Using the 48 to 12Vdc converter, you do draw current away from the batteries.
Lights (depending on type and how many) draw between 10 and 15 amps and radio without an amplifier draws 7 to 10 amps. So run time , if you were to run both CONTINUOUSLY from an aux battery, would equal:
amp/hour rating of the battery, divided by 25 amps, multiplied by .75 (75% of usable amp/hour capacity) or as an example: 100 amp/hour divided by 25 = 4 hours times .80 (max) = 3.2 hours.
A more realistic example would be if you ran the lights 10% of the time and the radio 70% of the time: (100 amp/hour /((15 amps x 10%) + (10 amps x 70%))) x 80% = ~30 hours.
so, if you have a place to mount the battery, a 12 Vdc automatic charger, charging it every time you charged the cart would be fine. The cost of the charger and battery would end-up costing about the same as a 25Adc 48 to 12 Vdc converter.
Using the 10%/70% example above, using the 48Vdc battery string, the reduction in cart operating time would end up negligible (since the current draw at 48 Vdc would be less than 0.75 amps).
Another + of using a separate battery would be a likely reduction of motor generated static (Amplitude Modulated) interference trying to listen to the A.M. broadcasts on your radio. Enough to make listening to A.M. pleasurable? Probably not.
If your cart is a IQ cart, the RF interference (overloading the front end of the radio or "over-riding" the F.M stations signals being received) while underway (only) is bad. The aux battery would not really reduce that since the RF is "mostly" radiated to the receivers antenna. While underway in the club car (w/ the IQ) in the 4 that I have listened-to, the radio becomes a "CD player". I am trying to avoid that in my IQ, but not completed yet.
The aux battery makes sense if you don't mind the separate charging. I personally don't like the hassle!
Good luck with that decision!
Needless to say, operating with an aux battery you don't draw current away from your cart batteries. Using the 48 to 12Vdc converter, you do draw current away from the batteries.
Lights (depending on type and how many) draw between 10 and 15 amps and radio without an amplifier draws 7 to 10 amps. So run time , if you were to run both CONTINUOUSLY from an aux battery, would equal:
amp/hour rating of the battery, divided by 25 amps, multiplied by .75 (75% of usable amp/hour capacity) or as an example: 100 amp/hour divided by 25 = 4 hours times .80 (max) = 3.2 hours.
A more realistic example would be if you ran the lights 10% of the time and the radio 70% of the time: (100 amp/hour /((15 amps x 10%) + (10 amps x 70%))) x 80% = ~30 hours.
so, if you have a place to mount the battery, a 12 Vdc automatic charger, charging it every time you charged the cart would be fine. The cost of the charger and battery would end-up costing about the same as a 25Adc 48 to 12 Vdc converter.
Using the 10%/70% example above, using the 48Vdc battery string, the reduction in cart operating time would end up negligible (since the current draw at 48 Vdc would be less than 0.75 amps).
Another + of using a separate battery would be a likely reduction of motor generated static (Amplitude Modulated) interference trying to listen to the A.M. broadcasts on your radio. Enough to make listening to A.M. pleasurable? Probably not.
If your cart is a IQ cart, the RF interference (overloading the front end of the radio or "over-riding" the F.M stations signals being received) while underway (only) is bad. The aux battery would not really reduce that since the RF is "mostly" radiated to the receivers antenna. While underway in the club car (w/ the IQ) in the 4 that I have listened-to, the radio becomes a "CD player". I am trying to avoid that in my IQ, but not completed yet.
The aux battery makes sense if you don't mind the separate charging. I personally don't like the hassle!
Good luck with that decision!
street rod
New Member
thanks slow for ur input had got into the math really that deep but it is a 36 volt cart not sure about IQ just getting into carting have done a cpl hope to have them on cartaholics soon as i learn how to put them on thanks again for ur help kevin
HotRodCarts
Cartaholic
With the 6 volt batteries you can tap off two batteries for your accessories. You'll put more of a load on the batteries your accessories are hooked to so you need to keep the pack balanced. You can charge those two batteries separately every now and then to bring them back up to match the other four. It's also a good idea to rotate to two different batteries once in a while. The extra 12 volt battery is the way to go in my opinion...
StreetGlide
New Member
Just as FYI, the converter I bought works 36Vdc to 12Vdc, as well as 48Vdc to 12Vdc.
The 12 VDC aux battery and the 25Adc still basically same as my post above.
If you have 6 volt batteries the 2 for 12Vdc should work fine for your lights and radio, but if you do go that way I would definitly follow HRC's suggestions regarding charging and rotation.
At least you don't have to worry about the RFI that the IQ radiates!
Good luck!
The 12 VDC aux battery and the 25Adc still basically same as my post above.
If you have 6 volt batteries the 2 for 12Vdc should work fine for your lights and radio, but if you do go that way I would definitly follow HRC's suggestions regarding charging and rotation.
At least you don't have to worry about the RFI that the IQ radiates!
Good luck!