First Golf Cart - 88' Club Car DS - Questions

[KrenzyRyan]

Great forum guys - glad to be here!

Picked up my first golf cart - 88' Club Car DS. I'm mechanically adept, but am very new to a fully electric vehicle, let alone a golf cart.

What have I done so far?
1) Put my 1 yr old RV batt's in, running about 37.5V all together charged. Double checked the wiring based on the sticky.
2) Changed front and rear bulbs for LED's
3) Added seat cover
4) Referencing the Pedal/Acceleration assembly in my first photo. The cart was very jerky, and 2 switches seemed to trigger sometimes, simultaneously, or not at all. I took that apart, cleaned the plastic "wedge" and tried again. Better now, ended up bending 2 of the switch hooks to space timing out - but I think the plastic piece needs to be replaced.

Issues I have found:
1) Front lights come on when pushing the brake. If lights are turned on, they don't blink when brakes are pressed. Seems they may have ran separate wires to the light switch.

Questions:
1) I have been maxing out around 12mph - is this expected?
2) When I accelerate extremely slowly, I hear the following clicks: Click 1 (no movement), Click 2 (slow movement), Click 3 (faster), Click 4 (fastest). Not sure if I am not hearing the 5th one under speed.... Is the above expected? I ensured the 5th switch in the accelerator box is being triggered. Update: it seems clicks/relays 3&4 are happening at the same time, yet the pedal switches are happening independently.

Upgrades I'm thinking about:
1) Rear seat (fips flat) - considering a steel amazon one.
2) Small lift with larger wheels (looking to gain more top speed)
3) Other top speed improvements?


Thanks all, hope I can help contribute here!

[Mooncarter]

to BGW!

Your batteries are way less than optimal and they are undercharged.

You should hear 5 distinct clicks each one (after the first which like yours is correctly not moving the cart) moving the cart progressively faster.

[KrenzyRyan]

Thanks mooncarter! regarding being undercharged, this is what I’m ending up at with the stock plug in charger. Would you recommend 2a slow charge, 2 at a time?

[Mooncarter]

Originally Posted by KrenzyRyan

Thanks mooncarter! regarding being undercharged, this is what I’m ending up at with the stock plug in charger. Would you recommend 2a slow charge, 2 at a time?

Exactly what batteries do you have?

Stock charger is best.

[Wakko47]

Welcome! Unfortunately, you won't get much more speed out of it than that. What are your ultimate goals for the cart? Do you have a budget set? The best way to do it is to buy a set of 8 volt batteries to convert the cart to 48v, then get the conversion kit to convert the coils/solenoids to electronic. It's not cheap, but it'll give you the flexibility to make that cart haul butt if you want it to. Car looks good, I'm a fan of the red. Hopefully you got it for a good price.

[KrenzyRyan]

Originally Posted by Mooncarter

Exactly what batteries do you have?

Stock charger is best.

2 of 6v Duracell GC2 75 amp 105min
4 of 6v Interstate GC2 Deep Cycle Extreme 75 amp 115min

[KrenzyRyan]

Originally Posted by Wakko47

Welcome! Unfortunately, you won't get much more speed out of it than that. What are your ultimate goals for the cart? Do you have a budget set? The best way to do it is to buy a set of 8 volt batteries to convert the cart to 48v, then get the conversion kit to convert the coils/solenoids to electronic. It's not cheap, but it'll give you the flexibility to make that cart haul butt if you want it to. Car looks good, I'm a fan of the red. Hopefully you got it for a good price.

Why not go 72v

What type of speed are we talking? My goal is to be a quick sleeper. Mostly used for touring the neighborhood and taking our youngins around.

[Mooncarter]

Originally Posted by KrenzyRyan

Why not go 72v

What type of speed are we talking? My goal is to be a quick sleeper. Mostly used for touring the neighborhood and taking our youngins around.

Yes, let's get your cart/issues sorted out before worrying about a pavement ripper. Good idea.

[Mooncarter]

Originally Posted by KrenzyRyan

2 of 6v Duracell GC2 75 amp 105min
4 of 6v Interstate GC2 Deep Cycle Extreme 75 amp 115min

That mixture of batteries will never be optimal but they should last you a while. Make sure they are filled about 3/8" or so above the plates with distilled water. Put the factory charger on them and let charge.

Jack the rear of the cart in the air. Press pedal slowly to the floor, then Determine which one is not clicking. They should click from driver's side to passenger side the first (master solenoid, no movement) then 1,2,3, 4 speeds after that.

[Mooncarter]

I also suggest a good general cleaning of connections and replace all of those old solenoids while you are in there. Just did mine recently.