Cable length of a Resistor DS?

UncleJerm76

NOTE: I also posted the following question at the end of a 4 year old post, but I'm afraid it will be overlooked due to the age of that post. So here it goes in a new thread...

I have a 98 DS Resistor cart that badly needs new cables. I reached out to ScottyB but he doesn't sell cable kits for these relics (and I don't blame him). I've also searched Google and came up empty handed. So I'm reaching out to you guys on where I would find out the length of each cable I need ...or even better ...a company that sells the whole kit in 2ga or 4ga?

In my searching I've found what appears to be really nice high stranded flexible cable (http://www.maxilink.com/) in 2ga with sealed lugs, but I need to know the lengths before placing an order. And If you've ever seen a resistor cart you know there is a bunch more cables than most other carts and pulling them all off is my last resort.

I'm picking up new T-145 batteries tomorrow, and I'm worried that my original old crappy 6ga cables are going to pop a terminal on one of these pricey batteries or melt my F/R switch ...or worse. My cables are always warm to the touch even after riding on level ground and some on here have said that's a sign of bad wires. I feel like I'm riding on borrowed time.

BGW

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Stevegrmich

. . . maybe contact these guys?

EVDrives

jakesnake27

Yep, starting your own new thread is always better, just use old threads for research.

UncleJerm76

Thanks for the response guys. Steve, I called EVDrives at lunch and unfortunately its the same story, no kits for resistor carts ...I'm starting to see a small niche someone needs to fill.

I guess unless I can find documentation on the OEM cable lengths, I'm going to be pulling my OEMS tonight and measuring each one. Not looking forward to all those VGlide cables!

CRK

If your cart is the same as my old 83 wiring. With 5 solenoids and the coil resistor pack above them, I have your answer.... I bought a set and was very pleased. I would call or send a message to be sure they are the correct set though.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/220565803369...84.m1439.l2649


*EDIT* my 83 DID NOT have the Vglide.

UncleJerm76

Yeah looks like we have different wiring. I think I only have a single solenoid and the vglide. But we're getting closer LOL

msdeer

Larger cables on a resitor cart isn't going to make a difference on any connection except the last wire grey if I remember right. The resistors themselves are made out of 8 gauge 10 gauge and 12 gauge solid, so going up to a 4 or 2 gauge isn't going to produce any gain. You could put 4 gauge fromt he F/R switch to the motor from the Neg to the motor and from the resistor bank to the motor, but still then you would only notice a difference at WOT.

I just rewired 2 carts of mine that are resistor carts and there was no noticible difference. But if you just want to increase the wire size for future udates that would be less wire to make at the time of the upgrade.

This is just my 2 cents.

UncleJerm76

MSDeer, I was wanting to upgrade my cables due to concerns of them being warm after use and them being in really bad shape. I'm not expecting a gain in performance, just safety and prolonging the life of my battery. But that is valuable info and will save me some money & time. Thank you very much, I was expecting to replace them all before your post - but what you said makes perfect sense. So Ill just replace the complete full-throttle loop of cables. Tonight just got a lot easier!

Yeah, since it's a resistor cart "I have to" drive it at full throttle everywhere to maximize my run time. Otherwise, I'm just wasting battery juice by going slower. Hey, it's a good excuse!!! LOLOL

UncleJerm76

Appreciate your post, been thinking a lot about it. So you saying even i just upgrade the WOT loop I will gain nothing by going bigger than a 6ga?

Took the cart out this weekend to some cart trails at a local campground. Was a blast :) We had 'em all to ourselves also! Anyway, got back home, unloaded, moved the cart twice and ZAP! The cable going from the solenoid to the F/R switch burned in two pieces at the lug!!! Glad that didn't happen at the trails. I found a spare 6ga laying around from when I did my full speed reverse mod that i might just use ....just undecided what I'm going to do right now after what you said.

jdunmyer

UJ said:
That's not really true, your cart draws less current when you don't have your foot all the way down. It will run longer if you don't use WOT all the time.

Yes, a controller is more efficient, but...

That said, have you considered making your own cables? Cable and terminal ends can be bought, and you can either solder or crimp (or both!) the connections. Check my post on this thread for how I made my cables: http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...al-torque.html If you already have a propane torch, you probably have everything else you need to fab up your own cables, assuming you buy the terminal ends.

The main thing for you to be aware of is excessive heat, usually at a connection. If it's getting hot, it's going to fail, sooner or later, and depending on location, the failure could be quite costly and/or dangerous. Prevention or repair is often just a matter of cleaning and tightening.