Thoughts ?

Bayouownbeer

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 2009 ezgo pds 36 volt. My issues started with controller overheating and shutting down the cart for short periods. At this point I never paid attention to the stock motor if it was getting hot. To try and solve my over heating issue of the stock Curtis controller. I sent it off to Diesel teck. Had it checked and upgraded to 400 amp thinking 400 amps is better than 250. Changed all the wires to the motor as well to 2 gauge and 600 amp solenoid. It get all this done. Kids ride the cart off and on for half a day. Well the motor literally fried lol. Stunk like burnt amateur smell really strong not rebuildable. At this point I brought to the ezgo dealer in town. They put me a new stock motor. I get it back home take it up and down my 1500 foot driveway and stop after each leg and feel the motor after each lap its temperature is rising. After about 1/2 mile it is to hot to keep your hand on it also the fins on back of the controller are hot but not as hot as motor. Wires coming out controller barely warm. Cart runs great but don’t want to destroy my new motor. Any ideas I have changed everything i know to do.. I call the shop they saying maybe it’s the controller causing the issue. I talked to diesel teck that checked my controller he is saying something else is causing the controller and motor to over heat. I don't think my dealer is all that savvy on problem solving. I have read on another thread that I should be 190 or below. I may be in that range I’m not sure. 190 degrees seems like it would be to hot to keep your hand on. I guess I need to get a temp gun and check it. But that hot in only a half a mile don’t seem right and this was going about 10 mph. Will my controller shut the cart down if motor gets to hot to prevent damage? Or possibly a warning beep?

BGW

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bronsonj

Are your brakes dragging? not likely, but it is possible.

Too hot to hold on to after a half mile is not good. It is possible your controller has the wrong field map loaded, that could cause the motor to run less efficiently which would cause extra heat.

Was the motor they put on actually new or was it a used stock motor?
What controller did they put on?

Bayouownbeer

Motor is brand new stock 36 volt ezgo motor. The controller is the stock Curtis controller but I sent it off had it checked and upgraded to 400 amp’s. I have a temp gun coming in Tuesday and will see what it’s doing. Sounds like I need to buy a new stock amperage controller. The guys that upgraded my controller to 400 said they could return it to 300. But they didn’t think this was my issue.

JohnnieB

What is the tire height? (Stock is 18")
Does cart have rear seat?
What Brand batteries and what is the pack voltage 12 hours after charger shuts off?

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Stock PDS carts don't like to run slow (walking speed or less) for more than a few yards or at top speed (19MPH) for extended periods of time. The motor's efficiency (percentage of amps converted to torque vs percentage converted to heat) is dismal at low RPM and poor at higher RPMs, so it does get pretty hot pretty quick when operating at the ends of its RPM spectrum.

The stock PDS motor runs cooler at 42V or 48V than it does at 36V. (Few amps are needed at higher voltages to do same work and heat is generated at the square of the amps, so if the amps are halved the heat is quartered)


400A is about all a stock PDS motor can handle, so dropping the modified stock controller back to 300A probably wouldn't help.

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The controller doesn't know how hot the motor is, so there is no shutdown or warning if the motor overheats.

The thing to remember is that a PDS cart was designed to carry two golfers and their clubs about 5 miles in eighteen increments from about 200 to 500 yards each, resting several minutes between the increments and to do that twice on a single battery charge. Anything much more than that will require some upgrades to the drive system.

Bayouownbeer

The battery’s are less than a year old Duracell’s I purchased from sams. I have not charged the cart for 3 days and used it to bring some
Things to the shop this evening and it was at 36-37 volts I have digital volt meter on it. I will be checking it’s operating temp as soon as my heat gun comes in. I took it for a few short laps around the house. Motor was just warm but the main battery studs and nuts on the motor where a lot hotter this may be normal just a observation. Yes I have a back seat and the tires are 23”.

JohnnieB

None of the 10 high current cables or their connections should climb more than about 10°F above air temperature. If they do, they are bad or too small for the task. High current cables should be 4Ga or thicker.

It takes 28% more torque to climb the same hill with with the same weight load with 23" tall tires than it does with stock height (18") tires, plus more than two pax increases weight load. More torque means more amps drawn and more amps means more heat AND heat increases exponentially as amps increase.

Not sure how long a new stock PDS motor or a stock PDS controller (even one modified to pass 400A) will last with 23" tall tires and a rear seat.

Bayouownbeer

Thanks for all your help. All the wires are new 2 gauge going to the motor and 2 awg on the battery’s. the wires are not getting hot it’s the terminal studs coming out the motor that the wires bolt to are pretty warm very quickly. All these test have been don’t with one person and on flat ground.

Bayouownbeer

Update used temp gun after running around few miles. Motor got up to 150 degrees which is to hot to touch but a waise from 190. Back Of controller was in the range. I Have a digital volt meter hooked to my key switch and if I buy it full throttle voltage drops to 31 but comes back up. I have LED headlight bulbs in the factory head light they will dim as well. Is that normal of I don’t mash it hard it only
Drops a few volts and will settle out around 35 while rolling. 37 almost 38 volts sitting still

Bayouownbeer

Almost 39 when it comes off charger

JohnnieB

In a nutshell, the slower a motor spins, the more amps it is capable of drawing and the 23" tires causes the motor to spin 28% slower than it normally does, plus it takes more torque to turn the taller than stock tires and more torque means more amps drawn and the lower the battery pack voltage drops to the more amps are needed to do the same work, so you have the perfect storm for overheating the motor and controller and everything else the amps flow through.