Dead Batteries (zero volts)

Tidenumone

Not sure what happened, but the breaker that the charger was plugged into was flipped and all of my batteries now read zero. I put a separate charger on one of the batteries overnight, the charger showed completed – but they still read zero…so all of my batteries are dead. They are a little over four year old, so this is not a great loss.
The system is a 36volt and I recently upgraded the to an Alltrax controlled and larger capacitor – which then let the cart run at 21 MPH.
I have two questions:
1) How can I tell if my charger or anything else in the cart has blown?
2) Assuming the only thing dead are the batteries, if I upgraded to 48V – other then new batteries & charger, what would I have to upgrade?
Thank you

BGW

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cgtech

Be sure your solenoid is ready for 48v. New batteries, new charger, new cables for the links between the batteries. (8v batteries terminals are on same side, not opposite corners, so cables aren't long enough). Should link a laptop to the controller to check its "max voltage" slider, to see it is high enough, set to max for 48v.

Tidenumone

Great – the solenoid is a heavy duty 400 AMP (MZJ400), fortunately when I did the upgrade to the controller – Scottyb made sure I made the correct choices. Sounds like if the charger is dead, then I defiantly should upgrade to 48v. Is there a reason to do 42v versus 48v?

Also, if I plug in the controller to a laptop can I tell if it is still working? Not sure how much damage what ever happened did…

BTW – I love this site, the positive answers and help the novice folks like me get from the experts is invaluable. Any questions about Fishing – I can help there ☺

cgtech

What model controller did you get? (xct, sr, spm, dcx, axe).

Tidenumone

I believe it is the XCT 500 amps.

I also have upgraded all the wires to 2ga or 4ga, but making new ones would not be a big deal.

cgtech

Well, if it's a xct, you have a PDS Or DCS cart. The sweet spot for a PDS motor is 42v, and the controller needs to be dialed back a little from full 48v (but getting a 48v pack & detuning the controller to 42v should add a little overall range). If it's a DCS motor, I'm not sure, but may be able to let 'er rip at full 48v. Either way, 42v or 48v, you will gain speed, or keep the same speed and add range.

Tidenumone

Yes - i believe it is a PDS...

I think 42V would be hard, because I would have to find a place for the extra battery...

JohnnieB

The seventh battery fits nicely in the space in front of the driver's side rear wheel well. If you have a voltage reducer in that spot, it can be relocated to the blank space in front of the controller.

If it is a PDS (F/R is a rocker switch on dash), you can run the stock motor at 48V, but you need set the RPM limit in the XCT to 6500RPM (or less) and set the max amps to 400A. You'll also have to tweak the throttle curves a bit because it'll be a bit on the wild side coming off the line. As cgtech mentioned, 42V is the sweet spot for a PDS.

If it is a DCS (F/R by your knee), it doesn't have a speed sensor, so the XCT will not RPM limit the motor, but a stock DCS motor has less RPM for the applied voltage than a stock PDS motor and more low end torque. If the cart is doing 21MPH at 36V on level ground, the motor is turning just under 4900 RPM (if you have stock height tires) and upping to 48V will only put it a bit over 6500 RPM on level ground. However, if you go downhill at full throttle you can over-rev the motor.

Tidenumone

Okay – it is a PDS (since the F/R is a rocker switch on the dash)…

Yes, I currently have the voltage reducer in the space in front of the drivers rear wheel – but could move it.
Sounds like the best answer for me is to go to 42V.

I have seen some other post where folks say if you are going to do 42V, you should go to 48v.

JohnnieB

With stock height (18") tires and 12.44:1 gears, a stock PDS motor maxes out at about 6500 RPM on level ground at 42V. (About 28 MPH). At 48V, the same motor in the same cart will spin at about 7600 RPM, (about 33 MPH) which is faster than the recommended max RPM.

I exploded the armature a stock PDS motor going downhill with my foot on the floor, but it was a combination of 8000+ RPM and 220+°F motor temperature. That was at 42V with a DCX controller, which doesn't have RPM limiting.

With an XCT in a PDS you can limit the motor to 6500 RPM or less, so you won't over-rev it at 48V.

A PDS cart at 48V is aggressive off the starting line and you have to tweak the throttle curves and other settings to tame it down enough for kids and novice drivers, or for driving on turf without digging divots, or maneuvering in tight places. However, adding the FNKS remote switch and programming it to have different performance modes takes care of some of those issues.

If you need more range (distant traveled on single charge), 7x6V has, or can have, more storage capacity than 6x8V.

As mentioned, 42V is the sweet spot for most PDS carts.