How much are poor cables holding me back?

shaferz

36v cart. PQ High Speed motor. Freedom chip. Seems like it runs good, but i don't have anything to compare it to. Went for a cruise today with the family, we were out maybe 20 minutes worth. Cruising around town... Frequent stops and go's. :)

Came home and lifted the seat... All but two batter cables were hot. I could leave my hand on them, but definitely not normal. Looks like stock 6 gauge wires and they look crappy so Ive got 4 gauge on the way. Thinking in the meantime though... How much do you think these cables are hurting cart performance? Acceleration? Top speed?

Thanks!
Zach

BGW

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JohnnieB

Hurting acceleration? Definitely.
Hurting top speed? Maybe so, maybe not.

If you are running a stock PDS controller, it has to have the speed sensor connected to run at full speed.
With the speed sensor connected, the motor RPM is limited to about 4,400RPM in the freedom mode. (About 19MPH with stock height tires)
Technically, the controller limits the motor RPM to about 590 pulses per second and the motor speed sensor puts out 8 pulses per revelation, so if the PQ motor has fewer than 8 magnets on the disk, the motor could spin faster.

Anyway, when that RPM is reached, the controller backs off on the duty cycle, so a sepex motor fed by a PDS controller does not reach the top speed that is possible for the battery pack voltage.
In other words, unless the cables are really bad, you might not be losing any top speed.

If any cable is getting more than barely warm (10°F above ambient), it is bad and is costing you performance.
Replace all 10 cables.

B.Roussel

JohnnieB is right. I gained 3-4 mph top end just from upgrading cables. I have a txt not a pds and I am 48v but just wanted to tell you how big of a difference simply upgrading cables makes.

bigcbizle

I would do a run with a gps and see what your top speed is and do another
After the new cables

DaveTM

The man with the tinfoil hat is right. Look at it this way....if your current cables are old, or even stock (as in came with the cart) and you plan on keeping this cart for a long time (as in 3 or 4 years) then why fool around with it? New cables will more than likely give you better performance AND give you longer run time on your current batteries. PLUS...your cart will be shiner and your breath smell fresher!!! (Well....maybe those last two points I've exaggerated a bit.)

Dave