Battery to CB question

[Hondarider]

Ok so I installed my small Midland 1001z inside my golf cart for fun. Got the antenna wired but now im wondering what is the best,safest and most sturdy way to connect the cb power wires to the battery terminals. Now their are the two wires already connected to the terminals squeezed on by a bolt (its a clamp type terminal connector), to start the cart. Now could I take the nut off of that bolt and install a soderless connector around the bolt and put the nut back on and tighten it? Will this work well? I will usually be just sitting (not driving) and just talking in my drive way. But when I do the grass could be a bit bumpy and I do not want it to disconnect.
Any Ideas? Any help will be greatly apperciated.

[str8stroke]

Is you cart electric or gas??

I have a full rig in my 36 volt Ez-go. I installed a deep cycle 12 battery to run the cb radio. And even then I have a heck of a time keeping the noise from the elec motor out of the radio. Its is only on the receive, not transmit.

[Hondarider]

Is you cart electric or gas??

I have a full rig in my 36 volt Ez-go. I installed a deep cycle 12 battery to run the cb radio. And even then I have a heck of a time keeping the noise from the elec motor out of the radio. Its is only on the receive, not transmit.

My cart is a gas and it has a regular 12 volt car battery. So it is pretty much like a small car, am I right?
Have a good one.

[MDYoungblood]

Hey Hondarider,
Hook it up just like you said, positive to positive, negative to negative. I have a 102" whip and 6" spring on the top roof bar, works like a charm.

Greg

[str8stroke]

Yup, I only have messed with the electric ones. They are a bit of a pain. but sounds like you are on the way. keep us posted.

[Hondarider]

Alrighty I will, I just fixed the mounting bracket for it, tomorrow morning I will run down to the hardware store and pick up more soderless terminals.
Thanks alot for the help.
Have a good one.

[Radar-DLDN]

Does the golf cart have an alternator in it? If not make sure you hook it to a charger every now and then. I ran into that problem with starting and stopping my riding mower and destroyed the battery because I forgot to charge it.

[drdx]

The antenna is usually the biggest challenge on a cart, as far as making it really efficient. Short range they're fine as long as the swr is low. What are you planning for that? There are many possibilities.

-drdx

[MDYoungblood]

Gas golf carts use a starter/generator. It pumps out 12.6 to 14.2 volts regulated but only around 15 to 20 amps at max. Just enough to run some lights and radio but not a lot else. I have a trickle charger wired on mine to keep the battery up when not in use. What you don't want to do is burn up that generator, they are $$$.

Greg

[drdx]

A member on here has a cart shop. I'll let him chime in if he likes. Carts are something I've been studying as well but mine will be electric for sure as the use is golf. I just need something to get me around the course and run my laptop. Over at Northern tool I've been checking out solar panels for the roof. I'm sure they're not the best source for them but that concept to me could offer a solution. That could be a good boost for battery charging on something like that, especially if it has a roof as most do these days. The 20 amp generator is great if it runs long enough, as mentioned, but if not I bet it is a fast death for a battery.

-drdx

[Radar-DLDN]

I know Hammacher Schlemmer once had a cart with a solar panel covering the entire roof, ran for about 3 grand if I remember right. Not bad for that place though. I think they said if the batter was at 25% it would take 2 days of full sun to fully charge the battery. I still love the idea but photovoltaics are just not very efficient yet. You could probably put about 300 watts worth of panels on top of a cart for around $1200.

[Hondarider]

Does the golf cart have an alternator in it? If not make sure you hook it to a charger every now and then. I ran into that problem with starting and stopping my riding mower and destroyed the battery because I forgot to charge it.

Yes it does have an alternator on it.

[Cj1]

you could prob hook up one of those solar chargers too, so it will help charge when you're out and stopped. i know they don't put a lot out, but any little extra you can get to help the upkeep of the battery would be nice

[420Snowman]

A member on here has a cart shop. I'll let him chime in if he likes. Carts are something I've been studying as well but mine will be electric for sure as the use is golf. I just need something to get me around the course and run my laptop. Over at Northern tool I've been checking out solar panels for the roof. I'm sure they're not the best source for them but that concept to me could offer a solution. That could be a good boost for battery charging on something like that, especially if it has a roof as most do these days. The 20 amp generator is great if it runs long enough, as mentioned, but if not I bet it is a fast death for a battery.

-drdx

Thanks for the plug Drdx! Hondarider, you can pm me and we can chat about your cart setup if you like. At my shop we install cb, sat radio, GPS, and lots of other 12 volt "toys" I would love to help you out.


Snowman