Battery drainage after modifying accelerator pedal/rotary position sensor???

[kabinski]

2019 2Five with 2,000 miles / Trojan batteries from when new

When I bought the cart new, in order for it to reach it's max speed of 25mph, I had to press extra hard on the accelerator pedal. Pushing the pedal with a normal force, it ran 24mph. Last week, I removed the accelerator pedal assembly and used a Dremel to file off a bit of metal where the accelerator pedal arm made contact with part of the assembly framework. This allowed the pedal an extra 1/4"-1/2" of travel (measured from the top/end of the pedal). This extra travel now allows the rotary position sensor to rotate farther, which in turn enables the cart to reach its max speed without having to press hard. Once max speed is reached, there is still approximately 1/4" of travel before the accelerator pedal comes to a stop.

My batteries are now draining quicker than before. Not drastically, but noticeably. On an 8-mile trip earlier this evening, the gauge dropped 2 or 3 bars from full charge. Before (last year/season), it would drop 1 (maybe 2) bars for the same distance traveled. It very well could be because of battery age. I did have to add water to a couple plates in the batteries for the first time this past summer/fall. I had to add water to one plate this past week. The cart was only operated a few times throughout winter (garaged) here in SC.

I guess my 2 main questions are:

1) engaging the rotary position sensor more than it needs to be (rotating beyond the point needed to achieve max speed) due to the now increased pedal travel, would this somehow draw more current, and thus deplete the batteries quicker? For example, I drive the cart now just as I had before, with the accelerator pedal pressed all the way down most of the time to stay up with local traffic. For what it's worth, the sensor has plenty of available rotation left once the pedal travel stops. I realized this after removing it from the pedal assembly. I test drove with a screwdriver inserted into the groove of the sensor and accelerated by turning the screwdriver. It was able to rotate much farther than the pedal assembly allows. However, even with the sensor rotated fully clockwise, the cart still maxed out at 25mph. If I had to guess, max speed was reached at approximately 3/4 of full turn of the sensor. Again, just wondering if rotating that sensor a little farther than needed would result in greater battery drainage. My logic says no, but I'd love to hear from the experts out there.

2) would traveling at an almost constant 25mph (as compared to 24mph) make that much of a difference in battery drainage? I know it will drain quicker, but would it be that noticeable?

I'm thinking my batteries are starting to drain more quickly due to age. I just want to make sure my pedal travel mod wasn't a no-no. Thanks for any input.