No lights, or indicators

[unicron]

Hi, I'm new to these golf buggies and I'm trying to sort out an issue with a 48v Clubcar at the moment with failed lights (headlights, spots, indicators and tail lights).

It seems to me like there is a failure with the 12v system but I can't fathom out where... I have three fuses that someone has installed in the past (in the glove box), one is 30A, and two are 10A. I get next to 0v on both sides of the 30A fuse, but I am getting nigh on 39v on the two 10A fuses (that I guess supply the headlights and indicators).

No power is getting to the connectors to the bulbs, but I am getting the same 39v on the positive busbar when switching the lights on, but strangely I am also getting the same voltage on the negative busbar...

Looking on the internet it seems that this cart has the long resin filled type of voltage reducer (part number 101810801). If this has failed would I be getting these symptoms? Does anyone have a wiring diagram for this type of voltage reducer so I can double check connections.

Cheers!

[Golferdave]

Cart year & model ? 4 - 12 v batts or 6 - 8v batts ?
Does the 30 Amp fuse feed the 48 to 12V DC to DC converter ? &
are the 10 amp ones off the 12 volt output of the voltage reducer ?

Picture really help if you can post a couple.

39V ? seems a little off for a 48V batt.
Fully charged ? (could be stray voltage, digital volt meters have high input resistance & can pick up stray voltages that have no current)

Yea the volt reducer could be the culprit .
If you have 39 v to the input in & nothing out , it's probably bad.
but you said "0" volts on the 30 amp fuse, broken or corroded 48v wire to the reducer fuse seems more likely

can you find/trace the 48v wires that go to the voltage reducer
Sometimes small wires, one to the +48 & one to the -48 volt on the battery posts.

[unicron]

Sorry I'm unsure of the year of the cart... I don't really know yet what the 30A fuse is feeding to be honest, just that it has no volts on either side of the fuse, whereas the two 10A ones do with the fuse in.

It's a bank of 6 x 8v batteries, I am getting 49v across them all in series which is fine. So the 39v I am getting would suggest, to me, that the reducer is running of 5 batteries in series (40v), which looking at the type of reducer installed is too much as it is meant for 16-18v systems...

There are three switches on the dash that have been installed; a two way light rocker switch (that I guess is for the dip and high beam), an indicator stalk and one other simple toggle on/off switch which I am unsure of, but I am guessing it could be the main switch for the 12v system perhaps?

If these reducers go bad can it short to earth/negative which is why I am seeing 39v at the negative busbar as well when operating the light switch? So if the positive and the negative are at the same potential then I won't be getting any lights...

[Golferdave]

Under the dash, above the "go" pedal , kinda centered, on the frame should be a Serial # (head down to the right of the go pedal & look up/forward)
Mine # is A9927-##### which is a 1999 year 27th week .

Some history, when did it quit working ? Do any work on it , then it quit ?

I've seen a couple 16v/12v reducers.
IMO, they still unbalance the batteries, using 2 batts for accessories.

Now that you are in "ankle deep", I'd go "Knee deep" & install a 48 / 12v reducer.
There's several threads, a couple recent & active ones to help.

after market wiring can be a butch. But you gotta know what it does.

A PIA for sure. If your right about the switches, you just need to find where/how the input volt wires get to the reducer.
With "0" volts at the 30A fuse, you say/think it should be 16V (or 40V) , no power there, you have a bad wire (Could be an easy fix)
?? if that's the input to the reducer ???

[unicron]

Sorry the cart is in a garage away from home at the moment so cannot look at it. If I recall, it looks like a green/yellow earth wire runs from the negative busbar block (under the front nose of the cart), to the rear where the reducer is. It looks like the reducer and this earth wire are bound together in one taped up bundle...Does this sound right? But I haven't traced back where the positive side is coming from yet...

[Golferdave]

Originally Posted by unicron

Sorry the cart is in a garage away from home at the moment so cannot look at it. If I recall, it looks like a green/yellow earth wire runs from the negative busbar block (under the front nose of the cart), to the rear where the reducer is. It looks like the reducer and this earth wire are bound together in one taped up bundle...Does this sound right? But I haven't traced back where the positive side is coming from yet...

Yea, I'm in Alaska, my cart in So. Cal
I miss my baby. LOL
It had lights, 2 -12 volt halogen head light & tail light ran off one #1 - 8 volt batt, dim is an understatement. Got to know the "rube Goldberg" after market wiring pretty good . It's gone now.

I'm new to carts too , retired electrician / electronic tech.

You'll get it figured out, it just takes patience & time . Just needs some TLC

Neg buss bar block ?? Sound after market.
earth wire ( Batt - (neg) ) ?

Betting to get Neg Batt to lights, the - wire goes to the front of the cart to one side of the light socket.
Sounds right, Batt - is common to the reducer & to the lights,
Batt "+" (48v, 40v,16v..?) to the input of the reducer
Should have a wire off of the output of the reducer, going to the front light switches , carrying 12V "+" (maybe to a fuse then the Sw or maybe a fuse after the Sw)

Not sure but could be the reducer is bad & the 39V you read is stray volts, but no current, going thru the blown reducer .

[jjance]

Here's something for you to check. I'm thinking that they have the twelve volt converter wired across the entire battery pack(wired to 48v) instead of just 2 eight volt batteries. That way its reducing 48v to 39v instead of reducing 16v to 12volts.

[unicron]

Good theory, I'll check that... One side of reducer goes to neg terminal of battery that is also connected to the dc motor controller. The other end of the reducer looks like the two wires could be bunched at then connected to the neutral (green/yellow) wire that goes to the neg busbar. There is also a pos busbar but I'm yet to trace where the feeder wire for this comes from...

[unicron]

Ok, so I the plot thickens... The reducer is definitely hooked up from two separate batteries, so should be converted down from 16v to 12v. The single toggle switch on the dash is indeed the isolator from the 12v+ supply and I am getting 14v to and from it to the + busbar. Interestingly I am getting the same voltage to one of the indicators (didn't try the others just yet) but the bulb still doesn't work... I can get my test lamp to light up and the bulb on the cart is good... So what the...? Still no power to the lights though, and I'm still perplexed why I get 39v on the busbar when turning the lights on!

[Sergio]

The 16v to 12v reducer is a low side reducer, which means the positive for the accessories will come directly from a battery positive post (16v), and the accessories negative side will come from the reducer output.

There is difference between "no voltage" and 0v, find out which you are getting.

Measure the voltage from pack positive to that 0v point, if that is connected to pack negative, You should get +48v, which indicates a good connection to pack negative.

If You still get 0v, then you have a broken wire connection.

Also, You can be connected to 2 batteries and still be on the same cable, measure the voltage between those 2 points to see the input voltage for the converter.