Another 36v to 48v question.....

[Sir Nuke]

Originally Posted by marlin035

I guess I need to figure out how to keep my foot out of it if I am cruising for distance.....

Wish there was a way for the simple minded folks(i.e. MYSELF) to know what the best cruise speed/RPM is for battery life....

Here is what I did after I completely upgraded my cart so that I would KNOW my limits as far as range goes. I live in a gated community......

I got in my car and ZERO'ed the "trip meter". backed out of my drive way and drive the entire perimeter of the sub-division noting my route, ended up being exactly 5 1/2 miles. My cart was fully charged and ready to go. I hopped in and took off, and ran TOP SPEED at all times, well not around corners...lol. I made two complete non-stop laps and pilled into my driveway, turned off the cart and went in the house to let it rest for 30 min. Got back on and did the same route 2 twice more. Stopped, let it rest for 30 minutes, checked the SOC.....It was at 73% ...... so after 22 miles at top speed, and still had plenty of juice left.....I could EASILY go another lap, putting me at 27.5 miles....I have WAY MORE range than I though.....and if I were able to keep my foot out of it, which I can't......there is not real telling how far I could possible go. One thing is for sure......its a LOT farther than I will ever need to go in my cart.

[Sir Nuke]

Originally Posted by marlin035

Finally got back to the cart to check out the solenoid.....currently it has a solenoid that has "MZJ-200D" on it. Is this solenoid compatible with the 48v upgrade? If not, what do y'all recommend to go on top of the Alltrax DCX Controller?

I have a picture available if that is not enough information....

Thanks fellas for your help! I can tell that this is going become an "obsessive" hobby!

That solenoid is a 200 amp solenoid. and the MZJ-200D is rated at 48v.

MJZ200D.jpg

[marlin035]

Originally Posted by Sir Nuke

Here is what I did after I completely upgraded my cart so that I would KNOW my limits as far as range goes. I live in a gated community......

I got in my car and ZERO'ed the "trip meter". backed out of my drive way and drive the entire perimeter of the sub-division noting my route, ended up being exactly 5 1/2 miles. My cart was fully charged and ready to go. I hopped in and took off, and ran TOP SPEED at all times, well not around corners...lol. I made two complete non-stop laps and pilled into my driveway, turned off the cart and went in the house to let it rest for 30 min. Got back on and did the same route 2 twice more. Stopped, let it rest for 30 minutes, checked the SOC.....It was at 73% ...... so after 22 miles at top speed, and still had plenty of juice left.....I could EASILY go another lap, putting me at 27.5 miles....I have WAY MORE range than I though.....and if I were able to keep my foot out of it, which I can't......there is not real telling how far I could possible go. One thing is for sure......its a LOT farther than I will ever need to go in my cart.

I wonder then if I am overheating or have a bad battery pack?? I have Trojan batteries from April of this year.....

Need to do some checking on a couple things....

[HiTechRedNeck]

One suggestion ...

Please spend a few extra bucks and change charge port on cart to "standard" ez-go
48v port...

Have seen a few problems with "Wrong voltage" ports/plugs.

Murphys law-- someone will plug wrong charger into wrong cart or vice versa...

[scottyb]

The only danger I see from putting 48v batteries in a cart with a 36v receptacle is that somebody may accidentally plug a 36v charger into the cart which will cause ..... um ... great.... big....uhm...nothing really, besides an undercharged pack.

[chloe]

Your solenoid is like a bottle neck to your power. Change it to a 400 or 500 amp before you do anything else. You may find that's all you need to get the range you want.

[cgtech]

Originally Posted by chloe

Your solenoid is like a bottle neck to your power. Change it to a 400 or 500 amp before you do anything else. You may find that's all you need to get the range you want.

Nah, that solenoid is rated for 200a/constant & 800a/intermittent use, fine for this application. No golf cart i know of will be exceeding 200/continious. There are racing "golf carts" out there that do (and they are hardly golf carts anymore, and dont cruise the streets or woods, they accelerate then stop), and several controllers that can support above 200a/constant, but the golf carts (street machines & hunting buggies) built & used here dont really use more than 200a/constant.

[Sir Nuke]

Originally Posted by chloe

Your solenoid is like a bottle neck to your power. Change it to a 400 or 500 amp before you do anything else. You may find that's all you need to get the range you want.

chloe.....the solenoid pictured above is the HD solenoid that Scotty sells with his PKG#808......so I'm sure there is no need to go any bigger.....unless he decides to go with a 500a or more controller.

[JohnnieB]

Overkill is underrated.

But, I am in agreement with cgtech, or at least around 99.999% in agreement with him about the carts we see here continuously drawing 200A.

Maybe not drawing over 200A continuously, but drawing it for time periods longer than the peak power rating is possible, maybe even likely, for carts with tall tires climbing long hills at low speeds. Not a major concern for most people since they don't encounter those conditions often, if ever, but there are a some people whose carts have tall tires that routinely climb several hundred feet in altitude over rough terrain to get to their favorite hunting spots.

[chloe]

Sirnuke,cgtech; agreed, it's capable. But cruising for miles is not intermittent running. It's constant. More important, it's the only thing he has listed not rated for the even higher amp. But capability is what is necessary. I concede to being over ruled.