Golf Cart Charger Plug Types Explained: Which Plug Your Cart Has (by Make and Year)
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Golf cart makers have used at least eight different charger plugs over forty years, and none of them are interchangeable. The plug is the first thing that goes wrong in a lithium conversion: the new pack arrives with a charger that has the wrong connector, or an adapter is bought that fits but leaves the cart’s signal pin dead. This guide identifies every common plug by shape, tells you which carts and years use it, and explains what the third pin on some of them actually does, because with lithium that pin matters more than it did with lead-acid.
Identify Your Plug in Ten Seconds
| Plug | Shape | Voltage | Carts and years | Signal pin? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crowfoot | Two flat blades set at an angle to each other | 36V | Club Car DS 1982 to 1994, Yamaha 36V carts G1 to G16 (1979 to 2002), some other older 36V carts | No |
| Anderson SB50 | Rectangular housing, two flat contacts, color keyed | 36V grey, 48V blue | EZGO Marathon 1983 to 1994 (grey); many import carts; the usual plug on aftermarket lithium chargers | No |
| EZGO Powerwise “D” | D-shaped, two round pins | 36V | EZGO Medalist and TXT 36V, 1994 to present | No |
| EZGO notched (Powerwise QE) | Rectangle with a slot down the middle, two pins | 48V | EZGO TXT 48V 2010 to 2013, Express 48V of the same years | No |
| EZGO 3-pin triangle | Triangular, three pins | 48V | EZGO RXV 2008 to present, TXT48 2014 to present, Express S4/L4 2014+, ELiTE models | Yes: charger interlock (CAN bus on ELiTE) |
| Club Car round 3-pin | Round, three pins | 48V | Club Car DS 1995 to 2013, Precedent 2004 to present, Onward, Tempo, Carryall 48V | Yes: onboard computer (OBC) signal |
| Yamaha 2-pin (“Nabson”) | Two round barrels, like small binoculars | 48V | Yamaha G19 (1996 to 2002) and G22 (2003 to 2007) | No |
| Yamaha 3-pin clover | Three-leaf shape, three pins | 48V | Yamaha G29 Drive 2007 to 2016, Drive2 2017 to present | Yes: charger interlock |
Year ranges are the ones the makers and charger suppliers publish; carts that were refurbished or had the receptacle swapped may differ, so look at the receptacle itself before ordering.
The Eight Plugs, One by One
Crowfoot (36V)
The oldest plug still in common use: two flat blades set at an angle to each other, so the plug only goes in one way. A three-blade variant turns up on 1960s and 1970s Harley-Davidson and Columbia carts, and those receptacles accept the two-blade plug. It carries voltage and nothing else. Club Car used it on every 36V DS until the switch to 48V in 1995, and Yamaha used it on all of its 36V carts, from the G1 of 1979 through the G16, which ran until 2002. If you are converting a crowfoot cart to lithium, any 36V lithium charger with a crowfoot plug works, and there is no onboard computer to worry about; many owners simply replace the receptacle with a grey SB50 while the batteries are out, because 36V lithium chargers with SB50 plugs are easier to find.
Anderson SB50 (36V grey, 48V blue)
Not a golf cart plug by origin but an industrial connector, rated 50A, with a plastic housing that comes in colors that physically key to each other: grey will only mate with grey, blue with blue. The convention is grey for 36V, blue for 48V, red for 24V and green for 72V, and it exists so a 36V charger cannot be plugged into a 48V pack. EZGO used the grey SB50 on the Marathon from 1983 to 1994. Today it is the plug most aftermarket lithium chargers ship with (48V lithium chargers with the SB50 plug), the plug most imported carts use, and the plug most people standardize on after a conversion. Check polarity when you fit one: the housing is keyed but the contacts can be inserted either way, and the positive is the one on the side marked + on the housing.
EZGO Powerwise “D” (36V)
A D-shaped plug with two round pins, used on every 36V EZGO since the Medalist of 1994 and on the 36V TXT ever since. No signal pin, so any 36V lithium charger with the D plug drops straight in; the 36V lithium charger with the TXT D plug is the common choice and the EZGO TXT conversion guide covers the rest of the swap. Do not confuse it with the next plug.
EZGO notched, or Powerwise QE (48V)
When EZGO moved the TXT to 48V in 2010 it gave it a new rectangular plug with a slot cut down the middle and two pins, so a 36V D charger could not be forced into a 48V cart. It lasted until 2013. If your TXT48 is a 2010 to 2013 model, this is the plug you need, and it is the hardest one to find on aftermarket lithium chargers; the practical route is an adapter from the charger’s SB50 to the notched plug, or replacing the receptacle with a blue SB50.
EZGO 3-pin triangle (48V)
Introduced with the RXV in 2008 and used on the TXT48 and Express from 2014, this is the plug on most 48V EZGO carts on the road. The third pin is a charger interlock: when a charger is plugged in, the pin tells the cart’s controller to disable drive so nobody pulls away with the cord attached. Aftermarket chargers wired to the two power pins only will charge the pack but leave the interlock dead, which means the cart can be driven while plugged in; the better lithium chargers for RXV include the interlock wiring, which is why the RXV lithium charger we list in the RXV conversion guide is the one with the full 3-pin plug. On ELiTE carts with the factory Samsung pack the same triangle plug carries CAN bus communication, and no aftermarket charger will charge that pack regardless of plug; see the ELiTE replacement guide.
Club Car round 3-pin (48V)
Every 48V Club Car since 1995 uses it: DS, Precedent, Onward, Tempo and the 48V Carryall. The third pin connects to the cart’s onboard computer, which on a lead-acid cart tells the charger when to start and stop. A lithium pack has its own BMS and the OBC has no idea what to do with it, so a lithium conversion on a Club Car either bypasses the OBC or uses a charger designed to ignore it. The FORM 48V Club Car lithium charger has the round 3-pin plug and the LiFePO4 profile; the OBC bypass itself is covered step by step in the Club Car conversion guide. Onward and Tempo carts have no OBC but use the ERIC charging system instead; the Onward and Tempo guide explains what changes.
Yamaha 2-pin, often called Nabson (48V)
Two round barrels side by side, which is why owners describe it as looking like a pair of toy binoculars. Yamaha used it on the 48V G19 (1996 to 2002) and G22 (2003 to 2007); the 36V G16 of the same era kept the crowfoot. No signal pin. Lithium chargers with this plug exist but are less common than the Yamaha 3-pin, and the receptacle on a 20-year-old cart is often worn; replacing it with a blue SB50 during the conversion is a reasonable call.
Yamaha 3-pin clover (48V)
Three pins inside a three-leaf outline, fitted to the G29 Drive from 2007 and the Drive2 from 2017. The third pin is an interlock like EZGO’s: charger in, drive disabled. Lithium chargers for the G29 are widely available with the clover plug; the Yamaha G29 and Drive2 conversion guide lists the charger and the tray notes that matter on these carts.
Carts with onboard chargers
ICON carts from 2021, several Evolution models and a growing number of import carts carry the charger on the cart and plug into the wall with an ordinary extension cord. There is no plug to match, but there is a different catch: the onboard charger is programmed for the factory pack. Swapping to a different lithium pack can mean the onboard charger’s profile no longer fits, which is covered in the ICON battery guide and the Evolution guide.
Why the Plug Matters More With Lithium
With lead-acid, the plug was just a plug: match the shape and the voltage and the charger did the rest. Lithium adds two complications. First, the three-pin plugs carry a signal the cart expects, and a lithium pack changes what should happen on that pin: the Club Car OBC must be bypassed, the EZGO and Yamaha interlocks should be kept. Second, the charger’s algorithm has to match the chemistry, and the plug tells you nothing about that. A 48V lead-acid charger with the correct Club Car plug will push an equalize phase at 62V to 64V into a lithium pack and the BMS will disconnect every night (why a lead-acid charger fails on lithium); a charger that stops at 58.4V with no float is what the pack wants. The charger compatibility guide covers the profiles, and the charger picks are sorted by cart and plug so the two problems get solved together.
Adapters vs. Replacing the Receptacle
Plug adapters, usually SB50 on one end and the cart’s plug on the other, are sold for every combination and they are fine for voltage. What they do not do is carry the third pin, so an adapter on a Club Car leaves the OBC signal unconnected (which is fine once the OBC is bypassed) and an adapter on an RXV or a Drive2 leaves the interlock dead (which is a safety trade you should know you are making). They also add a second connection to corrode. The cleaner solution during a lithium conversion is to fit the receptacle you want while the old batteries are out: a blue SB50 for a 48V cart or a grey one for 36V, mounted where the old receptacle was, with the two 6 AWG leads to the pack terminals. It takes twenty minutes, costs very little, and every lithium charger you buy afterwards plugs straight in. Keep the interlock if the cart has one by leaving the factory receptacle in place and adding the SB50 beside it, or by using a charger with the full factory plug.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Club Car and EZGO charger plugs interchangeable?
No. Club Car 48V uses a round 3-pin, EZGO 48V uses a notched rectangle (2010 to 2013) or a 3-pin triangle (RXV, and TXT from 2014). An adapter can bridge the voltage pins, but the signal pins do different jobs on each cart.
What is the third pin on my charger plug for?
On Club Car it talks to the onboard computer that controls charging on lead-acid carts. On EZGO RXV, TXT48 and Yamaha Drive it is an interlock that stops the cart driving while the charger is connected. On EZGO ELiTE carts it carries CAN bus data between the Samsung pack and the charger.
Does the plug tell me whether my cart is 36V or 48V?
Usually. Crowfoot and the EZGO D plug are 36V; the round 3-pin, the triangle, the notched EZGO plug and both Yamaha plugs are 48V; an SB50 is 36V if grey and 48V if blue, unless someone fitted the wrong color. Confirm by counting batteries: six 6V or three 12V is 36V, six 8V or four 12V is 48V. The 36V vs 48V guide has the full check.
Which plug does a 2015 EZGO TXT have?
If it is a 48V TXT, the 3-pin triangle, the same as the RXV. A 36V TXT of any year has the D plug. The 2015 model year is after the 2014 change, so the notched plug does not apply.
Can I change my cart’s charger receptacle to an Anderson SB50?
Yes, and on a lithium conversion it is often the simplest answer: blue for 48V, grey for 36V, 6 AWG leads to the pack, correct polarity. You lose the factory interlock unless you keep the original receptacle alongside it.
Next Steps
Once you know your plug, the best lithium golf cart chargers page lists a charger for each one, and the fitment guide ties plug, tray size and voltage together for every common cart. If the charger has the right plug but the pack still won’t charge, work through the won’t-charge guide.
