198- Club Car DS 36V

[ghinote89]

Hello everyone, sorry this post is going to be long but i want to get the history set.
I recently (last summer) re-wired my golf cart completely from front to back, installed a new motor, new micro switches, new solenoids, and new batteries were also installed. It was rode quite a bit over the fall time before being stored last winter. This spring I picked it up from a friend's house, his kids were riding it with no issues when I got it. I trailered it home and when I got home the cart was acting weird. You could drive it without the key in it and with out pushing the throttle down. I did a bunch of searching and found a broken solenoid, swapped this bad solenoid out and the others out for 5 new solenoids. Which seemed to fix the problems outlined above. While troubleshooting stuff I ordered some other parts and then swapped out the entire front end for the newer style steering components. After this swap I took it for a ride and I think smoked another solenoid (the same one that was broke previously the very first solenoid on the passenger side of cart). Is there something I did by up sizing the wiring that could be causing issues? Would a loose terminal on a solenoid cause them to go bad? Or am I just getting junk solenoids from Amazon?
Thank you all for any help you can provide!

[Sergio]

You need at least two solenoids "broken" (welded contacts) for that system to run with key off and without pressing the pedal: The main solenoid on the drivers side and one of the other ones.

Make sure the resistor coil connected to the solenoid all the way on the passenger side is the one with the thickest gauge and fewer turns.

Also make sure all solenoids are closing in the proper sequence (drivers side -> passenger side) and that there is an increase of speed as each solenoid (except for the main solenoid) closes.

[ghinote89]

2

Originally Posted by Sergio

You need at least two solenoids "broken" (welded contacts) for that system to run with key off and without pressing the pedal: The main solenoid on the drivers side and one of the other ones.

Make sure the resistor coil connected to the solenoid all the way on the passenger side is the one with the thickest gauge and fewer turns.

Also make sure all solenoids are closing in the proper sequence (drivers side -> passenger side) and that there is an increase of speed as each solenoid (except for the main solenoid) closes.

I figured out the solenoid issues the first time that fixed the cart moving on its own. I also verified that solenoids are closing in the proper sequence and that the resistor coils were in the correct places. The issue i have now is I'm going through solenoids a lot with very little use of the cart. Would up sizing the wiring cause solenoids to burn up?

[Sergio]

That should not have any impact on the current circulating through the Solenoids.

How are the Solenoids failing?

Are the coils going bad (no resistance/open circuit)?

Are there signs of discoloration which is an indication of excessive heat?

Is the pedal going all the way down and closing all Solenoids?