How To Winterize Your Golf Cart

by Matt White November 9, 2021

Park your golf cart in cold weather? Winterizing your golf cart is crucial if you store it and hope for a quick start up in the spring.

While the procedures are a bit different for a gas vs. an electric model, you must clean it and attend to the fuel source and tires for best results.

Before you Start Winterizing your Golf Cart Cleaning your cart body, battery terminal, and tires is important to both maintain the finish and making it easier to work on. Soap, water, and degreaser will clean away this year’s dried sand, mud, grime, and dirt. Pull up the seat to expose the battery and clean the case with water, a combination of baking soda and water, or battery acid neutralizer. Clean the battery terminals and make sure that the cables on the battery are tight and in good shape.

Before starting your winter preparations, you must first determine where you are going to store it. Indoor storage is best. If you have no room in your garage, consider renting a storage unit and towing the cart there. If leaving it outside is your only choice, remove the rain curtain. Position the vehicle in its winter destination, as once you do the next steps, the cart will only move if you push it.

Steps in Winterizing a Gas-Powered Vehicle

For gas powered carts, you should next remove gasoline in the carburetor and fuel tank to prevent leftover fuel from gumming up the works.

Disconnect the fuel line and run the engine until it quits.
Drain the carburetor by loosening the drain screw at the bottom and then tightening it again.
After removing the air filter, spray cylinder oil into the carburetor while operating the starter, and then replace the air filter and reattach the fuel line.
Seal the gas tank to prevent air from getting in by sticking a golf tee in the vent tube, and sealing the edges with duct tape.
Disconnect the battery and spray the terminal with protector spray.
Inflate the tires to 12 to 14 psi and secure the car from rolling with the blocks, without engaging the parking brake.

Protecting an Electric Vehicle

For electric cars, clean the battery as described above, and then:

Remove the battery caps to check the water level in each cell, and if necessary, fill with them with distilled water.
Coat the battery terminals with anti-corrosive gel to prevent corrosion during storage.
Fully charge the battery with a battery charger.
Inflate the tires to 18 to 20 psi secure the car from rolling with blocks, but do not engage the parking.
Put the tow switch to neutral.

Final Storage Tips

The final stage in getting your golf cart ready for winter is to cover it. A light cover will protect it from dust if you store the vehicle inside, whereas you need a heavier cover if you have to leave the cart outside. As a result of your care to protect your vehicle from winter damage, your preparation time to get the cart back on the links will be much shorter next spring. Make winterizing your golf cart a priority now to save time then.

(This article was originally published in Golf Cart Options Magazine)