aluminum battery tray, best cable for batteries

CoastalCart

Hey there guys!

Had posted a few weeks ago about whether to get an EZGO or Club Car for very light use around our beach house. Despite a deluge of response from the Club Car gang, from what I could finally gather, it seemed that IF we just keep up some preventative maintenance on the frame of the EZGO (washing off regularly, repainting every year or two), we'd be able to get years of good use. So we ended up getting a steal on a '98 series cart (hopefully I'll be saying that still after the work's done), and are digging in replacing stuff.

Battery tray is getting pretty rickety, so could use a replacement. Has anyone used the aluminum ones? They're a bit more than the OEM-style steel versions, but might be worth it? Seems like that would help close the anti-corrosion gap that all of the Club Car gang was touting.

Also, indirectly related - some of the battery cables were missing and I'll be replacing either some or the whole set if I get ambitious. What's the best cable to use? Welding cable? Or would I be better off with marine-grade battery cable? Plan to use tinned lugs, shrink wrap, anti-corrosive coating etc, since we'll be down near the beach.

Thanks!!

BGW

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chloe

I used an aluminum box on my 98. Bolted in with no issues. I actually found it to be the least expensive available.
If you ae going to replace any cables, replace all 13 of them. 4 guage is a good all around choice. Check the sponsors for both of these items.
Just to get you going in the right direction, battery acid can be just as corrosive to aluminum as it is to steel. Salt water as almost as bad. Bottom line, if it's near the beach, it needs to be kept clean and cared for.

wrongway

I had the same line of thought. I used 2 guage welding cable.

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	batteries 001.jpg (512.0 KB, 0 views)

the bear

I see you used the #2 from battery to battery but you didnt upgrade the two wires feeding the controller. Does this cause heat on those wires? wouldnt it help to upgrade all the wires?

Just trying to learn a little.

wrongway

The wires you see in this pic are the charge wires. The 2 gauge wires going to the controller and the ones from the controller to the motor were not in this pic. Sorry I didn't catch that. Maybe this is a better pic for those wires.

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chloe

I went with 2 guage also. If for no other reason than it permits other performance upgrades, should I want them.

CoastalCart

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Right after I bought the aluminum rack, I had an "oh no" moment when I came across an old post of Scotty B's in regard to pairing up steel and aluminum, and how the dissimilarity of the two metals would cause one to corrode at an accelerated pace (I think it was the flip of this discussion, as the guy was contemplating putting a steel battery box in a Club Car). It would be just my luck that I would buy an aluminum battery rack to prevent corrosion to a replaceable item, and as a result cause accelerated corrosion to my more-critical steel frame.

Has anybody dealt with this? I came across this article which was pretty informative - written in regard to trailers made out of a combination of steel and aluminum.

http://trailer-bodybuilders.com/mag/...imilar_metals/

My takeaway from the article is that if you try to minimize the contact between the two (be it with paint, polypropylene tape, etc) and keep the pieces clean and dry, you'll help yourself out. Am I overthinking this?

Wouldn't be as concerned if the cart weren't going to be constantly exposed to humid, salty air

chloe

In your case, I would indeed use every means to protect both the steel and the aluminum. The corrosive effects of dissimilar metals will most likely be multiplied in the moist salt air. Paint or even better, the spray-on urethane, would probably be the best way to go. Don't forget to tape off bolts and other attachment pieces before you spray.