lifted club cars - lifted ezgo
Home FAQDonate Who's Online
Go Back   Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum > Golf Cart Repair and Troubleshooting > Electric Club Car
Electric Club Car Electric DS, and Precedent golf cars



Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-22-2008, 05:52 PM   #1
PurdueBoiler
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 6
Default Speed Issues with Electric Club Car

I am a member of a club at Purdue University that takes care of the two train mascots for the University (see picture attached for cart in question). Over the last two years the 48V electric Club Car cart has had its speed drop from 15 mph to about 6 mph. The cart lags on acceleration and once the pedal is all the way down the cart backs off and creeps at a slow pace. Just recently we have also been experiencing an issue when attempting to drive up hills. Every so often there will be some sort of a "thud" as we drive up the hill and all power gets cut off to the motor. You then have to take your foot all the way off the accelerator in order for the motor to re-engage. We have an advisor that keeps telling us that the problem is the potentiometer. I have the ability to understand circuits and general knowledge on how everything works but I am not familiar enough to pinpoint the problem. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Xtra.jpg (59.5 KB, 17 views)
PurdueBoiler is offline   Reply With Quote
Alt Today
BGW

Golf car forum Sponsored Links

__________________
This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members.
Register your free account today and become a member on Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum
   
Old 04-22-2008, 06:57 PM   #2
PurdueBoiler
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 6
Default Re: Speed Issues with Electric Club Car

I have troubleshooted the batteries by making sure they are full with distilled water, the connections are clean, and reading with a voltmeter I got each 8V battery to read around 8.3-8.4V on a full charge. Also, the system used to be a 36V but in 2005 was upgraded to a 48V with appropriate upgrades made for the system to operate correctly
PurdueBoiler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-22-2008, 11:04 PM   #3
scottyb
Happy Carting
 
scottyb's Avatar
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 73,358
Default Re: Speed Issues with Electric Club Car

WELCOME !!!
U have an interesting problem... Actually sounds like u have 2 problems. 1 is not getting all of the volts to the motor. So are the cables old + corroded inside offering tons of resistance? I would suggest some 4 gauge cables. The thud is something else and sounds like a rear end, axle, or brakes problem. Probably hard to tell what is happening with that train body on ...Have u tried running it on jack stands to see if you can tell where the thud comes from? Is this a resistor ( with a speed wiper board or switch) or controller ( do you have a potentiometer) cart?
scottyb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2008, 06:38 AM   #4
PurdueBoiler
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 6
Default Re: Speed Issues with Electric Club Car

The cart is a potentiometer cart. It used to be a resistor cart but was converted when the new power train was installed in 2005. I actually had thought about just replacing the wiring through the batteries and power train along with many other wires since we are having general electrical issues with all of our toys. The thud is not a constant occurance. It has only happened a few times. I will jack it up when I get a chance and see if I can pinpoint the problem if it continues.
PurdueBoiler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2008, 06:41 AM   #5
scottyb
Happy Carting
 
scottyb's Avatar
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 73,358
Default Re: Speed Issues with Electric Club Car

Test all the batteries with a voltmeter. What do they read individually? Also what kind of controller do you have? Is there a rating on it in amps?
scottyb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2008, 06:51 AM   #6
PurdueBoiler
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 6
Default Re: Speed Issues with Electric Club Car

I am not sure if they changed the wiring when switching over from 36V to 48V since someone misplaced our binder that contained the maintenance log. I would think that they did change the wiring since they need more with more batteries. I have tested all the batteries previously and they all read 8.3-8.4V. I do not know if there is a rating I would have to go out to our garage to check that.
PurdueBoiler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2008, 07:22 AM   #7
scottyb
Happy Carting
 
scottyb's Avatar
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 73,358
Default Re: Speed Issues with Electric Club Car

Those are fairly good readings. All cabling should have been upgraded to 4 gauge welders cable when the conversion was made. If not now may be the time. Also you may need to check the potentiometer(pot) to see if you are still getting the full throw of the linkage and if so what is the end result? CC should put out 5k to 0.
scottyb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2008, 09:05 AM   #8
PurdueBoiler
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 6
Default Re: Speed Issues with Electric Club Car

I think I came across a way to test the pot for its variable resistance but am not quite sure how to go about doing this. Anyone have an explanation on how to do this?
PurdueBoiler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2008, 09:09 AM   #9
roady89
nimda
Club Car
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 13,022
Default Re: Speed Issues with Electric Club Car

Place the volt meter switch on Ohms, connect the volt meter to 2 of the wires on the pot and measure the resistance while pushing the pedal....its that simple.

If they used a factory V-Glide when they did the conversion it is a stepped resistor. It still runs from 5k-0 ohms but its not a smooth transistion from each step to the next. These resistors can be bought at radio shack or just about any electronic component vedor. I am not sure of the values.

If they used a PB-6 pot box in the conversion it could be either way, 5k-0 ohm or 0-5k ohms. A PB-6 pot will have a smooth transition.

Check and recheck all your connections. Its a common occurance for connections to be bad and go overlooked. Most people think just because they "look" connected they are good but thats simply not the case. Connections have to be checked at least once a month....its not a question of "if" they get loose its WHEN they get loose.

One other thing you might check if all else fail and your up to the challenge is to check the brushes in the motor. You will have to take the motor off the differential and slip the can off. The motor should be held on via 3-4 bolts. The can is held on by 2 bolts and it will slip right off. You may have to tap on the can to get it to slip off. Then you can gain access to the brushes for inspection. If they commutator looks burned you can use a brush seating tool to clean it up a little and get it smooth. If you need a stone I can get you one. They are real soft stones and need to be shaped to fit through a small inspection cover on the side of the end cap. These stones are easily shaped with a bench grinder or sander...file works too.


This is what it will look like if you decide to go for it.






roady89 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2008, 07:17 PM   #10
PurdueBoiler
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 6
Default Re: Speed Issues with Electric Club Car

They replaced everything and made it into a 48V regen and it at that time was running at 15 mph because of the weight of the chassis and all the bells and whistles. The batteries were purchased in 2005 and yes it goes less than 10 mph off the charger. I cleaned all the terminals and eyelets today but have suspicion that the wires may be corroded. I am going to replace the wire here after my finals along with checking that there is not a faulty potentiometer. The power to the motor also cuts out when trying to climb up a not so steep incline. I think this may be because there is not enough power running to the motor to drive it up the hill. Other than that all I have an idea for is the brushes on the motor or the solenoid. I checked all batteries and they read 8.3V and across all the voltmeter read 50V. I'll keep you posted as I do troubleshooting.
PurdueBoiler is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply
Go Back   Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum > Golf Cart Repair and Troubleshooting > Electric Club Car


Thread Tools
Display Modes


Similar Threads
Thread Forum
Electric Club Car wiring Electric Club Car
speed control issue 92 e z go electric Electric EZGO
electric club car 1994 Electric Club Car
Electric Club Car Died - HELP Electric Club Car
98 Electric Club Light Diagram Test Post


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:47 AM.


Club Car Electric | EZGO Electric | Lifted Golf Carts | Gas EZGO | Used Golf Carts and Parts

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This Website and forum is the property of Buggiesgonewild.com. No material may be taken or duplicated in part or full without prior written consent of the owners of buggiesgonewild.com. © 2006-2017 Buggiesgonewild.com. All rights reserved.