lifted club cars - lifted ezgo
Home FAQDonate Who's Online
Go Back   Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum > Golf Cart Repair and Troubleshooting > Electric EZGO
Electric EZGO Electric EZ GO Marathon, Medalist, TXT and RXV.



Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-23-2019, 04:33 PM   #1
Brob1969
Gone Wild
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: North Florida
Posts: 271
Default Cart dragging and motor temp

This is a fairly new to me '97 TXT 36v series cart. It's lifted with 22" tires and has an older Alltrax AXE 4845 controller. Thanks to all the information and helpful people on this site, I got the cart running pretty well.

Today however, I took my daughter out for a saunter through the woods and it felt like the cart was dragging some. I think it may be the brakes, that's one system I have yet to get into on this cart. I won't have time to jack it up until tomorrow evening, so it's conjecture at this point. I just got new shoes delivered yesterday as I figured I would go ahead and redo the brakes.

After coming back from the drive, I put my hand on the motor (an Electric Vehicle Systems A01 2500 Fleet Speed series motor) and it was pretty hot!

My questions are:

What all should I be looking for when I get into the brakes? What would make them drag?

How hot is "normal" for this motor?
Would dragging brakes be enough to make the motor hot to the touch?
Do I need to be looking elsewhere besides the brakes to address the hot motor?

I have 2 week old batteries that have a "delivered February 2019" sticker on them, and the batteries were fully charged when we left.

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to the tremendous knowledge base on this forum.
Brob1969 is offline   Reply With Quote
Alt Today
BGW

Golf car forum Sponsored Links

__________________
This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members.
Register your free account today and become a member on Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum
   
Old 02-23-2019, 04:47 PM   #2
yurtle
Gone Mad
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Buford, GA
Posts: 8,988
Default Re: Cart dragging and motor temp

Too hot would sizzle a wet finger.

Brakes are described in the Service Manual in the Stickies. It is a system, and should be done in the order that's mentioned in the manual, as one adjustment may affect another one. Treat it like a system and not parts and pieces and you'll be fine.

Follow the battery break-in procedure spelled out on ScottyB's website, as well as follow maintenance procedures. It's easier to learn good habits than to break bad ones.
yurtle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2019, 05:37 PM   #3
Brob1969
Gone Wild
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: North Florida
Posts: 271
Default Re: Cart dragging and motor temp

Quote:
Originally Posted by yurtle View Post
Too hot would sizzle a wet finger.

Brakes are described in the Service Manual in the Stickies. It is a system, and should be done in the order that's mentioned in the manual, as one adjustment may affect another one. Treat it like a system and not parts and pieces and you'll be fine.

Follow the battery break-in procedure spelled out on ScottyB's website, as well as follow maintenance procedures. It's easier to learn good habits than to break bad ones.
It wasn't that hot, too hot to not want to keep my hand on it, but definitely not hot enough to sizzle a wet finger.

I will definitely be following the procedure on the brake job. I have another cart that's going to be a complete rebuild, so I want to develop those good habits as I am going along.

I will check out the battery break-in on Scotty B's website. The only problem is that I will have to lock up my credit card; every time I look at his site I start wanting to get new controllers, motors, contactors, etc. I do think that I will be getting a Yewey charger soon. I have just about convinced myself to go 48v and move my current batteries over to the resto cart.

Thanks Yurtle for the good advice.
Brob1969 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2019, 05:54 PM   #4
yurtle
Gone Mad
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Buford, GA
Posts: 8,988
Default Re: Cart dragging and motor temp

Others may chime in on max recommended exterior temp, but the real temp to worry about is the magnet wire insulation, which shouldn't exceed 180°C. 100°C is water's boiling point, thus the sizzle test.

However, since very few motors come with interior sensors, and since the interior can be much hotter than the exterior, due to time lag, as well as cooling due to wind, a factor of safety should be applied. Most of my runs are consistent speed, load, and duration. I have a temp sensor mounted on a stator (field) bolt on the motor exterior. My stock motor would get right up to the limits I was comfortable with, so I had to slow down a few times, then set max amps to 400. No problems with my upgraded motor at 500 amps.

A cheap IR temp gun should be more than accurate enough, given the limitations above.
yurtle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2019, 06:04 PM   #5
Brob1969
Gone Wild
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: North Florida
Posts: 271
Default Re: Cart dragging and motor temp

Good idea. I already have a cheap infrared thermometer. I think it was likely inside the acceptable range.

I do feel like the brakes have been dragging a couple times. More than once when I have let off the throttle and coasted to a stop, it would hold itself on an incline. Previously, it's freed itself up. It definitely makes me think there's something going somewhere in the system. I have the new shoes and plan on going through the process tomorrow.
Brob1969 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2019, 06:11 PM   #6
yurtle
Gone Mad
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Buford, GA
Posts: 8,988
Default Re: Cart dragging and motor temp

Mine's a '98, so they've both seen quite a few years/miles. Some of the dragging may be attributed to just old age, and a good cleaning and in addition to shoes, springs or star adjusters may be needed, if worn out. Mine were. I ended up replacing shoes, and stars, and later the backing plates, which I scored from a member who had just upgraded to disks.
yurtle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2019, 06:36 PM   #7
Brob1969
Gone Wild
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: North Florida
Posts: 271
Default Re: Cart dragging and motor temp

Yeah, quite a few miles I am sure, but I am so far enjoying the heck out of it!

I will post what I find when I tear into it.
Brob1969 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2019, 08:10 PM   #8
JohnnieB
Techno-Nerd
 
JohnnieB's Avatar
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 19,654
Default Re: Cart dragging and motor temp

The cooler the motor runs, the better, but the oversized tires will make motor run hotter than stock height tires.

The 180°C (359°F) for the Class-H insulation on the magnet wire the coils are made of is de-rated to 115°C (239°F) when measured at the motor case. The motor has a huge thermal mass and it take quite a while for the heat to get to the surface, so staying under 200°F is a good idea.
JohnnieB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2019, 09:43 AM   #9
Cobra,1
Gone Wild
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Md.
Posts: 1,059
Default Re: Cart dragging and motor temp

Make sure brake cable move freely and all parts get lubed according to manual.
Also since cart is lifted check to see if brake cable have free play and are binding/ being stretched due to increased body height.��
Cobra,1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2019, 12:45 PM   #10
Brob1969
Gone Wild
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: North Florida
Posts: 271
Default Re: Cart dragging and motor temp

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnieB View Post
The cooler the motor runs, the better, but the oversized tires will make motor run hotter than stock height tires.

The 180°C (359°F) for the Class-H insulation on the magnet wire the coils are made of is de-rated to 115°C (239°F) when measured at the motor case. The motor has a huge thermal mass and it take quite a while for the heat to get to the surface, so staying under 200°F is a good idea.
Thank you Johnnie, I am going to take Yurtle's advice and stick my infrared thermometer in the cart and keep an eye on the temperatures. I am sure it was well below the threshold, but I definitely want to be sure. Later today I am going to get into the brake system; it is definitely dragging.
Brob1969 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply
Go Back   Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum > Golf Cart Repair and Troubleshooting > Electric EZGO


Thread Tools
Display Modes


Similar Threads
Thread Forum
PDS Motor temp? Electric EZGO
Motor temp Electric Yamaha
Temp prob on motor Electric EZGO
2008 RXV W/Motor Dragging Electric EZGO
What's your motor temp. Electric Club Car


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:01 AM.


Club Car Electric | EZGO Electric | Lifted Golf Carts | Gas EZGO | Used Golf Carts and Parts

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This Website and forum is the property of Buggiesgonewild.com. No material may be taken or duplicated in part or full without prior written consent of the owners of buggiesgonewild.com. © 2006-2017 Buggiesgonewild.com. All rights reserved.