Resistor board assembly problems

[bullets@yoazz]

I purchase a 90 marathon and the resistor board assembly gets hot as fire after running for awhile, and the cart looses power. After it cools off it seems to get some power back. It has brand new batteries in it and I upgraded battery cables (thicker ones made at Napa). Also wire from F/R: it's a thick red wire that I'm assuming hooks to a positive terminal on battery closest to the charger (wire#44 on the diagram I'm looking at) It is getting as hot as fire also. Can anyone tell me what my problem is? Do I need to get thicker wires to Resistor board assembly? Any help would be greatly appreciated? By the way, this forum is awesome

[bullets@yoazz]

Sorry, it's a medalist not a Marathon. Any suggestions?

[arcitech]

Originally Posted by bullets@yoazz

I purchase a 90 marathon and the resistor board assembly gets hot as fire after running for awhile, and the cart looses power. After it cools off it seems to get some power back. It has brand new batteries in it and I upgraded battery cables (thicker ones made at Napa). Also wire from F/R: it's a thick red wire that I'm assuming hooks to a positive terminal on battery closest to the charger (wire#44 on the diagram I'm looking at) It is getting as hot as fire also. Can anyone tell me what my problem is? Do I need to get thicker wires to Resistor board assembly? Any help would be greatly appreciated? By the way, this forum is awesome

Your resistors will get hot no matter what. Even at full speed (no resistors in series) you will still have a bit of current flow through them. At slow speed it is even worse since full voltage must travel through each resistor. Take a look at some of the forum posts and you'll get the idea. Best bet is to run flat out and then let it rest for a few minutes before going again. Lots of low speed driving will create a lot of heat, and in the summer it gets worse.

[scottyb]

The medalist were all controller carts so you have a marathon. The last 2 digits of the manufacture code will give the year.
Napa battery cables are designed for 12v not 36v high amperage stuff. You can make your own out of welder's cable #4g. The heat you feel in the wires is from resistance.... clean the ends and or replace the wires. Hope this helps

[e-z-go1988]

Originally Posted by arcitec

Your resistors will get hot no matter what. Even at full speed (no resistors in series) you will still have a bit of current flow through them. At slow speed it is even worse since full voltage must travel through each resistor. Take a look at some of the forum posts and you'll get the idea. Best bet is to run flat out and then let it rest for a few minutes before going again. Lots of low speed driving will create a lot of heat, and in the summer it gets worse.

As Arcitec says, Heat is not a bad thing for the resistor box as that is how the speed is regulated, the rest of the wiring should remain neutral however. After a run test/touch wires for heat and replace with larger gauge (4ga welding cable preferred). Golf carts were intended to go short distances, with a few minutes downtime between runs.

[bullets@yoazz]

Thanks for your help guys. So should I replace the Napa battery cables that I bought with the welders cable #4g? The guy at Napa got my measurements and hand made the cables, not sure if that makes a difference. Should I replace the wires to resistor with the same welders #4g wire? What about the wire that is getting hot coming from the F/R that hooks to a positive battery terminal (it gets hot to the point of melting). Also, does it make sense that it lost power and wouldn't run when it got hot, but when it cooled off it gained a little power back? I know I have a lot of questions, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks for your responses thus far!

[scottyb]

You cannot replace the coils with cables!

[bullets@yoazz]

I'm talking about replacing the wires running to the resistor coil assembly that has the bedspring coil in it.

[scottyb]

Sorry, reading too fast.
Yes you have to replace all of the cables with the bigger ones before you get the full effect. Otherwise there is still a bottleneck somewhere for the amperage flow.

[bullets@yoazz]

Thanks for your help, maybe replacing ALL wires will fix my problems. Where can I buy #4
gauge welding wire?