Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum - View Single Post

81clubcar · 07-26-2021, 05:07 PM

Hey everyone, After reading countless threads about conversions, what I haven’t found is anyone talking about upgrading the old ones... and I mean year 1 DS models, 1981! I will admit, reading the chat about amp draws, voltage drops, charging specs, etc... I feel I am in a small boat on a big pond because some of it sounds like Greek to me. My intro thread give a little insight into how I got my gen 1 DS (I think it was DS still back then).

I am fairly sure almost all the mechanical/electrical components on my 81 are stock still, besides the lights which I swapped out to LED. Side note: I swapped out my old round glass headlights with a set of pretty awesome motorcycle fog lights (<$40) and they were **** near a perfect match in size and just popped right in, I can get a link for the ones I used if anyone wants. I have been running (6)6v continental golf cart batteries but I killed them from neglect and sure would like to switch to a Lithium setup.

This is where I could use some help:

Looking around it seems like just buying (3)12v LiFePO4 50 or 100ah batteries and running them in series would be a pretty easy swap? The more I read the more confusing and scary things things seem to get (like the sticky “golf cart exploding fire ball” thread at the top). I reached out to 2 of the site sponsor folks and 1 said “I don’t do Lithium, good luck” the other I talked to said “I would not do it, the tech isn’t there yet, convert to 48v instead”.... that wasn’t very inspiring.

- Can I run a LiFePO4 batt through those old school resister coils or do I need a solid state speed controller conversion first? Or any other kind of conversion first?
- Is there a crazy risk of turning my cart into a 4 wheel fireball if I use the old components? When I say old, I mean there Is no computer of any kind on this thing.
- The max speed in 81 was a blistering 12mph... I don’t care about getting it faster, I just don’t want to have a runaway cart if I get some discharge rate wrong with fancy new batteries?
- I don’t need to go across the state on a single charge 15-20 miles would be fine I’m sure, what size LiFe would I need to go with for that type of range? My hood is pretty flat and paved, I just want to be able to cruise around with the kids and go to a friends house from time to time.
- my headlights and phone charger... and tail lights are 12v which currently just pick off the first 2 series batteries, can I do the same if I got (3)12v and just tap into 1?
Some simple do’s and do not’s would be much appreciated if you extremely knowledgeable folks have any insight into my setup and how it can be done, safely! I don’t want to go cheap cheap and risk burning down my house, but I’m hoping to avoid buying some ridiculously priced super battery that will take my cart to Florida and back at highway speeds.

Thanks in advance fellas, I look forward to hearing your advice.

07-26-2021, 05:07 PM	#1
81clubcar Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jul 2021 Location: Texas Posts: 58	1981 Lithium conversion possible? Hey everyone, After reading countless threads about conversions, what I haven’t found is anyone talking about upgrading the old ones... and I mean year 1 DS models, 1981! I will admit, reading the chat about amp draws, voltage drops, charging specs, etc... I feel I am in a small boat on a big pond because some of it sounds like Greek to me. My intro thread give a little insight into how I got my gen 1 DS (I think it was DS still back then). I am fairly sure almost all the mechanical/electrical components on my 81 are stock still, besides the lights which I swapped out to LED. Side note: I swapped out my old round glass headlights with a set of pretty awesome motorcycle fog lights (<$40) and they were **** near a perfect match in size and just popped right in, I can get a link for the ones I used if anyone wants. I have been running (6)6v continental golf cart batteries but I killed them from neglect and sure would like to switch to a Lithium setup. This is where I could use some help: Looking around it seems like just buying (3)12v LiFePO4 50 or 100ah batteries and running them in series would be a pretty easy swap? The more I read the more confusing and scary things things seem to get (like the sticky “golf cart exploding fire ball” thread at the top). I reached out to 2 of the site sponsor folks and 1 said “I don’t do Lithium, good luck” the other I talked to said “I would not do it, the tech isn’t there yet, convert to 48v instead”.... that wasn’t very inspiring. - Can I run a LiFePO4 batt through those old school resister coils or do I need a solid state speed controller conversion first? Or any other kind of conversion first? - Is there a crazy risk of turning my cart into a 4 wheel fireball if I use the old components? When I say old, I mean there Is no computer of any kind on this thing. - The max speed in 81 was a blistering 12mph... I don’t care about getting it faster, I just don’t want to have a runaway cart if I get some discharge rate wrong with fancy new batteries? - I don’t need to go across the state on a single charge 15-20 miles would be fine I’m sure, what size LiFe would I need to go with for that type of range? My hood is pretty flat and paved, I just want to be able to cruise around with the kids and go to a friends house from time to time. - my headlights and phone charger... and tail lights are 12v which currently just pick off the first 2 series batteries, can I do the same if I got (3)12v and just tap into 1? Some simple do’s and do not’s would be much appreciated if you extremely knowledgeable folks have any insight into my setup and how it can be done, safely! I don’t want to go cheap cheap and risk burning down my house, but I’m hoping to avoid buying some ridiculously priced super battery that will take my cart to Florida and back at highway speeds. Thanks in advance fellas, I look forward to hearing your advice.