01' Ezgo TXT with "alltrax" Snail speed

[GCguru]

Hello all,

I recently got a 2001.5 and up ( because of the four bolt steering column I was told) EzGo TXT 36V with an Alltrax DCX 400 "PDS/ITS Controller and it ran great all summer. VERY quick cart, with stereo, lights all the bells and whistles. Batteries couple years old and always serviced. Forward and reverse is located on dash next to key.

Recently the cart has been intermittently cutting out ( sometimes at the start of the ride and sometimes in the middle of a cruise). It will cut out power and drive as slow as a snail. When it does this, it will go very slow in either FWD or reverse for sometimes very short periods and will pick up speed again or sometimes take minutes to finally pick up and go again ( hauling butt). I have determined recently that if I keep the gas pedal between " engaged" and "full throttle" sooner or latter it will sputter then pick up and take off.

Just purchased a (Solenoid; 36 Volt High Amp Curtis, SW180 w/Bracket) heavy duty thing and installed but no luck. also read on here it couple possibly be the resistor ( two wire with barrel on top of solenoid) but i removed that and still no luck.

I have checked all connections to batteries, they are clean with batt protector spray. When charged the guage on the charger is showing high around 36v good battery condition.

after doing research im leaning towards some type of gas pedal/throttle issue because if im correct there is a throttle control box under the floor that sends speed information to the main controller. Im just praying its not the Alltrax DCX 400, they are pricey.

Any help would be great! thanks in advance.

[mutant]

what is your ACTUAL pack voltage...a DVM is a must to begin any trouble shooting-we cant help you other than guess without this info....
does your cart have a run/tow switch near the controller?

[GCguru]

mutant,

not currently at the cart but will get back ASAP with total pack voltage. question because Im learning, why does actual pack voltage matter? even if the cart was dying it would still run wouldn't it? Im getting a speed as fast as an ant then all the sudden the cart takes off full speed hauling a$$ like usual. then sometimes minutes later speed drops off again.


Yes, My cart does have the Run/tow switch near controller.

[orangeman6]

Waiting for the guys with the real knowledge, but some things you can check in the meantime:

Always good to post battery pack and individual voltage. Since your problem is intermittent, this is probably not your issue, but always a good starting point.

I’m assuming no cables are getting hot when you have the problem?

Any error codes on the controller?

Any chance your throttle box got wet? You said the problem started “recently”. How long has it been going on?

*mutant posted while I was still typing

I have a series cart but I think yours has the molex plug as well. I see a lot on this forum about these connections going bad. I got rid of it on my cart, and again, it’s a series, but I believe it’s on your cart too and should find it somewhere around your controller. Try unplugging/ plugging back in, or remove it and hard wire.

Hopefully the real help will be along soon.

[mutant]

[QUOTE=GCguru;1454321]mutant,

not currently at the cart but will get back ASAP with total pack voltage. question because Im learning, why does actual pack voltage matter? even if the cart was dying it would still run wouldn't it? Im getting a speed as fast as an ant then all the sudden the cart takes off full speed hauling a$$ like usual. then sometimes minutes later speed drops off again.[QUOTE]


" Yes, My cart does have the Run/tow switch near controller."

you have a DCS or PDS cart-your switch location suggests a PDS good cart IMO...

" not currently at the cart but will get back ASAP with total pack voltage. question because Im learning, why does actual pack voltage matter?"

pack voltage matters for a LOT of reasons-if your pack reaches 50% State Of Charge (SOC) you will begin damaging your pack-shortening the life of the pack
also-you can use a digital meter to prob areas looking for voltage loss,ect...you can test each battery as you drive to see if you are having a battery break down under load...


" even if the cart was dying it would still run wouldn't it? "

yes-if it was a stock controlled DCS cart you would FRY the controller-fatal flaw design on that cart-you also will greatly increase the amp draw-a potentially dangerous amount of heat will be generated at low pack voltage causing the threat for melting components in your system heat is not a friend to sparky carts...


" Im getting a speed as fast as an ant then all the sudden the cart takes off full speed hauling a$$ like usual. then sometimes minutes later speed drops off again. "

a lot of things can cause that....thermal protection in the controller-loose or dirty connection,chafing(ground)on the frame(often back where the battery pack corner is-where the cables turn that corner)or any number of things...
bottom line-we will try to help you get to the bottom of this...we are all learning along with you-i am- and i have learned all i know by reading here the experience,strength and hope of others....

[HiTechRedNeck]

The dcx-400 is programmable and has port to hook to laptop for diagnostics.

start there....

download program (SEE ALLTRAX WEBSITE for instructions and cable needed)
then run program to see what is going on.

You may have bad brushes as a 400 amp controller on stock motor can fry them....
seen it many times...

watch for high voltage to motor and low current w/slow speed.

do not run motor fast with wheels off ground.

[scottyb]

Another possibility is water in the ITS throttle signal sender or a bad connection in the throttle signal wires. So the controller could be doing exactly what it is being told to do.

[GCguru]

Just to ease my mind I checked the throttle box under the floor. It’s solid and clean as a whistle.

I have a pack voltage showing 38.2.

Next up I’m currently checking all major connections for corrosion or loose connections. Ground,power wires ect. Since it is intermittent I feel there might be a bad connection somewhere. Then I guess I will have to get to the more technical stuff and try to diagnose with computer like HiTeckRedNeck suggested.

I’m just not sure what hiteckredneck meant by I might have “ bad brushes”.

Will update as soon as I can. Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

[scottyb]

Brushes are the motor contacts. They are replaceable wear items.

[GCguru]

UPDATE 11-30-17

This might be pretty embarrassing since im a mechanic myself ( aviation), But finally was able to spend time on the cart last night. Cleaned all cables throughout the cart. battery, cables to motor and controller. With the cart off the ground, it seemed to run with no problems. No dropping to snail speed. The weird thing is, there was minimal corrosion on only a couple cables.

I will take it for a spin today and test. and update everyone with results.