1985 36V Club Car Fairway Villager Wires Hot

shawnt00

Hi all.....this is my first post in the Q&A section of the forum. I recently bought a 1985 36V Club Car Fairway Villager from a buddy that has had it for years. He ran it pretty regulary for the last 5 years and had no issues with it. He did replace the batteries a couple years ago. I brought it home a couple days ago and drove it down to the mailbox and on the way back I heard a pop under the seat. Lifted the seat and saw that the last battery in the series which is front passenger battery had blown the cap off and the terminal that ran the the FNR switch had melted the lead terminal. Just before this happened it seemed to be real jumpy and acted like it was really struggling to run. Anyway I pushed it back to the patio and went and purchased another 6V battery to replace it. I also checked all the other batteries and they had 6.27V or higher. Put the new battery in and checked all the connections on the other battery terminals to make sure they were all clean and tight. Still had a problem with it Jumping and not wanting to move in both forward and reverse. I did a main solenoid test and found that it was not engaging. I went and purchased a new one and the jumping went away and it seemed to run for a few minutes while I tested it in the yard. While running it around the house it started acting like it wanted to quit. I stopped for a second and when I hit the "Go" pedal it did nothing. I held down the pedal for around 15-20 seconds and it started running again, but not very strong. I drove it back to the patio and when I pulled the seat off noticed that the wires coming from the motor running to the FNR switch were very, very hot. I mean like "on the verge of melting" hot! Any one have any idea where I should start with this? Thanks for your input in advance!

BGW

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crash test dummy

to me it sounds like the motor is going but im not real good on motors .. the hot wires may mean motor was drawing to much current .. maybe one of the pros will chime in

shawnt00

Yeah....I talked to my father. He used to work on em a bit before he retired. He said that the brushes hang up in the motor. Just surprised that it happened right after I bought it. I know for sure they never had a problem with it because I was around there all the time. Guess thats just my luck.....lol

crash test dummy

good time to get daddy to visit and help rebuild it

shawnt00

I hear ya!! Unfortunately I haven't been able to get him cornered since he retired about 6 months ago. Seems to be busier now than he was before. I just saw a post on FB of him and his fiance whitewater rafting in the Carolinas........I had no idea he had even left town! LMAO

He did tell me that he was going to stop by when he got back to town so I think he will eventually be an asset to my cause Not to mention he has quit a few parts and all the manuals on Club Car needed

FUN TIMES.........

shawnt00

So........I'm thinking of sending this motor off to Plum Quick to get rebuilt. Does anyone have any feedback about this company? I picked this cart up for a few hundred dollars. It is in pretty good shape all in all. Batteries are only a little over a year old. Was running pretty good before the meltdown. I want to make sure that it is worth putting the money into. I am also going to add the factory style light kit and paint it. Body, brakes and suspension are in good shape. I also want to put new Battery and lead wires coming to and from the motor. I would like to Get it spiffed up and sell it to get a newer cart. What are your thoughts about keeping this and really pimping it out? I have very little into it but Im not sure if this cart is a good candidate for doing an all out customization like I want. Kinda looking for some input from the pros here who know more about particular years and the electronics they have. Thanks in advance for any info you can supply me with.

shawnt00

Any Ideas out there??? Thanks in advance!

scottginfla

I agree an 85 36 volt is not the candidate, but there are ways of converting it to solid state, if it were me, I would do as little as possible to get it running, sell it and get a newer club car ds series cart. maybe not as new as the precedent, but late 90's early 00's

scotter

If the motor is bad, you gotta fix it to sell it, or get less $ for the cart. Sending your motor to PQ can fix the motor and maybe get you some more performance. Try that. If it isn't working out, sell it and get another newer cart. It all depends on what you're going to do with the cart - drive it on the street or go off roading. You indicated lights and paint - no lift or big tires, so you might not need the solid state system for high amp output. Again, all about what you want the cart to do.

simple man

One suggestion! Check the brakes and make sure they don't drag! That will make stuff heat up quick! You should be able to roll the cart easily by hand.