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Old 07-25-2021, 03:45 PM   #1
WC53
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Default 3rd pedal oh my.. trouble shooting help

DS series club car that I installed the series solid state conversion from Scotty B. I just ordered my third pedal and I am trying to figure out where I went wrong.

At the same time I did the Alltrax solid state conversion, I also added a Summit 2 and a voltage reducer.

Both times the cart would not move after being parked and the pedal test that failed was the blue wire running to the FnR switch. There was still power to the pedal and to the Alltrax through the green control wire. Fuse intact.

After installation it ran fine for two weeks.
After second pedal it ran fine for about three weeks.

Any suggestions on areas to double check? Any spike protection I could add to the pedal circuit?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.
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Old 07-26-2021, 08:31 AM   #2
Fairtax4me
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Default Re: 3rd pedal oh my.. trouble shooting help

Depends, usually the throttle pedal switch activates the solenoid by supplying the positive for the solenoid coil.
Is that how yours is wired?
If so, do you have the proper diode across the solenoid small terminals?

Without a diode the solenoid coil will create a voltage spike when the solenoid opens which can cause arcing on any switches in the circuit, whichever one is causing it to open. In this case would be your throttle switch, but it can/will happen to any switch that breaks the circuit first.

Which controller do you have? SR or XCT?
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Old 07-26-2021, 08:52 AM   #3
WC53
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Default Re: 3rd pedal oh my.. trouble shooting help

Sr48500.
Yes my pedal controls the contactor as you described. And I have a diode installed.
Using my meter, I get the one way voltage drop and ohm reading that indicates the diode has not failed, but I have another diode coming as a replacement for cya.

I was curious to know if I could be getting a spike from the on board charger or voltage reducer. While I am quite comfortable with basic electrical wiring, back voltage or emf spikes are really pushing my knowledge. I understand why you need them with dc but that is it.

Thank you
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Old 07-26-2021, 04:38 PM   #4
Fairtax4me
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Default Re: 3rd pedal oh my.. trouble shooting help

Neither the charger, or reducer should be making voltage spikes, unless you some reason you had them wired to pull power through the throttle switch, which would be weird, and totally unnecessary.
The voltage spike comes from the magnetic field in the coil collapsing. When power is cut to the coil, current stops flowing and the magnetic field drops out, and the core of the solenoid passes back through the coil. The movement of the magnetic field induces current in the windings of the coil (this exact principle is how we get electricity from a generator). Under normal circumstances that induced energy would be directed outward toward a ground source, or towards the load (device which is using that energy).
But with a high resistance coil such as these, the energy induces a higher voltage with every time it passes through another winding of the coil. This makes the voltage build to a point where it can't all pass through the wiring to a ground source.
A magnetic field in one of these situations can induce several hundred or even several thousand volts in a circuit, though generally at very low amperage.
Eventually the voltage can build up to the point where it jumps across the gap of the switch that was opened. At which point that voltage will dissipate back into the rest of the electrical system. Generally by the time it gets to any other components the resistance in the circuit has dropped that voltage back down to a point where it is not harmful to other parts, but not always.

Since voltage is the ability for power to move, and there is such a small gap between the contacts of most switches, it may only take several hundred volts in order to create a spark that jumps the gap of the switch.
In an ignition system for an engine we want that arc, because we can direct it out towards a spark plug which is designed to have that arc happen. But in almost all other situations we need to have that arc dissipate before it builds to a point where it will damage parts of the circuit.

The diode is meant to take that energy and direct it back into the coil where it will dissipate due to the higher resistance of the coil. Since the solenoid core has moved out of the coil and stopped or nearly stopped moving at that point, the resistance in the coil now absorbs that energy without creating more.

The design of the coil can influence how strong the arc is, and some coils need to have the positive connected to a specific side in order to reduce the severity of the arc. For those coils connecting the wires to the wrong side (giving the coil the wrong polarity) can actually create a much stronger arc that is even too much for a suppression diode to handle. Usually those will be labeled which side of the coil is positive side. You might want to check to make sure your positive and negative for the coil are on the correct sides if the solenoid has any markings. Or check with ScottyB and make sure the solenoid is connected properly, since he knows his setups better than anyone else.

Last thought is that if you continue to have problems then it might be best to remove the throttle switch from the activation circuit. So the solenoid stays powered whenever the key is On and F or R are selected.
This can cause issues with arcing at the FnR switch if there is current passing through the solenoid when changing directions. So if you wire it this way it's very important that the cart be at a complete stop before changing directions. It also removes the safety feature of the solenoid opening when your foot is off the pedal.
It would probably be best to go over your setup with ScottyB and make sure everything is wired as it should be before making any changes like this.
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Old 07-29-2021, 08:46 AM   #5
WC53
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Default Re: 3rd pedal oh my.. trouble shooting help

Thanks for the detailed reply!
I think I had already covered all the things you mentioned, but I will go back and double check.
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