Do you leave cart unattended while charging?

[Bo799]

Just got a new to me 99 series 36v txt. Great forum. I have really learned a lot about the cart and how to spend a truck load of money making it right.
My cart stays in a building on the family property 7mi away. I have been hesitant to leave it charging while I am away. So I never have a fully charged cart. I know it is a pile of mechanical stuff and anything can go wrong, but is there any real risk to leave it charging overnight? There is a lot of crap in the building that I can't afford to replace if something burned it all down. So what do y'all do?
Thanks

[Bowslayer]

I charge mine overnight all the time unattended. It's charging right now :-). Not keeping the batteries fully charged as much as possible will kill them in short order.

[Bowslayer]

Here's a thought for you, buy a timer that plugs into your outlet and then the charger plugs into the timer. That way if for some reason the charger does not turn off automatically the timer will shut it off. Just set the timer to go off in 12 hours or something like that.

[scottyb]

Hundreds of thousands of golf carts are recharging in the dark unattended tonight as we sleep. You very rarely ever hear of a fire from one. It is much more likely your electric panel or your water heater will start a fire than your golf cart. Both the cart and the charger have fuses. Keep your batteries charged up & Sleep well.

[Bo799]

Thanks I will go by and plug it in in the am.

[scottyb]

Go check it again on your way home, A bad battery can keep the pack from reaching the cut off voltage mark (45-46v). Once you see that it will actually shut off get in the habit of charging regularly... this first complete charge may take quite some time... 10-12 hours since they are in such a need.
The charger should time out and shut off in 16hrs. regardless.

[Bo799]

Thanks scottyb. I have been able to get a couple of full charges on it. I go out to the shop and work on stuff a good bit. I just got done with soldering up all new cables. Batteries seem good. I feel better about leaving it charging now. It will be nice to have it full when I arrive.

[JohnnieB]

In addition to the good advice already given, chargers tend to run pretty warm and attract lint, leaves, cobwebs and rat's nests, so pop the cover and clean them out occasionally.

I got a double handful of trash (and I've got big hands) out of my old PW II the first time I opened it.

If your charger isn't vented, it's probably clean inside, but if the case has louvers in it, critters can get into it and build a nice warm home for the winter.
That's what happened to me.

Don't go hog wild, just a few shakes while inverted and a gentle breeze will suffice.

[Bo799]

Good advice also. I got two chargers with the cart. One would not turn on (bad relay). I removed the relay and replaced it for $3.00 and the charger worked. It was pretty dirty so I cleaned it up and that made me clean up the other one too. Funny how you learn some lessons with new stuff. At least this time the lesson didn't cost me anything. :)