Light bar for golf cart

[ryanwood08]

If I run my 12" light bar off of a couple feeder batteries do yall think it will last all weekend? I just got the bar today and just need something to last for the weekend(thurs-mon) until I can get a gel packed rechargeable battery

[91cavgt]

If I run my 12" light bar off of a couple feeder batteries do yall think it will last all weekend? I just got the bar today and just need something to last for the weekend(thurs-mon) until I can get a gel packed rechargeable battery

How many amps does your light bar pull?

Feeder batteries can either be 5 amp/hr each or 7 amp/hr each. If you have 2 of them ran together then you will have, at most, 14 amp/hr capacity. So what does this mean? Well, at 20 amp/hr capacity you can run a 1 amp load off of it for 20 hours before the batteries get too low. So, if your light bar pulls less than 1 amp and you only use the light a couple of hours each night, you should be fine. If the light bar pulls more than 1 amp then the batteries might not last all weekend.

[ryanwood08]

How many amps does your light bar pull?

Feeder batteries can either be 5 amp/hr each or 7 amp/hr each. If you have 2 of them ran together then you will have, at most, 14 amp/hr capacity. So what does this mean? Well, at 20 amp/hr capacity you can run a 1 amp load off of it for 20 hours before the batteries get too low. So, if your light bar pulls less than 1 amp and you only use the light a couple of hours each night, you should be fine. If the light bar pulls more than 1 amp then the batteries might not last all weekend.

Ok I'll check it out... thanks

[Mike D]

How many amps does your light bar pull?



Feeder batteries can either be 5 amp/hr each or 7 amp/hr each. If you have 2 of them ran together then you will have, at most, 14 amp/hr capacity. So what does this mean? Well, at 20 amp/hr capacity you can run a 1 amp load off of it for 20 hours before the batteries get too low. So, if your light bar pulls less than 1 amp and you only use the light a couple of hours each night, you should be fine. If the light bar pulls more than 1 amp then the batteries might not last all weekend.

This is correct in theory. However at a certain voltage the led will quit working. My guess is anything below 6V it will shut off.

I have a 12" bar on my cart with 3W leds and it is 72W total. 72/12 = 6amps. Assuming you had a similar bar and 8Ah batteries (16Ah total) you are going to be drawing 6 amps per hour. I would be surprised if you got more than 2 hours of run time.

The better solution is to buy a voltage converter that will step down from your cart voltage to 12V. This way it utilizes your entire battery pack.

In a pinch you could hook it across 2 batteries (13.5 - 17.5v) but this will only distribute the load across 2 of your batteries rather than the whole battery pack.

[ryanwood08]

I got this bar. I don't see anything anywhere about amps/hr... do u see anything that would help me out?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KYDAILE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1419456629&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX200_QL40

[91cavgt]

This is correct in theory. However at a certain voltage the led will quit working. My guess is anything below 6V it will shut off.

I have a 12" bar on my cart with 3W leds and it is 72W total. 72/12 = 6amps. Assuming you had a similar bar and 8Ah batteries (16Ah total) you are going to be drawing 6 amps per hour. I would be surprised if you got more than 2 hours of run time.

The better solution is to buy a voltage converter that will step down from your cart voltage to 12V. This way it utilizes your entire battery pack.

In a pinch you could hook it across 2 batteries (13.5 - 17.5v) but this will only distribute the load across 2 of your batteries rather than the whole battery pack.

You put it so much more eloquently and easier for people to understand than I did!!

[ryanwood08]

This is correct in theory. However at a certain voltage the led will quit working. My guess is anything below 6V it will shut off.

I have a 12" bar on my cart with 3W leds and it is 72W total. 72/12 = 6amps. Assuming you had a similar bar and 8Ah batteries (16Ah total) you are going to be drawing 6 amps per hour. I would be surprised if you got more than 2 hours of run time.

The better solution is to buy a voltage converter that will step down from your cart voltage to 12V. This way it utilizes your entire battery pack.

In a pinch you could hook it across 2 batteries (13.5 - 17.5v) but this will only distribute the load across 2 of your batteries rather than the whole battery pack.

Just saw this. .. I think we have the same light bar. Thanks

[Mike D]

Light bar for golf cart

Just saw this. .. I think we have the same light bar. Thanks

Yeah I just looked at your link. I don't have that exact bar but it has the same LEDs in it so the scenario I posted above would apply to your bar as well.

What voltage is your cart?

[ryanwood08]

36 volt

[91cavgt]

Why not get something like this to power your lights?

http://www.amazon.com/Golf-Cart-Volt.../dp/B007YFPD06


That way, you are pulling power from all of the batteries instead of just 2 of them, and you don't have to fool around with adding other batteries or charging them separately.

[Mike D]

Light bar for golf cart

Why not get something like this to power your lights?

http://www.amazon.com/Golf-Cart-Voltage-Reducer-Converter/dp/B007YFPD06

That way, you are pulling power from all of the batteries instead of just 2 of them, and you don't have to fool around with adding other batteries or charging them separately.

Yep beat me to it. But I would go with this one at minimum.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008MVYY1A/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?qid=1419465852&sr=8-11&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

The one I have is 25 Amps.

[91cavgt]

Yep beat me to it. But I would go with this one at minimum.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008MVYY1A/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?qid=1419465852&sr=8-11&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

The one I have is 25 Amps.

I agree. It's always good to buy one that is about double what you need now, because most of the time people add more things to their carts once they start, and it should run cooler than one would that can barely run just what you already have.

[ryanwood08]

Thanks! I'll prolly order that when I get back from the hunt this weekwnd... for now I'll have to hope the feeder batteries last me long enough