Stereo Install and wiring

87chevy

Hey everyone!
I am finishing up my restoration of my 1999 club car ds 48volt! I am looking to install a radio in it. My question is how should i wire it to get the power? I have a voltage reducer that was installed by the previous owner so i have no idea what any of the wires are exactly for. The other thing with my voltage reducer is that i already have a light kit connected to it which there again was installed by the previous owner. So how should i go about wiring this? Can i just connect the radio to two batteries? But that would be 16 volts? Should i connect it to the voltage reducer? If so what wires and how should i connect things? Should it be connected to the key switch? Thanks for the help everyone!

BGW

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cmar143

Definitely use the voltage reducer and not two single batteries. Even if you have a 36v cart I would always recommend a reducer so you are not constantly drawing from the same two batteries which WILL eventually bring there life down before the rest. There are many different kinds of reducers but most use a common ground. So most likely you have a red which goes to main +, black which goes to main -, one wire that is your 12V output and most likely another that you connect to key switch to turn reducer on and off so its not constantly hot. Using a voltmeter find the 12V output from the reducer and splice into that wire and the common negative and your in business. I would also suggest checking the reducer to see what kind of amp output it provides because I have seen some real cheap ones people have bought on ebay that put out less then 5 amps and heat up with just lights on.

mrgolf

Most people put fuse blocks on when they install reducers. Look for one. Photos would help.

dougs_huntingcart

When connecting these accessories, you should wire the reducer into a terminal wiring block. This way all the accessories are cleanly wired into one location and their power source (the reducer powered by the batteries) is centralized.

TahoeDawgZ71

Keep in mind that there are two types of voltage reducers. There is one that reduces 16 volts from 2 batteries down to 12 volts and there is another type that reduces 48 volts of the entire battery pack down to 12 volts. For a stereo install, you definitely need the 48 to 12 reducer. Car stereos have a permanent draw on the system because of the yellow memory wire and you want to have a balanced draw on the battery pack or you'll eventually end up with battery problems.

87chevy

Wow that was a lot of help! I will have to check to see what my voltage reducer puts out! I know it deff is a 48volt to 12volt converter! Thank you agin for all the info it helps a lot!

Muddog

If you don't have a fuse block coming off the convertor, you need to install one. All accessories should run thru fuse block.
Without fused circuits, if you have a short, at best you'll have minor damage
at worse you'll burn up your buggie.

Tbirddipp

Here's how I installed mine.

cmar143

FYI if you have decent reducer it will have an inline fuse in it already. If the guy who owned the cart before you wanted to do everything at lowest cost then you have to worry and may need a higher amp output reducer but definitely go 48-12V.

87chevy

How do i go about adding the fuse box? Do i connect it to the negative term on the battery pack as a ground?