Don't Judge a Book

fsu1tm · 08-19-2018, 05:53 PM

OK. I purchased this 1990 CC DS Series cart 5 ½ years ago for the wife’s birthday. Right off I knew it needed new batteries but what I didn’t know was that there are differences in cart batteries. So off I went and bought the cheapest I could get. I used and abused the batteries for the first couple of months and then I found BGW and read how to maintain them properly. Having an old Lester dumb charger, I purchased a Battery Saver and began to really watch the water level and how I was keeping them maintained.

About a year ago, the Lester charger gave out. I thought that instead of just buying a new charger, I’d also get new innards because eventually I’d want to upgrade to 48V. So, I purchased a HD F/R Contactor, a 400A solenoid, 2GA cables, and an Alltrax SR48500 Controller. That was a fun upgrade and taught me a lot about the electrics of my cart (thanks ScottyB). Of course I still had 36V batteries.

Well, a couple of months ago, I started noticing that my pack was taking longer to charge and didn’t last as long as before so I started to shop around for Trojan T-875 replacements. The best price for the 875 in my area was around $130 each so I was looking at a cost of almost $850 after tax plus I was going to have to upgrade to a 48V charger for another $215 - $300. The cost to go to 48V would be about $1200 and this was before I even noticed the condition of my battery frame.

While browsing BGW, I saw a post by NoleFan4Ever about his move to Lithium-ion so I contacted him to see if I could get in on his plans. He had already made the leap but was very willing to communicate about what he had done and where he had gotten his parts. He even sent a message to PingEye3, from whom he had gotten his parts, to ask if Ping would help me out. Luckily Ping agreed and my start to Lithium-ion began.

I worked with Ping over the next couple of weeks on how the conversion would work. Ping made it easy and basically plug-n-play. Most of our conversation was about the aluminum plating, which would take the place of my battery frame. I made cardboard cutouts after cardboard cutouts trying to make sure that when I got the stiff aluminum plates they would easily drop in. I took extra time to transfer all of my cardboard measurements to a diagram for Ping to use when creating the plates.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I drove down to Ping’s area (we only live a couple hundred miles from each other) where he met me to provide the pack. Now let me tell you that Ping did a first class job on everything he provided. The pack was already configured with the BMS mounted on the side. On the other side were the power, charger, DC-DC converter, and negative pack connections. He had already mounted the pack to the center plate and 2ga cables/ANL fuse to the back plate. Really, really first class all the way. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Ping also provided the cable ties, heat shrink, lugs, and just about everything else I would need for installation.

That’s it. Now a 1990 CC DS Series cart has gone from total stock and a speed of around 8 MPH on flat ground (5 MPH on hills) to 23 MPH on flat ground and 17 MPH on hills. The first upgrade to heavy cables, SW202 reversing contactor, 400A solenoid, and 500A Alltrax increased speed to around 14 MPH on flat ground but the cart still struggled on hills.

So what am I seeing as the advantages of the conversion to Lithium-ion besides the increase in speed and torque?

No battery maintenance
A loss of 300lbs
No more unplugging charger from wall and then from cart
No more lugging around a heavy separate charger
3 hour recovery time (with 17A charger)
More speed
More torque
Longer life than FLA
Longer run time

So why is my thread titled “Don’t Judge a Book”. Truth told, my wife won’t let me change the looks. She likes that her cart looks “vintage” and doesn’t want anything jacked up or painted. You’ll see in the pics that the cart doesn’t look like much but hey, don’t judge a book.

fsu1tm · 08-19-2018, 05:56 PM

Old batteries out, body off, frame cleaned and plates in.

fsu1tm · 08-19-2018, 05:58 PM

Old hardware mounted, pack waiting (Thanks ping for Nole sticker), everything in.

fsu1tm · 08-19-2018, 05:58 PM

Don't judge a book.

Swan · 08-19-2018, 06:19 PM

its truly a sleeper

Is now open

Click Swan's Pick'em

NCPW · 08-19-2018, 06:53 PM

Man, thank looks awesome fsu1tm!

ONEDAY · 08-19-2018, 07:25 PM

That is a nice pack. What does some thing like this cost to do. I need batteries soon

Mooncarter · 08-19-2018, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fsu1tm

Don't judge a book.

fsu1tm · 08-19-2018, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ONEDAY

That is a nice pack. What does some thing like this cost to do. I need batteries soon

I've heard/read of people putting their own pack/BMS together for as little as $1000. Mine cost considerably more because I wanted a plug-n-play solution, which PingEye3 provided. We live fairly close (couple of hundred miles) so there were no shipping concerns as Ping can't ship Lithium.

I will say that my first conversion to the HD F/R contactor, Alltrax, solenoid, and cables took a little sting out of things since I had already done those. Those have to be done before Lithium.

Sorry about not giving you an exact number on what I paid Ping but I believe that cost information should come from him. He's a stand-up guy. PM him if you are interested.

ONEDAY · 08-19-2018, 07:55 PM

Thank you

08-19-2018, 05:53 PM	#1
fsu1tm Gone Wild Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Seminole Country Posts: 836	Don't Judge a Book OK. I purchased this 1990 CC DS Series cart 5 ½ years ago for the wife’s birthday. Right off I knew it needed new batteries but what I didn’t know was that there are differences in cart batteries. So off I went and bought the cheapest I could get. I used and abused the batteries for the first couple of months and then I found BGW and read how to maintain them properly. Having an old Lester dumb charger, I purchased a Battery Saver and began to really watch the water level and how I was keeping them maintained. About a year ago, the Lester charger gave out. I thought that instead of just buying a new charger, I’d also get new innards because eventually I’d want to upgrade to 48V. So, I purchased a HD F/R Contactor, a 400A solenoid, 2GA cables, and an Alltrax SR48500 Controller. That was a fun upgrade and taught me a lot about the electrics of my cart (thanks ScottyB). Of course I still had 36V batteries. Well, a couple of months ago, I started noticing that my pack was taking longer to charge and didn’t last as long as before so I started to shop around for Trojan T-875 replacements. The best price for the 875 in my area was around $130 each so I was looking at a cost of almost $850 after tax plus I was going to have to upgrade to a 48V charger for another $215 - $300. The cost to go to 48V would be about $1200 and this was before I even noticed the condition of my battery frame. While browsing BGW, I saw a post by NoleFan4Ever about his move to Lithium-ion so I contacted him to see if I could get in on his plans. He had already made the leap but was very willing to communicate about what he had done and where he had gotten his parts. He even sent a message to PingEye3, from whom he had gotten his parts, to ask if Ping would help me out. Luckily Ping agreed and my start to Lithium-ion began. I worked with Ping over the next couple of weeks on how the conversion would work. Ping made it easy and basically plug-n-play. Most of our conversation was about the aluminum plating, which would take the place of my battery frame. I made cardboard cutouts after cardboard cutouts trying to make sure that when I got the stiff aluminum plates they would easily drop in. I took extra time to transfer all of my cardboard measurements to a diagram for Ping to use when creating the plates. Then a couple of weeks ago, I drove down to Ping’s area (we only live a couple hundred miles from each other) where he met me to provide the pack. Now let me tell you that Ping did a first class job on everything he provided. The pack was already configured with the BMS mounted on the side. On the other side were the power, charger, DC-DC converter, and negative pack connections. He had already mounted the pack to the center plate and 2ga cables/ANL fuse to the back plate. Really, really first class all the way. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Ping also provided the cable ties, heat shrink, lugs, and just about everything else I would need for installation. That’s it. Now a 1990 CC DS Series cart has gone from total stock and a speed of around 8 MPH on flat ground (5 MPH on hills) to 23 MPH on flat ground and 17 MPH on hills. The first upgrade to heavy cables, SW202 reversing contactor, 400A solenoid, and 500A Alltrax increased speed to around 14 MPH on flat ground but the cart still struggled on hills. So what am I seeing as the advantages of the conversion to Lithium-ion besides the increase in speed and torque? No battery maintenance A loss of 300lbs No more unplugging charger from wall and then from cart No more lugging around a heavy separate charger 3 hour recovery time (with 17A charger) More speed More torque Longer life than FLA Longer run time So why is my thread titled “Don’t Judge a Book”. Truth told, my wife won’t let me change the looks. She likes that her cart looks “vintage” and doesn’t want anything jacked up or painted. You’ll see in the pics that the cart doesn’t look like much but hey, don’t judge a book.

08-19-2018, 06:19 PM	#5
Swan Cave Dweller Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Always On The Move Posts: 22,229	Re: Don't Judge a Book its truly a sleeper Is now open Click Swan's Pick'em

08-19-2018, 06:53 PM	#6
NCPW Just Gone Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,549	Re: Don't Judge a Book Man, thank looks awesome fsu1tm!

08-19-2018, 07:25 PM	#7
ONEDAY Gone Wild Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 1,115	Re: Don't Judge a Book That is a nice pack. What does some thing like this cost to do. I need batteries soon
ONEDAY Gone Wild Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 1,115

08-19-2018, 07:55 PM	#10
ONEDAY Gone Wild Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 1,115	Re: Don't Judge a Book Thank you
ONEDAY Gone Wild Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 1,115

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