2001 Club Cart DS, runs but constantly clicks/jerks
 

Good morning guys. Long time member, first time poster.
I've got a 2001 Club Cart DS that I purchased a couple of years ago that had been working fine. Recently, it started hesitating while moving in forward or reverse with a constant clicking that I've narrowed down is coming from the solenoid.
I live in a golf course community with a club cart mechanic, so I took it to him.
The first thing he said was that the MCOR was probably bad. So I bought a new one and installed it...same problem.
He then said that the batteries were weak and needed new ones (I bought the current ones used but in good shape).
He also claimed that I needed a new OBC because when he connected his charger, it didn't come on.
I had already hooked up my voltmeter to the batteries and got readings of between 8.15 and 8.3 volts, the total pack was putting out 49.4 volts
I brought it home and hooked it up to my charger and after a few seconds, the charger came on. From what I've seen posted by you guys, if the charger comes on, the OBC has done it's job.
I've raised the rear wheels and can feel the solenoid clicking while the cart is jerking but the wheels turn based on how far I press the accelerator.
At this point, I'm thinking it's either the solenoid or the controller.
Am I on the right track? The mechanic said that the batteries are dropping to 46.2 Volts under load which is what's causing the jerking/clicking noise.
At this point, I no longer trust him even though he says he's got 15 years of experience.
I don't want to spend $600 on new batteries only to have the problem persist.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Re: 2001 Club Cart DS, runs but constantly clicks/jerks
 

If you hook you own DVM up to the pack you can test it your self. This will be a better assessment for your own comfort.

I am assuming this is an sepex cart since you mentioned it had an MCOR. I have seen MCOR's bad right out the box if they were cheap replacements. You can rule ot the MCOR MS by unplugging the two pin connector from the MCOR (under the floor and connected to a linkage from the pedal) and jump out the connector with a paper clip or a small piece of wire. It will be a blue wire and green wire connector. If it runs with the jumper in place, your MCOR is bad.

If you can get your meter hooked up the two (2) small posts on the solenoid, you can check and see if you are losing the permissives to it as you need 48 volts when you test here to make the coil activate and close in the solenoid.

2001 Club Cart DS, runs but constantly clicks/jerks
 

Thank you for the input Nolefan. Ill give that a try tonight.

Go NOLES!!!


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Re: 2001 Club Cart DS, runs but constantly clicks/jerks
 

You may want to better ID your driving system, they also had a DS Series with MCOR and a DS Regen II (no DB-Solenoid model) with MCOR in 2001.

Re: 2001 Club Cart DS, runs but constantly clicks/jerks
 

Sergio,
My cart is the series model. It has no tow switch and has an F/R lever.


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Re: 2001 Club Cart DS, runs but constantly clicks/jerks
 

That makes more sense, the old Series Controllers are not very smart and will allow the power to drop off and keep on going:shock:

The Solenoid and the cart will not stop working at 46v, the voltage needs to get a lot lower.

Your battery voltages are pretty low depending on how much it had been driven before you checked the voltage so we will need to check the charging as well.

The OBC provided the negative activation for the Solenoid in your system and a weak FET inside the OBC can cause the Solenoid to "chatter".

I would try to verify those first.

Disconnect the pack negative cable and leave it disconnected for more than 10 minutes to reset the OBC.

While the pack negative is disconnected, disconnect the yellow wire from the Solenoid coil (small tab or post) and run a new wire from that solenoid tab directly to pack negative.

Connect the pack negative wire back and charge the pack.

After the charging is finished, test drive and see if there are any changes.

Here is your wiring diagram:

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/attac..._with_mcor.jpg

Re: 2001 Club Cart DS, runs but constantly clicks/jerks
 

Sergio,
Thank you for your input.
I did as you instructed.
I disconnected the ground from pack, battery #6.
Unplugged the yellow wire and ran a wire from the yellow wire post on the solenoid to the negative of the battery pack.
After 10 min, I reconnected the negative terminal (with the new wire connected to yellow terminal of solenoid) to pack and the cart ran beautifully.
A bit sluggish, the voltage tested out at 49.2V. But no stuttering.
When I plugged the charger to the pack, though, it didn't come on..no humming. I then disconnected the yellow wire from ground and reconnected the regular one back on and tried it.
The stuttering returned with the clicking.

I tried plugging the charger back up without the wire bypass, but still, it didn't come back on.

So, I guess the OBC is no good?

Re: 2001 Club Cart DS, runs but constantly clicks/jerks
 

It looks like the OBC is failing, time to by-pass it and use a smart charger.

Unplug the OBC.

I see You found the thread about the OBC by-pass, You can cut the two 10ga black wires at the back of the OBC (One from the Charger Receptacle to OBC and the other from OBC to Controller B-) and connect the two wire together.

Run the solenoid small post where the yellow wire was connected directly to Controller B-.

Run the gray wire from the charger receptacle directly to Controller B- to allow the existing charger to turn ON.

You can use your existing charger to get a partial charge until you get the new smart charger.

Remember to Connect the DC cord to the cart first, then to the wall.

When the voltage reaches around 60v, unplug from the wall first then from the cart.

That is just to avoid any possible sparks near the charger connector.

Since you have no OBC to reduce/control the charging current, it will not be a full charge even if the voltage quickly gets to 60v.

Re: 2001 Club Cart DS, runs but constantly clicks/jerks
 

Sergio - would you trust your on board power readout on the dashboard to tell you when you aren't getting a full charge, or does that just show when you get below 48v?

Re: 2001 Club Cart DS, runs but constantly clicks/jerks
 

The OEM battery warning light will light up if there was an issue with the charging cycle not finishing properly.

It will also light up when the batteries are getting extremely low in voltage.

A digital voltmeter will give you more real time information once you get familiar to your normal pack voltage behaviour.

If your cart full charge is typically 51.9v, when you turn it ON after it has charged and the voltage is only 51.2v, You know something is not right.

The same applies when driving, if you have an incline that typically drops the voltage to 47v, next time you drive that incline if the voltage drops to 44v You know something is different.

The digital voltmeters meters are cheap and they do provide good information to help you maintain your batteries performing well for a long time.