Override (Disable) OBC Drive Lockout

RFSTech

Does anyone know how to override or disable the drive lockout when the charger is plugged in on a Club Car electric cart with onboard charger? I'm considering purchasing an electric Club Car CARRYALL 6 for a week-long event (Burning Man) held in the Black Rock Desert in Northern Nevada. The cart will be converted into an "Art Car" and because of all the electrical features that are going to be part of the decoration, I am planning to install a Honda 2000 watt generator. I'd like to be able to keep the charger plugged in all the time so the batteries are charging whenever the generator is running. The generator will be running for many hours each day while the cart is in use to power all the lighting and audio equipment. It would be nice to temporarily disable the drive lockout so the cart can be driven even while the batteries are charging. Am I nuts? Is this possible? Or am I just going to have to install a switch between the charger and generator so I can easily switch the charger on and off (assuming the generator will be running all the time) while driving from place to place? One last question, anybody have any idea roughly how many miles I'd be able to cover between charges carrying 1500 lbs. on the CARRYALL 6? Assumptions are it will have good batteries and the surface being driven on is level somewhat soft dried lakebed (think Bonneville Salt Flats). - Thanks

BGW

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scottyb

Welcome to BGW>

Do you mean;
Please help me make a golf cart do the work of a 4wd truck but on batteries and a 2000w generator creating perpetual motion and displays ?

That is a tall order there. Consider having 2 sets of really strong batteries. and recharge one for 8hours while the other ones run the cart with the generator running... solar panels attached and a wind sail helping to motivate it. Not to mention 2Xs the suggested payload in the sand. Personally I think you need to beef up this cart's drive system if it is to have a chance in hell of doing this successfully.
This is stretching the capacity to the limits. Is there money to upgrade controller, cables, F&R? What yr cart do you have?

GLEEMO

OBC can be disabled , BUT overcharging is worse than undercharging (which is what I see happening)
Buy a couple of cheep 12 volt batteries and place in bag-well to run the
really fancy stuff off of and the generator to charge, plug the charger in to normal charge receptacle as needed.

Better to destroy $100 of cheep batteries rather than $600-$700 of good deep cycle golf cart batteries !

PS. be careful of boiling the batteries and releasing deadly gas into the AIR.

scottyb

Personally I don't think they can overcharge this thing. If they start the generator and plug in the cart charger then start running the cart in a line.... sooner or later the cart runs out of juice. Maybe a gas cart could be found for this job and have the generator and batteries just for the displays ?

GLEEMO

Well in that case , don't leave him hanging , tell him how to bypass OBC ( for test purposes only ) !

RFSTech

Thanks for the replies. I was also thinking a gas gart would be better in the long run but have not been able to find a decent CARRYALL 6 or similar cart with gas drive at a reasonable price. Regarding load, the CARRYALL 6 is rated at 1500 lbs total (with 1000 lbs on the bed - where I plan to have additional seating for four to six people). I am concerned about the possibility of the playa surface being too soft (determined by how well it floods during the winter). As a point of reference though, it never gets as soft as sand. In a bad year you can still easily navigate a mountain bike on the surface (not at all like soft sand). By the way, the batteries in the cart will only be used to power the cart. All additional lighting and audio equipment will run off AC from the Honda generator. Also, the Honda generator will be used to charge the cart batteries when not in camp (where electricity is provided by a rented construction site diesel generator capable of powering our temporary city of 250 people 24 hours a day for 10 days total).

sonicj

gas is the first solution that comes to mind. while your proposed rig has to potential to work as stated, the whole process sounds terribly inefficient and well... i personally just wouldn't do it like that.

a gas cc carryall is limited only only by the amount of fuel you can carry. it has a 12v alternator on board that can handle some electronics/lights and frees up about 1kw of your 2kw generator for a lot more sound and lot more light!

imo, gas has too many advantages over electric to really even consider it as a practical solution.

i know you mentioned you can't find one, but the carryall isn't the "be-all, end-all" of utility carts... heres a few other manufacturers/models:
ez-go workhorse
cushman
john deere
kawasawki mule
mitsubishi
kubota

not sure if you're wanting to deal with shipping, but heres a kawasawki mule in fl: http://panamacity.craigslist.org/rvs/2235792167.html

Golfdog

I have the wiring diagram for a 2000 Carryall 6 (Series motor) and assuming that some things don't change much the cut out is achieved by the OBC through the yellow wire going to the neg. post of the solenoid coil (small post)
If you connect a wire direct from that post to the battery neg. you effectively bypass the OBC lockout function.For the rest of what you are trying to do best of luck.