Volt Meter or State of Charge

[RLTexas]

2004 E-Z-Go cart w/o any battery montoring. After reading in forum, it sounds like I should install a voltage meter vs. a state of charge meter to monitor batteries. Any comments? Thanks!!!

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by RLTexas

2004 E-Z-Go cart w/o any battery montoring. After reading in forum, it sounds like I should install a voltage meter vs. a state of charge meter to monitor batteries. Any comments? Thanks!!!

A real-time digital battery voltage meter is the most accurate way to monitor battery state of charge. By comparing the voltage readings to a state of charge chart you can easily know when to head back to recharge, know if you have a battery problem, or know if your charger is working properly.
There are a few out there but none have proved better than mine. Click the battery meter link below for more info.

[Rickochet]

Here is mine which I got from Scottyb and added a rocker switch and SOC chart over the tee holder. I have read that the bar type SOC meters are often inaccurate.

[RLTexas]

Thanks, looks good to me. Do you also sell wiring harness? Is installation fairly straightforward?

[Rickochet]

Originally Posted by RLTexas

Thanks, looks good to me. Do you also sell wiring harness? Is installation fairly straightforward?

IIRC there are only two screw terminals on the meter, "+" and "-". I wanted to turn the meter on and off so I added a rocker switch. So my (+) went from the hot side of the key switch to the to the rocker switch to the (+) terminal on the meter. I had a ground (-) from the battery pack to my lights switch in the dash so I tied the (-) into that. If you don't have a ground you will need one from the battery pack. Do not ground it to the cart frame. The key switch panel comes out very easily. Just punch out the center of the two punch rivets in the key panel and it lifts out. I think Scotty includes two rivets with the meter.

[RLTexas]

Great! So I don't need to run it directly to the batteries. That makes things much easier. Thanks for the advice!

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by RLTexas

Great! So I don't need to run it directly to the batteries. That makes things much easier. Thanks for the advice!

Direct to the batteries is good, some carts have shown as much as a .5 volt drop in readings taken through the ignition switch.
The led meter draw is negligible, so constant on operation is not a problem, our test meter is still on 3 years later...

[Rickochet]

Originally Posted by RLTexas

Great! So I don't need to run it directly to the batteries. That makes things much easier. Thanks for the advice!

I have a correction to my earlier posting. I just checked and I did not use power from the key switch to power the volt meter. I must have been considering that but did not for some reason. I did change out the key switch for one with lights. I am old and have CRS disease (Can't Remember Sqaut).

I ran two dedicated wires from the battery pack to the meter with an inline fuse on the "+". Running the wires is no big deal. I put the wires inside some plastic "split loom" then ran it through some pre punched holes in the frame and up though the front wheel well into the cavity behind the dash and attached the loom with a few cable ties. You don't have to jack the cart up or drill any holes. If you get the switchplate from Scotty after removing the key plate there is enough room to get you hand in the area and grab the wire.

[chad23]

I installed the plate and meter from Scotty. He sends directions that are very easy to follow. Im Polish and figured it out.

[Bud Man]

Originally Posted by chad23

I installed the plate and meter from Scotty. He sends directions that are very easy to follow. Im Polish and figured it out.

Got the same setup from Scotty and installed yesterday very easy and looks great

PS: Dont forget an inline fuse just to be safe.