Does it hurt the batteries to let them run out of water?
It sure does! If you find dry cells in your cart, fill them back up with distilled water to cover the plates and then recharge the batteries. After the charge, top off the water. Use the cart and see how long it runs. run time may increase a bit over time, but you won’t see much improvement after few charge cycles. If you have lost significant run time on your batteries, you will have to think about replacing them. Damage to the batteries from letting the cells run dry can not be reversed.