Solenoid test??

stonelake

I have a 1975 CC with new batteries. It was running along fine, when all of a sudden it quit. With the key off, I can hear clicking from the front. With the key on, I can hear and feel the solenoids clicking under the seat, but hard to distinguish which one is clicking. After reading the forum, it appears that the first one on the far left is the master solenoid. With the rear wheels off the ground, I jumped from the large nut on the master to the next solenoid, and the wheels moved. That was without the throttle peddle pushed. Is this normal, or should it only do that when the peddle is pushed?? And, is that a way I can individually test each solenoid, to see if they are good?? Are all the solenoids the same, as far as replacing them goes?? Where is the best ( cheapest) place to buy solenoids?? Thanks in advance!!

BGW

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scottyb

You are simply bypassing the solenoids. With the cart jacked up on stands... slowly press the accelerator while holding a hand a solenoid to feel and hear it click. A voltmeter test is best as even if you get a click sound the solenoid can be bad. Check our site sponsors for the 36v CC solenoids.

stonelake

I did what you recommended. The first ( Master ) solenoid does not click. by placing my hand on each of them I can definately feel each of the 4 speed solenoids click in order. A total of 4 clicks. I assume, by the master not even clicking that it is bad. Where do I place the test leads of the volt meter to assure the others are functioning properly, and just not clicking??? And where do I place the leads to double check that the master solenoid is getting voltage, when the pedal is applied ?? I assume that the solenoids are all the same and interchangable with the master?? If so, may not ba a bad idea to have a spare on hand.........??

scottyb

You either have a bad micro switch at the throttle box or a bad solenoid?

scottyb

With the cart on stands put the two ends of the voltmeter on the two small terminals of the 1st solenoid (it is the one on the driver side without a resistor coil). Depress the pedal, if you get voltage across the small terminals the solenoid is bad. If you don't get voltage across the small terminals the micro switch may be at fault and you will have to check it's input source to verify.

stonelake

This is strange! I put the cart on charge for a couple of hours and came back. The amps had dropped from 20 to around 15 on the charger. With the rear of the cart is jacked up, the key on, and the test leads on the small terminals, when the pedal is pushed, the wheels turn !! With the leads off, and the pedal pushed, nothing happens. It did that twice ! I didn't notice the voltage at the time. I guess it supprised me, that the wheels turned, so I got on line to write what had happened. I decided that before posting, I would check the voltage for a reading. The voltage across the two small terminals on the master solenoid with the petal pushed to the first click is about 38 volts. and this time no wheel spin. So I'm thinking I must have had the leads on something other than the two small terminals. I tried every combination I could think of but the wheels would not spin again..Now get this. across the entire bank of batteries, I only get 35 volts! As I continued to test the voltage across the bank of batteries seemed to decrease. OK just stepped outside to check again. Across the entire bank 40 volts. Across the small terminals on the master solenoid voltage is decreasing in relation to the number of times I try the pedal from 25 volts to below 20 volts, so I quit......Remember that these are new batteries that have only had one 9 hour charge, and the 2 hour gharge this evening.

stonelake

So voltage across the small terminals reguardless of the amount, indicates a bad solenoid, correct ????

scottyb

NO. Think of the solenoid as a light switch. When activated and deactivated, it is going to connect the big voltage on the large posts or interrupt it. Got that? The switching is activated by the little wires on the small posts. So if there is sufficient voltage present at the little posts and the solenoid does not make contact for the big posts then ....it is bad, regardless of whether you heard a click or not!
I hope that is a bit clearer?
Sounds like you have almost got it? I would let it charge to be sure you are working with enough voltage to activate everything and take another look at the micros to see if one is not intermittently working. They should have a crisp click when manually activated.

stonelake

How many hours can I safely charge the new batteries? Water is over the plates in all of them. How low should the amp guage read when charging is complete?

scottyb

What charger do you have? It could take as long as 9 or 10 hours or as little as 4 or 5, depending upon the state of discharge and the type of charger. Most modern chargers have a built-in volt meter and will shut off automatically when the pack reaches a preset voltage.

Typical charging will start at the max and taper in amperage to 6 or 8 at the end of the cycle. New batteries need exercise. Which means discharge them and recharge. They will get stronger after the first 5 to 10 charge cycles. Never discharge them below say 6.1 volts each and never leave them 'low' for long periods of time. The charger is their lifeblood. Hook em up after every 30 minutes of 'peddle time' at first. Every 60 to 90 minutes later on....