Caught on Fire

[mattadata]

I am happy to say that my family all got off the cart safely, but the golf cart has seen better days. I had to call 911 so the fire depart could come put it out.

We were driving around the neighborhood going down a slight downhill. All of a sudden there was a sudden noise from the motor, it slowed down, then the back wheels locked up and we skidded to a halt. I lifted the seat up and smoke was coming from the controller and/or solenoid. I removed the seat and flames started shooting from the controller.

I need some help understanding what happened and which part failed. I suspect the motor went first due to the noise and real wheels locking up. But I am unclear how that caused the controller to catch on fire. Even more puzzling, the fuse never blew...it is still intact.

Short video and some photos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKYx49dRAI8
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[kernal]

You might find this interesting: http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...4956-fire.html

Glad no one got hurt. !!

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by mattadata

I am happy to say that my family all got off the cart safely, but the golf cart has seen better days. I had to call 911 so the fire depart could come put it out.

We were driving around the neighborhood going down a slight downhill. All of a sudden there was a sudden noise from the motor, it slowed down, then the back wheels locked up and we skidded to a halt. I lifted the seat up and smoke was coming from the controller and/or solenoid. I removed the seat and flames started shooting from the controller.

I need some help understanding what happened and which part failed. I suspect the motor went first due to the noise and real wheels locking up. But I am unclear how that caused the controller to catch on fire. Even more puzzling, the fuse never blew...it is still intact.

Glad to hear you and yours got off the cart safely.

Except for the fire, I had close to the same thing happen. Motor (Stock PDS) made a noise, then seized and I slid to a stop. Sparks and smoke were coming out of the controller (DCX400), but arcing sounds stopped when I flipped the Run/Tow to Tow. The fuse (ANN250) did not blow.

Controllers have a bad habit of self-destructing when a motor fails while operating because all the outputs are shorted together when the motor fails.

I've assumed my motor failure was a combination of heat and RPM and regen braking stresses, because my motor was hot from being driven hard, it was spinning at about 8k and the failure occurred when I lifted my foot and the regen braking kicked in. But your motor failure could have been from heat alone, or maybe a brush broke, staring a chain reaction.

Again, glad you guys are okay.

[scottyb]

Johnnie's explanation is spot on. The cart is not a total loss looks like the fire dept. saved it. Obviously you will need a motor,rear body, seat, and a couple of batteries, and some new electronics.

Look at the new Alltrax XCT controls. The XCT & SPM technology is updated and both controls feature reverse polarity protection on both the input and output ends of the control. This means no more catastrophic controller failure when the motor fails. Over-reving PDS motors is a thing of the past with the new RPM monitor in the XCT control.

[Gregorio]

WOW! Glad the family is OK. Strange how there was enough current to burn the controller but not blow the fuse.

[Jeffreynmandy]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Johnnie's explanation is spot on. The cart is not a total loss looks like the fire dept. saved it. Obviously you will need a motor,rear body, seat, and a couple of batteries, and some new electronics.

Look at the new Alltrax XCT controls. The XCT & SPM technology is updated and both controls feature reverse polarity protection on both the input and output ends of the control. This means no more catastrophic controller failure when the motor fails. Over-reving PDS motors is a thing of the past with the new RPM monitor in the XCT control.

Is this fire/failure more common on pds carts than series carts? This is the third golf cart fire I've heard of in the last year. The other two I know personally.

They were both in their building when they caught fire. Total loss to both buildings. I don't know how theirs happened.

[mattadata]

Thanks everyone. Not sure what my next step is. I did have full insurance coverage on it, so I a waiting to hear from the insurance company. I may just buy a new cart rather than try to salvage this one.

I assumed all the batteries were fried, but I will check the voltage on them.

So what would have prevented this....an upgraded motor?

[rib33024]

How fast down hill were you going when this happen

[mattadata]

Based on past trips on the same road with my GPS....I would guess about 28 mph.

[scottyb]

The new generation Alltrax controls regulate motor rpm. A safe limit can be set which would avoid the over-rev situation.