93 DS Sporadic forward drive - cuts out sometimes

[CTownDawgs]

greetings - new to the forum and really need some help.

I have gone thru the service manual i bought on-line for this cart - it has the diode / resistor combo on the solenoid.

Background - i have had this cart for 8 years no issues, brand new trojan's, mild lift kit, well maintained

symptom - last year the cart would not go forward 50% of the time when pressing the gas pedal (elec cart), the solenoid allways clicked, also the cart would cut out occasionally while moving and more times than none if i gently lifted off the gas pedal say 50% then went to the floor, the cart would not respond, and i would have to press the gas pedal repetitively over and over again until it "kicked in". i also have to use the repetitive pressing of the gas pedal to get it to engage - however it seems reverse wants to work almost all of the time with no issues???

i checked all of the following per the manuals troubleshooting steps to be good
- key switch
- f&r anti-arch limiting switch
- wiper switch limit switch - tests gas pedal and wiper limit switch thru the v-glide
- solenoid for proper operation - on and off the cart for proper resistance or none as it is normally open, also diode and resistor are correct
- forward and reverse switch
- solid state speed controller (which has 4 steps, A/B/C/D - C gave me weird readings - i will explain the tests)
- Test A - solenoid - passed no problems
- Test B - keyswitch input to controller - passed
- Test C- Controller output - it states that the voltage observed from terminals B+ to M- should start at 0 volts and increase to full batt voltage when the pedal is moved to the floor...what i saw was full battery voltage from the start and when i moved the gas pedal the voltage dropped 4-5 volts and would slowly rise back up after 10 seconds in both forward and reverse.
i dont think that is normal
- last test was the diode in the controller - passed

I have yet to test the speed control circuit which looks at terminals B + C on the controller to see if it is getting the correct resistance from the wiper switch with discrete resistors in the v-glide - thinking this might be the issue ???

All wires appear to be in good shape - all tie wrapped and clean - no shorts - no bare connections

i am running out of ideas here - any help is much appreciated

[scottyb]

My first thought was failing micro switch but you have tested both of them? 1 on the F&R and 1 in the Vglide... SO next look at the throttle signal input to the controller. remove the wires from controller terminals #2&3. Plug your meter into these wire ends and set the meter for 20,000 ohm..... press the pedal (several times at various rates). Is the signal consistent?

[CTownDawgs]

Thanks Scotty for the fast reply. I have not tried that yet ... if i get various results would that indicate the V-glide as the problem and the microswitch inside of it? (speed switch)

the test i did for the wiper switch limit switch was one lead on the blue wire feeding the v-glide and the other lead on the green/wht wire that goes to the Normally Open connector on the f&r anti-arch limiting switch - when pressing the pedal i was looking for continuity....would that be correct in stating this switch is working as expected - per the manual test???

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by CTownDawgs

Thanks Scotty for the fast reply. I have not tried that yet ... if i get various results would that indicate the V-glide as the problem and the microswitch inside of it? (speed switch)

the test i did for the wiper switch limit switch was one lead on the blue wire feeding the v-glide and the other lead on the green/wht wire that goes to the Normally Open connector on the f&r anti-arch limiting switch - when pressing the pedal i was looking for continuity....would that be correct in stating this switch is working as expected - per the manual test???

The micro switch (ms) is an on off switch for the solenoid activation. It is voltage.
The throttle signal is ohms (0-5k) in this cart. If the ms is being intermittent the solenoid would be clicking in and out. If the ohms signal is consistant (reliable0 then you are looking for a voltage problem, could be a bad wire end?


Make sure you are not loosing power at controller pin #1 when the cart acts up.