hot cable

[sonnysmith]

I have a 1999 EZ go series cart. Cart will run normal for about 15 Min. then slows down to a point of stopping. checked all batteries cables, none were hot or warm, but the cable coming from pos. side of pack to solenoid was very warm. Voltage was 36.9. Now these are older batteries. I have checked all connection on the pack.
Now question, will a bad or worn motor cause cables other than batteries to get hot? or is there something else I should be looking at ?

Thanks all
Sonny

P.S. all of the other cables were also hotter than normal.

Voltage was 36.9

low batteries will slow down and stop
your batteries need to be fully charged

[yamahaguy97]

I agree they need charged, and now that they are old the batteries are not as effective. It could be getting warm if the ends of that cable are really covered in scabby rust. Cables get warm, but if they are HOT then there is an issue

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by sonnysmith

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will a bad or worn motor cause cables other than batteries to get hot? or is there something else I should be looking at ?

P.S. all of the other cables were also hotter than normal.

The high current cables in both series drive and sepex drive carts are connected in series and total battery current passes through all of them. Due to a flywheel effect, the high current cables electrically located between the controller's M- and B+ terminals, actually have greater than total battery current flowing through them when the duty cycle of the controller's PWM output is less than 100%.

Heat is generated whenever amps pass through resistance and all of the cables, contacts and connections have resistance, so they all warm up when current passes through them and the amount of heat generated increases exponentially as the current increases. (Ohm's Law: W=I²R)

The amount of heat generated by 100A passing through just the copper conductor of 6Ga high current cables in a series drive cart will produce slightly more heat than a 90W incandescent light bulb, which would ideally be evenly distributed over the 23' length of cable. At 200A there will be 364W of heat generated and at 300A it is 818W. Then there is the resistance of the connections and contacts, which will also produce heat.

Any and all cable lugs than show any signs of tarnish, ought to be cleaned to bright metal to minimize the resistance of the connections.

Any and all contacts (solenoid and F/R in series drives) that have more than a small fraction of a volt voltage drop across them, needs to be repaired or replaced.

That said, any cable or connection that gets warmer than just a few degrees above the ambient air temperature needs to be repaired or replaced, or at least investigated.

[Golferdave]

If the wire & terminal close to the solenoid
& solenoid are hot (pretty warm)
Could be sign of the contacts inside the solenoid are arced/carboned up / dirty
& a symptom of a solenoid soon to fail

IMO, if replacing a solenoid, go to a heavy duty one , (one size up from minimum for your system)

[cgtech]

Originally Posted by Golferdave

If the wire & terminal close to the solenoid
& solenoid are hot (pretty warm)
Could be sign of the contacts inside the solenoid are arced/carboned up / dirty
& a symptom of a solenoid soon to fail

IMO, if replacing a solenoid, go to a heavy duty one , (one size up from minimum for your system)

I agree! Never waste your money on another stock 36v txt solenoid, they were undersized even for stock use.

[sonnysmith]

I think this problem come down to bad tap on battery. Don't know why It's just on pos. wire from packs pos.
Next problem is batteries are in bad shape, they drop down to about 35 volt under load.

So I will close this thread and say thanks to all that helped.
Now I have another problem. It's on the next thread.

Thanks all.
Sonny