pedal question 97 txt

ny eric

Good morning all. I have been lurking for a while and found many of the threads real helpful. I have a 97 TXT as far as I can tell it is a stock controller,a stock motor, stock tires,rear seat, basic light kit. The solenoid has been replaced by the PO.

my question is if I start on a flat surface or a slight decline the cart has no hesitation. if I am on an incline or have any load on the cart is real sluggish on take off sometimes (but not every time) if i depress and release the pedal a couple of times it acts normal. To me the problem is real intermittent.

All the battery wires seem ok ( no corrosion) but look to be stock wires (possibly original). Batteries are atleast 3 years old.. I have yet to decode.

I have added a light kit, 3 position key switch to control the lights, replaced battery tray, and added analog state of charge meter. I am not sure what else may be of importance on this.

I can take it to a local shop here (garrets discount golf carts in fountain inn) but i am one of those that is not a stranger to a volt meter and very mechanically inclined. and I am sure it is something that can be tracked down ... i just need a hint on a starting point. since i just registered this morning i have yet to look at any of the wiring schematics (will be doing that today)

if anyone would be kind enough to take the time to point me in a direction it would be greatly appreciated.

BGW

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sportcoupe

I suspect you have a series cart but you didn't say. Is there a mechanical f&w switch behind your legs? If so I would inspect or just flat out replace the stock f&r switch under the seat. A lot of intermittent come from burned up switches. It's a wear item so if it hasn't been replaced it should be by now. A heavy duty switch is available from ScottyB.

If you are handy with a voltmeter you can take a voltage reading of each battery 12 hours off the charger and again during a loaded condition to get an idea of their performance.

Trojan etches date code on the neg terminal. Letter and number. letter is the month and number is the year.

ny eric

yes f/r switch by my legs. run tow switch on the controller cover.

batteries were last charged Monday. Wife has taken several trip around the neighborhood since last charge. Batteries are off brand I think US battery (us1800)

tpc= 36.8
#1=6.15
#2=6.14
#3=6.10
#4=6.15
#5=6.15
#6=6.10

my lights are connected between #3and #4.

I am on the charger now so Ill update this tomorrow if it is necessary.

sportcoupe

Ah, a DCS cart. Not my area. I'll let members with more experiance reply on that one.

I can comment on batteries. The #1 rule is never leave them discharged for long periods. Always charge after use. Leaving them discharged (36.8v is ~50% SOC) will shorten the life.

JohnnieB

1. You have a 1997 TXT DCS. Be sure to include the DCS part when asking questions.
There were two different drive system is 97, one had a Series wound motor and the other had a Shunt wound motor aka Sepex (separately excited). The DCS has the Sepex motor.

2. Which pedal, brake or throttle?
Brake pedal could means the mechanical brakes (cable actuated) are not releasing.
Throttle pedal could mean several different things.

3. Looks are deceiving.
If the are OEM cables, they are 6Ga and too small. Need to up grade to 4Ga or thicker. (all 10 of them)

4Ga suffices up to about a 500A controller, but 2Ga or larger above 500A.

Attached is the magic decoder ring for US Battery dates codes.

4. None of these things are likely to be causing the problem described.

5. Here is a service manual that covers your cart.

6. Batteries ought to be charged after each use. US battery is a major brand in golf cart batteries.

7. 36.8V is only 60% charged and they shouldn't be discharged further than 50%.

They appear to be well balanced. (all within 0.1V of each other)

Also attached is a US Battery SoC (State of Charge) chart.

US Battery batteries have a higher voltage at 100% SoC than Trojan Batteries, and most legacy chargers are based on a Trojan Battery charge profile, so your charger might not be fully charging them. What make/model charger are use using?

8. It depends on how much you use your 12V accessories, but this type of setup causes the pack to become imbalanced, thereby shortening battery life expectancy. It is better ti use a separate 12V battery for accessories, or a DC to DC converter, so the accessories drain the entire pack evenly.

------------
Also, the DCS controller is very sensitive to running on low voltage. It doesn't have a low volt cutoff and self destructs if you let the pack get too low.

Attached Images

USBatterySOCtable.jpg (107.7 KB, 0 views)

Attached Files

	DATE_CODE_CHARTS_2013.pdf (58.4 KB, 0 views)
	electric gof cars & personal vehicles, fleet car,freedom,dcs,4 caddyshuttle 2+2,28469G01RS_.pdf (17.13 MB, 0 views)

ny eric

1. understood... will be adding that to my signature

2.throttle


3. ok on my list to upgrade


5. thank you will be adding to my file

6. normally they are charged but only when wife tells me she went for a drive LOL!

7.date on batteries is june 2013 and power wise charger

8. a dc to dc converter is on my list as well... as far as the low voltage thing .. I didnt think I had the problem..but I am on it now.

ny eric

I ran the cart around yesterday. It didn,t take long to get to 50%. I put it on the charger and then checked today.(little over 12 hrs later)

tpc 37.57
#1 6.26
#2 6.26
#3 6.25
#4 6.24
#5 6.28
#6 6.28

With that being said I ran it aprox 2.5 miles in the paved neighborhood and made a bunch of stops. I checked it as soon as I stopped for the day and measured it (36.5). my dash meter is analog needle gauge. I need to wire y DVM (hand held) in. I had no issues with the hesitation/delay start/slow start/pedal condition.

sportcoupe

Right off the charger your batteries are only at 80%. One year old batteries should be performing much better then that. What brand were these again? I didn't see the brand mentioned.

JohnnieB

1. That is not surprising. The US 1800 battery has fewer AH of storage capacity than the standard capacity batteries used in 36V packs and if the Powerwise (Model: 28115 G04 ?) charger has always been used to charge them, they have never been fully charged.

The attached list shows where they stack up against other commonly used 6V batteries.

2. The SoC charts are based on the batteries resting 12 hours after the charging stops, but anything from about 8 hours to 36 hours will give you a ballpark SoC estimate. If you are doing a comparison study, the important part is to let the batteries rest roughly the same length of time for each measurement used for comparison.

3. Only took them to 80% SoC. Something is amiss with the charging process.

Normally, a charger using a Trojan Battery charge profile will charge US Battery batteries to about 96% SoC (38.2V vs 38.5V), so your charger, or something in the charge loop, isn't working properly.

When then charger first comes on, the ammeter should climb to 18A or above. If it doesn't the charger needs to be fixed.
The charger itself consists of a ferroresonant transformer with matching capacitor and a pair of diodes.

It depends on how discharged the batteries are, but the ammeter should stay at nearly18A or above for several minute up to several hours, and then taper off to about 5A or so, until the pack voltage climbs into the 44V to 46V range and then the charger shuts off. The voltage at which the charger shuts off is controlled by the control board.

Other than being undercharged, the battery voltages are well matched.

4. To get an accurate SoC estimate after being discharged, the batteries need to rest for a while, just like they need to rest after being charged. Fortunately, they don't need to rest nearly as long.

The battery voltage continues to increase for over an hour after discharging stops, but most of it occurs in the first few minutes.
When I'm doing range estimates and the like, I let them rest for half an hour, but for checking if it is time to head back to the house, 5-10 minutes will suffice. The SoC estimate will be low, but that is on the safe side.

If they had rested longer, they probably would have climbed a bit higher than 55% SoC.

Also, the next time you measure the voltage after driving the cart, measure the individual battery voltages.
Comparing the "After" voltages to the "Before" voltages will tell you how the individual batteries are performing.


5. The cart misbehaving might be pack voltage related.

If the charger is working right, give the pack a few back-to-back charges.

Attached Images

6 Volt Battery AH comparisons.JPG (102.4 KB, 0 views)

ny eric

US battery 1800xc2

after realizing what I don't know..(just spent the last 4 hrs reading) my water was only 3/16" over the plates on a level parking pad. (according to their website I am a little low (to say the least). I hate to post things that prove my ignorance.... but if it helps someone else help me or anyone.. I am in Now off to get a hydrometer so I can really cause damage.