EZGO RXV won't release brake after Danaher to Curtis Conversion

[rngilliland]

[QUOTE=jkredman;1481737]Bob



1) I need to go the back of the cart, pull the plug from the motor brake and run a continuity test to where I cut the white wire to positively ID which white wire to connect to. Basically using an ohm meter looking for very little to no resistance. (I’ve already cut them both.)

I did the Curtis conversion to my 2011 RXV using the EZGO kit and it is a little confusing about which white wire to splice. If you aren't sure you have the wiring correct I think you need fix that before you do anything else. Until you have the wiring correct you don't really know if there is a problem with your controller. And if there is you may damage any new or repaired controller you get.

[jkredman]

Bob, rngilliland & mjroman20

Thank you for your advice....

Here's where I'm at.

1) I imported an Curtis OEM Programmer from China. Works great!!!!
2) I latched on to a Curtis remanufactured fleet cart controller from FSIP.

(Yeah I spent some money but I'm also eating crow from my wife because I wanted the cart to go faster :-) )

I put the remanufactured controller in - double verified that I had the brake connections correct. (Ran the line with an ohm meter.)
Programmer is complaining about Throttle Wiper & HDP Sequencing error. The book says replace throttle switch, so that's the next step.

I step on the brake and I can hear the motor brake click in and engage. Throttle is still dead.

I looked up the specs on the FET. If I only hit it with 10 amps, I stressed it but shouldn't have damaged it. It's rated at 15 amps (assuming I read the specs correctly.) So I'm optimistic I can put my 350 amp controller back in after I get the cart working.

Finally, anyone have any ideas where I can get a schematic or wiring diagram for the controllers? I'm accepting the possibility I did toast my new controller.

Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

[BobBoyce]

It sounds like your throttle encoder is bad. The throttle switch will not trigger a throttle wiper code.

Curtis has not made any schematics available for their controllers. FSIP may have some, but I doubt they will share it because of their contract and NDA with Curtis. I'm no longer under NDA with Curtis, but I also do not have any schematics for their controllers manufactured for E-Z-GO. The only schematics I have are for the controllers that I designed.

Bob

[jkredman]

Bob

Thank you so much for your insights.

Here.s my puzzlement...

2 different controllers are complaining about the throttle wiper.

according to the service book there is a switch & a rheostat.

Is the rheostat the encoder?

If not, why would 2 different controllers complain about the same error???

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by jkredman

Bob

Thank you so much for your insights.

Here.s my puzzlement...

2 different controllers are complaining about the throttle wiper.

according to the service book there is a switch & a rheostat.

Is the rheostat the encoder?

If not, why would 2 different controllers complain about the same error???

It looks kinda like a rheostat and the result is similar to a rheostat with 5V across the ends. It outputs 0V to 5V based upon position. But it is not a simple rheostat. It is a digital position encoder that runs from 5VDC. The throttle pedal switch lets the controller know when the pedal is fully up. If not it triggers a HPD/Sequencing Fault. The brake pedal switch is different, it opens circuit at about 60% of pedal travel (100% brake encoder value) which locks up the motor brake by cutting off its power source. Not good for the motor brake!

[jkredman]

Replaced the throttle encoder. That cleared the wiper error.

Curtis hand held shows no present faults

Every time I turn the key switch it throws an HPD/Sequencing Fault as a past fault. I checked the throttle switch with an ohm meter closed it shows about 3.5 ohms resistance. Open shows infinite.

Checked voltage to encoder. 4.98 volts.

I went ahead and bought a switch when I bought the encoder. The new switch shows lass than an ohm resistance when closed. Problem is the two switches don’t have the same length of a button. The new switch, even though it bolts in exactly the same never gets enough pedal movement to close.

So I guess I’m back to this twist test question. The cart will jerk when the key is turned on. The brake lights turn on. Cart will move in tow mode. It never responds to the throttle. Behavior is same with both Curtis controllers. Verified brake wiring & speed sensor wiring.

Any thoughts.

Thanks

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by jkredman

Replaced the throttle encoder. That cleared the wiper error.

Curtis hand held shows no present faults

Every time I turn the key switch it throws an HPD/Sequencing Fault as a past fault. I checked the throttle switch with an ohm meter closed it shows about 3.5 ohms resistance. Open shows infinite.

Checked voltage to encoder. 4.98 volts.

I went ahead and bought a switch when I bought the encoder. The new switch shows lass than an ohm resistance when closed. Problem is the two switches don’t have the same length of a button. The new switch, even though it bolts in exactly the same never gets enough pedal movement to close.

So I guess I’m back to this twist test question. The cart will jerk when the key is turned on. The brake lights turn on. Cart will move in tow mode. It never responds to the throttle. Behavior is same with both Curtis controllers. Verified brake wiring & speed sensor wiring.

Any thoughts.

Thanks

There are two different switch part numbers. E-Z-GO sells the wrong one 50% of the time or more. They changed pedal assembly designs, and during that transition, they were still using the older pedal assembly on some RXVs and the new ones on some, until they ran out of inventory of the old ones. In my earlier posts about motor brake issues, I think I gave both part numbers, and the years in which the factory started switching over. One switch has a bare plunger and the other has a flexible rubber cover. The brake switch opens connection to the motor brake power at about 60% of pedal travel, which is where the brake encoder reads about 100%.

The cart should not jerk when the key is turned on. It is failing brake twist test. Take a look under the plastic cover that the run/tow switch is mounted to. You are looking for connectors #1, #2, #3, and #4. Make sure that #1 is plugged into #2, and #3 is plugged into #4. If #1 is plugged into #3, and #2 is plugged into #4, swap them around. Your motor brake is either powered on when it is not supposed to be, or it is bad. If it is not those plugs, you have a wiring problem or a motor brake that is not locking up when it should. The brake light being on is an indication from the controller that the motor brake is failing test. The diagnostic handset is limited in usefulness sometimes. Go into stored codes and select Clear Codes. That might help with telling the difference between older stored codes that are not repeating and newly generated stored codes. There is a permanent stored code table in the controller, with when they occured. That one cannot be cleared with a handset.

[jkredman]

Friends:

Still don't have my Danaher to Curtis Conversion working.

I've replaced the motor brake with a new one ordered from EZGO. Cart still exhibits the jerk on key on.

Controller reports no current errors, and a past error of HDP/Sequencing Fault. I've cleared the errors and rerun the test several times. It always shows the past error.

Controller will not release brake.

This controller is an FSIP remanufactured 235 AMP Model 1206AC5201

Stumped at this point.

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by jkredman

Friends:

Still don't have my Danaher to Curtis Conversion working.

I've replaced the motor brake with a new one ordered from EZGO. Cart still exhibits the jerk on key on.

Controller reports no current errors, and a past error of HDP/Sequencing Fault. I've cleared the errors and rerun the test several times. It always shows the past error.

Controller will not release brake.

This controller is an FSIP remanufactured 235 AMP Model 1206AC5201

Stumped at this point.

Check the Run Plug under the cupholder. unplug and replug a few times. There could be an issue with either the + or - power leads to the motor brake. If it jerks, that indicates the motor brake is not locked, allowing the motor twist test to fail. Also check the brake switch at the brake pedal...

Past HPD/Sequencing Fault errors can be from someone having a foot on either pedal when the keyswitch is turned on.

FSIP is a good company, but a reman controller is still a repaired controller. If the motor brake FET is shorted, that will cause your problem. If your old motor brake had a coil issue, if you tried it with the new controller, it could have fried the FET.

Bob

[jkredman]

Bob & Friends:

I removed and and reinstalled the new motor brake. While I had it off I checked the resistance of the coil. It was about 26.5 ohms, or 1 ohm greater than the 25.5 ohms in the book.

I checked the resistance of the old brake. Got the same 26.0 or so ohms. So it appears at least the old brake was electrically in tact.

I rewired the whole cart after playing with the run plug. The harness I received from ezgo was for the Danaher controller, so I respliced the correct white wire and the orange speed sensor wire. I checked my splices between the motor and the controller with my ohm meter. They are reading .1 ohms of resistance.

With the new wiring the cart will twitch but not jerk.

I re-ran the voltage and ohm tests at the motor brake, the pack voltage, Solenoid, throttle and brake. The only thing I found was about 7 ohms resistance in brake switch. I replaced the switch. The new switch was showing an ohm of resistance. That did eliminate the HDP/Sequencing error. The controller keeps the brake lights on and the brake set. However the throttle will now engage and the cart will move very slowly. It's obvious the brake is not releasing completely. can flip the cart into tow mode and I can push it around my driveway.

So I'm making the assumption my remanufactured controller was bad from FSIP. However I have a few questions.

1) Is the motor brake set by 0 volts or 48 volts? I've been assuming it needed the 48 volts to release the brake. I basically have pack voltage to the motor brake connector when in Tow Mode.
2) I've got the ezgo voltage converter installed in this cart and the lights, stereo, USB plug all run off of 12 volts from this converter. I thought I saw some posts about a cart having issues like this when the converter/reducer was installed, but now I can't find those posts. Was that a figment of my imagination?

One final note. The 350 Amp controller I originally miswired. When I put it back in the cart, it would release the brake, but no throttle. I could role the cart around in run mode, and press the brake pedal until the brake switch opened and it would set the brake.

I would like to verify I haven't missed anything before I try a third controller. Can you tell me if I'm missing something? Is there anything else besides brake issues that can fry a controller? Does it sound like I cleared everything?

Thanks
Keith