98' Club Car DS 48 Volt Stutter

[NickC]

I have a 1998 Club Car DS. It has been working fine for a long time but in the middle of use it stopped and now when I use the accelerator it makes a noise as if its trying to go and even jerks forward randomly but will not go. Sometimes the low battery indicator light would light up even after a long charge.

From what I have read on these forums and elsewhere the likely problem is the controller. Considering the price of a controller I want to be very sure that is the problem.

Here are some things I have already tried:
Check all batteries for full voltage - They have full voltage
Cleaned all the batteries, the contacts and wires - No Change
Bypassed the solenoid - No Change
Filled batteries with water and let charge fully - No Change.

Here is some pictures

I have video of the cart clicking/sputtering but I can't post links for another 5 days.

[joesam]

90% of the time when someone uses the terms "shuddering or stuttering" the problem is traced to bad battery(s) - far more often than controller. After a full charge - put a voltmeter on your pack (report the voltage on this site) and while looking at the meter, step on the accelerator - does the voltage drop severely? Then, put the voltmeter on each battery individually and do the same thing.

[huthut]

Agreed - I have had the same problem in the past and always occurred with old batteries.

[NickC]

I checked the batteries once and they all had 8 volts. I'll try checking while using the accelerator.

[NickC]

Alright so i found the problem and fixed it, here's what happened.

I was checking the whole chain of batteries for voltage and was getting 48-50. While checking it I hit the accelerator and it went fine. Did it again but it didn't run well like it did just before.

Turns out while checking the positive side I was making the connection 'good' again. It was a complete fluke I just happen to be checking the positive side in such a way to move the wire just so making it constant. Turns out about 2 inches of the positive wire going from the battery to the solenoid was SEVERELY corroded but underneath the jacket of the wire where it wasn't seen. So I had to replace the wire and now it works fine.

So thanks joesam for the suggested method that led me to finding the problem!

[joesam]

Cool. Glad you found it. Way cheaper than batteries or controller.