Arcs and Sparks

AndyT

My '85 EZ-GO (36V) spits sparks from the moving contact as it moves across the buttons on the speed switch. For safety, I have taken it out of commission until I can repair the problem. The post on the solenoid that the moving contact is wired to shows signs of overheating (the plastic appears to be charred and melted), but it is not loose.

The A2 post on the motor is loose where it enters the motor housing, and this also sparks and glows when the pedal is pressed.

I believe I will certainly be replacing the motor to fix this, but I am wondering what other components will need replacing? Is it possible that the sparks and heat damage to the solenoid are superficial and will go away with a new motor? (I guess the solenoid is cheap compared to the motor, it's just that none of these are really in the budget right now.)

Is the moving contact pressed into the arm that it pivots on? I don't see how to remove it.

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

BGW

__________________
This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members.
Register your free account today and become a member on Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum

roady89

Check your resistor coils to see if they are broken or damaged and check for any bad connections. You don't HAVE to get a new motor, you could send it out to get repaired at a motor shop or maybe send it off to EMP and let them re-build it. It will be alot cheaper to have repaired than buy new. After you get the motor terminal fixed you need to make sure the heat damage has not made your connections brittle...just make sure all your connections are good or the same thing is likely to happen again.

The arm comes off with a nut on the shaft. The shaft goes through the board and the nut is on the opposite site of the board the wiper is on. Comes off fairly easy.

phasetim

I agree, find a good local dealer who can repair the motor, or if you have to ship someone like EMP is a lot cheaper than buying a motor. You could also have it beefed up at the same time..

The boards and solenoid, are extremely cheap compared to a motor.. If they are weak they could damage your fresh pretty motor once it runs again.

Also, verify your resistor is in good shape before you do much else.....

AndyT

Thanks for the advice, guys.

Phasetim, what do you mean by having my motor "beefed up"? So it can handle higher current?

We have been wanting to speed it up (not quite as much as shown in Roady's video, though ). But from what I can tell, I would need to get a motor with higher RPM (mine is rated at 2800) or give it a charring voltage boost like Roady does. Can a winding shop up my RPM? How is torque affected when you increase the RPM? What happens to the current? I know all these are related in AC motors, and I assume there are similar relationships in DC. What "gotcha"s do I need to be aware of?

Thanks

phasetim

"beefed up"

EMP does custom motor upgrades, so you can send them your motor and they will speed it up or add torque etc.... I have only dealt with one of their products and I was impressed. Give them a call, they are very helpful.

Roady will probably be able to answer the questions about torque and rpm a lot better than me :-).

roady89

I would not let a winding shop "re-work" the motor for more power. If they are just gonna fix the lug that would be ok. Theres no doubt they "might" be able to get you more power but I doubt you would have any kind of warranty if it grenades.

If you decide on a high speed motor most of the time you loose low end power. If you were throwing 700 amps at a high speed motor you may not notice the loss. If I had that cart I would not exceed something like 3800-4000 rpm MAX simply so I would not loose my low speed torque. Its a resistor cart and if you get to big a motor you might burn up the coils.

phasetim

They have had a few cases of these burning to the ground because of that symptom..

AndyT

Thanks for all the input. I've learned a lot here, and have gotten the confidence to dig deeper into my cart!

It turns out the smallest diameter coil has broken. Actually it looks like it has fewer turns than those I have seen pictured, so I'm wondering if maybe it has broken before and someone shortened it by a couple of turns to get going again. Bottom line is, I'm going to buy a resistor assembly.

As for the motor, the budget can't handle a new one so I removed the motor to get a better look at the problem. The problem is on the A2 stud... The insulating bushing has deteriorated and cracked. The post was corroded and it broke off when I was trying to remove the top nut. I see a couple of options for repairing it myself: 1- Buy a new set of brushes, or 2- get a "repair stud" that screws down on the remaining threads of the post (the brushes appear to be in good shape, and still have lots of length - over an inch long).

If I buy new brushes (P/N 16917-G1) there are 2 brushes attached to a single post with cables. I think this is 1 "set" and if I want to replace all 4 brushes I would need to buy 2 "sets", at around $60 per set? Purchasing a repair stud would be more economical, but I have not found a quantity less than 5.

Either way it appears I will need to purchase fiber washers and square insulating bushings. Is this correct? It appears to be 2 washers and 1 square bushing for each post. While I'm in there, should I go ahead and replace all the washers and bushings so they are all new? So far I have only been able to find them in quantities of 20, which is far more than I need. Does anyone know where I can order smaller quantities?

Thanks

phasetim

Theres a after-market replacement coil for the EZ GO resistors that is a lot thicker and works better. Pretty much doesn't break unless you don't tighten the nuts tight enough

I'm sure you can find someone to sell you smaller quantities..

Wylan9021

Thanks for the help. My first search on these forums and I had my fix. Where do you get the aftermarket resistor?