New-to-me 88’ Club Car! – Couple electrical questions

[Twangin]

Hi, all,
I picked up an 88’ 36V CC in what I consider to be great condition – it’s my first golf cart so I’m excited to tinker, update, and have some fun with it! I was hoping to get some help on a couple initial things I’m looking into:

1) Batteries/Power/Speed – After a full charge it just doesn’t seem to have the speed and torque I feel that it should. Previous owner said the batteries (PowerTron P2000 6V) are 2-3 years old. I checked water levels in the cells and they are all good. After a full charge here are the voltage readings across the entire pack of six batteries: 6.45, 6.60, 6.58, 6.47, 6.58, 6.55, and the total pack voltage reads 39.4V. Some data on what I’m experiencing:
Starts out pretty strong straight off the charger for the first minute or so, but feels like it quickly loses some torque and top end. I did a 5-10 min test drive, mostly full throttle, just me on the cart (185lb), flat road, downslope, then a gradual up-slope across a few hundred feet.
10 mph tops on flat
13mph tops on slight downslope, then began the slight up-slope stretch where you can feel power decreasing on the way to the top, where it got down to 9mph, full throttle the whole time. It slows down even more if I have another person on the cart with me (probably 5-6 mph, full throttle). I checked the voltage of the pack after this test and it read 32.5V, so there’s certainly significant drop over only a 5-10 minute drive time.
Any ideas here, or recommendations for components to check/replace?

2) Headlights/Taillights – It has stock headlights/taillights installed but the wiring harnesses are not connected for some reason (just tucked under the body (see pic below of the driver and passenger side wiring – black and white are the wires coming from the headlamps). Any guidance on how these should be connected since there are differing numbers of wires from cart/from lights? Pic below – Drivers side, then passenger side:

[Tom47]

Originally Posted by Twangin

Hi, all,
I picked up an 88’ 36V CC in what I consider to be great condition – it’s my first golf cart so I’m excited to tinker, update, and have some fun with it! I was hoping to get some help on a couple initial things I’m looking into:

1) Batteries/Power/Speed – After a full charge it just doesn’t seem to have the speed and torque I feel that it should. Previous owner said the batteries (PowerTron P2000 6V) are 2-3 years old. I checked water levels in the cells and they are all good. After a full charge here are the voltage readings across the entire pack of six batteries: 6.45, 6.60, 6.58, 6.47, 6.58, 6.55, and the total pack voltage reads 39.4V. Some data on what I’m experiencing:
Starts out pretty strong straight off the charger for the first minute or so, but feels like it quickly loses some torque and top end. I did a 5-10 min test drive, mostly full throttle, just me on the cart (185lb), flat road, downslope, then a gradual up-slope across a few hundred feet.
10 mph tops on flat
13mph tops on slight downslope, then began the slight up-slope stretch where you can feel power decreasing on the way to the top, where it got down to 9mph, full throttle the whole time. It slows down even more if I have another person on the cart with me (probably 5-6 mph, full throttle). I checked the voltage of the pack after this test and it read 32.5V, so there’s certainly significant drop over only a 5-10 minute drive time.
Any ideas here, or recommendations for components to check/replace?

2) Headlights/Taillights – It has stock headlights/taillights installed but the wiring harnesses are not connected for some reason (just tucked under the body (see pic below of the driver and passenger side wiring – black and white are the wires coming from the headlamps). Any guidance on how these should be connected since there are differing numbers of wires from cart/from lights? Pic below – Drivers side, then passenger side:

Welcome to the forum!

A] Your battery voltages, individual and pack, are excellent after charging. However, all or possibly one or two batteries are not holding charge under load.

Check individual battery voltages after the drop and post them here.

See this battery diagnosis from Carts Unlimited, Site sponsor, for more information:
https://www.cartsunlimited.net/battery-faq.html

If individual batteries balance below 6.1 volts after that short run, the entire pack will need to be replaced. If your real lucky, like I never am, you may find one battery in the series string that dies and brings the pack voltage down. In that case you can pick up one battery to replace it.

B] Other members may be able to assist you with the factory headlight wiring. You can check for voltage when switched on and then try hooking them up if you have 12 volts there.

[Budule]

what is the date code on the batteries ?.... and like said above , you have to check under load , you can leave a multimeter hooked up while driving but its best just to get a digital meter and mount in the dash .....


https://www.cartsunlimited.net/battery-meters.html

do headlights go to a factory reducer ?

post some pics of the battery compartment....

[Twangin]

Originally Posted by Tom47

Welcome to the forum!

A] Your battery voltages, individual and pack, are excellent after charging. However, all or possibly one or two batteries are not holding charge under load.

Check individual battery voltages after the drop and post them here.

See this battery diagnosis from Carts Unlimited, Site sponsor, for more

If individual batteries balance below 6.1 volts after that short run, the entire pack will need to be replaced. If your real lucky, like I never am, you may find one battery in the series string that dies and brings the pack voltage down. In that case you can pick up one battery to replace it.

B] Other members may be able to assist you with the factory headlight wiring. You can check for voltage when switched on and then try hooking them up if you have 12 volts there.

Thanks! Will do another test run tomorrow and check individual battery voltages after the test run. Will report back!

[Twangin]

Originally Posted by Budule

what is the date code on the batteries ?.... and like said above , you have to check under load , you can leave a multimeter hooked up while driving but its best just to get a digital meter and mount in the dash .....


do headlights go to a factory reducer ?

post some pics of the battery compartment....

I’m having trouble finding a date on the batteries but I saw “BC045P” stamped on them.

The wiring for the headlights appear to come straight off of battery #s 5 & 6, one hooked to a positive and one to a negative on the other battery (you can see the red and black wires in the 2nd pic. Volt meter shows about 13V with those two terminals, however when I trace them all the way up front to where they would plug into the headlamp, I get no voltage reading. I did notice the black wire has an inline fuse on it (hard to see in the 2nd pic but it’s lime green, and it’s in the black wire coming off the left battery).
Also posted some other pics in the compartment, including the last one which shows a small box on the very bottom of the frame.. the orange wire you see coming off it is not attached to anything..

[Fairtax4me]

36v series cart you won’t get much better than 11-12mph. That’s just all she’ll do.
Batteries are dead. Dropping to 32v after a short ride, they’ve likely not been taken care of in the past, and the plates are sulfated. Sulfate buildup kills capacity which drastically shortens the life of the battery. There’s no real coming back from that.
If you want to tinker with it, you can check out CP241’s battery resurrection thread in the general BS section and see if a flush and refill with acid might bring some life back.

If you’re happy with 10-12mph max, then a fresh set of 6v batteries will surely get it running stronger than it is now.
If you think you want more speed, then go with 8v batteries, and upgrade the controller and solenoid to 48v. 48v and the right motor combination will get you in the low to mid 20s easily. If you don’t need the speed, a torque motor will climb hills all day long on 48v.

[Twangin]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

36v series cart you won’t get much better than 11-12mph. That’s just all she’ll do.
Batteries are dead. Dropping to 32v after a short ride, they’ve likely not been taken care of in the past, and the plates are sulfated. Sulfate buildup kills capacity which drastically shortens the life of the battery. There’s no real coming back from that.
If you want to tinker with it, you can check out CP241’s battery resurrection thread in the general BS section and see if a flush and refill with acid might bring some life back.

If you’re happy with 10-12mph max, then a fresh set of 6v batteries will surely get it running stronger than it is now.
If you think you want more speed, then go with 8v batteries, and upgrade the controller and solenoid to 48v. 48v and the right motor combination will get you in the low to mid 20s easily. If you don’t need the speed, a torque motor will climb hills all day long on 48v.

That’s what I was thinking may be the case. I know I want to put a rear flip seat on to be able to carry an extra person or two, as well as MAYBE a 3” lift with 22” tires, but that wouldn’t be right away. So those items alone may push me towards the 48V route.. I don’t necessarily thing I’m going to want the speed as much as I want a solid acceleration and stable power throughout a standard neighborhood or campground cruise (20-30 minutes at a time at most).
Also been researching doing an upgrade from the resistor coils to a solid state control system, to bring it up to date some. Just not sure what combination of old component upgrades I should do and if they would be compatible with 48V should I decide to do that conversion as well. I intend to keep this cart for quite a while so I’m ok with putting some time and effort into it.

[Bama Brad]

Go ahead and get the new batteries and see how you like that..all the upgrades you can do a little at a time after more research. You'll probably be satisfied with new batteries, but you will be happier after the upgrade to 48v.

[Twangin]

Originally Posted by Bama Brad

Go ahead and get the new batteries and see how you like that..all the upgrades you can do a little at a time after more research. You'll probably be satisfied with new batteries, but you will be happier after the upgrade to 48v.

I like that plan- sounds like it would get me going and not break the bank too bad. At 36V with new batteries, what would then be the actual difference noticed if I did the solid state conversion later on? Is it an immediate increase in torque or speed? Longer range? Or is it just more of a peace of mind knowing your components are up to today’s standards and won’t give out at any time? For example, the C42 basic kit on carts unlimited comes with a 460 peak amps controller.. with new batteries how much difference would I notice from the old school resistor/v-glide system I have now? Just trying to gauge how high of a priority that conversion would be over a 48v conversion.

[Bama Brad]

I don't have AC cart, but have heard they have a lot of go to them. I do have a 36v EZGo TXT and The 48v Stealth and there is a lot of difference in them. You'll see about 33% better performance with the 48v. BUT, I am happy with my txt for riding around yard/roads in country. I use the Stealth is for hunting/woods and has more power and lasts longer.