86 CLUB CAR UPGRADE TO 48V Can it be done?

[ram101a]

OK, I am new to this, purchased an 86 Club car, 36v with no batteries. Would like to upgrade to 48v while getting the cart up and going. I have never had the cart running but previous owner sad it ran fine 2.5yrs ago when he stored it, it just had bad batteries.
The question here is... What will I need to replace to upgrade the motor to 48v safely? I know I will need new batteries and motor but I don't know what else.
I recently contacted a club car dealer to determine if the motor I have was able to be installed and was told that you can not upgrade an 86 club car. They could not give me and anser but told me they would take the cart on trade for a 48v. Seemed more like they just wanted to sell me a cart then help. If I truely cannot upgrade then fine. I will just have to make this cart purty with a 36v motor!! LOL
Any and all help would be great. Thank you in advance!

[buckmanmike]

Anything can be done for a price. You need to post what type of resistors, etc that cart now has. If its multi solenoid, I've heard its easier to convert to solid state, but thats a lota dollars.

[shadowman]

if its a resistor cart its kinda pricey.......better off selling and putting money to a controller cart and than upgrading from there...........................

[rusty]

Welcome to the forum ram101a.....................

[roady89]

If you upgrade to 48 volts KEEP THE 36 VOLT MOTOR! You do not need another motor. The motor will be just fine on 48 volts and as an added bonus you will see power gains across the board. Putting a 36 volt motor in a 48 volt cart is an old trick to gain more power....you can do just the opposite and see the same gains.


I would however seriously consider loooking into an electronic speed controller conversion. In the long run you will be glad you did.

[phasetim]

You are about to put over $1000 into upgrading a 22 year old car, why not spend a little, or even a lot more and just buy a newer 48v car?

Your front end parts are nearing obsolete, unless your motor has been changed its parts are probably near worn. Rear ends are usually long lasting, but 22 years is a long time.

The dealer DID want to sell you a car, thats what us dealers do, but that doesn't mean it wasn't in your best interest.

[ram101a]

Originally Posted by phasetim

You are about to put over $1000 into upgrading a 22 year old car, why not spend a little, or even a lot more and just buy a newer 48v car?

Your front end parts are nearing obsolete, unless your motor has been changed its parts are probably near worn. Rear ends are usually long lasting, but 22 years is a long time.

The dealer DID want to sell you a car, thats what us dealers do, but that doesn't mean it wasn't in your best interest.

Now see I can appreciate the way you put that and it makes sense. Had the guy I spoke with put it that way I wouldn't have minded. Don't just tell me it can't be done and when I ask why, he tells me it just can't be done but we have some 48v carts here we can sell you. I guess it's all in the way you put things.

[phasetim]

He probably didn't know it could be done, most cart businesses are not very old. Our company is almost 50 years old. (I haven't done it that long, I've only married in about two years ago) :-) .

What I've learned through instruction, and a little experience is just because it can be done, doesn't mean it makes sense to do it.

Whatever you do, good luck. Golf cars are fun, and us nuts on this forum will be happy to help you. It's hard not to make a friend here.

[lorencc]

Hi,

I find myself in a similar situation. I have a working 36v 1987 CC, but I want
to upgrade it to 48V with a modern controller. I have the service manual and a pretty good capability with electrical things but any pointers or experiences would be helpful.

[ggwearsch]

Hi Ram101a,
Welcome to the forum! I write this because like you I had an old 87cc and wanted to update it to 48v, I found on this forum all the threads and instructions on how to do this.
When it came to purchasing all the parts it came out to around $1200 to get the job done.
I decided to purchase a newer 48v cart with what I could get for my old cart and the 1200 I would have spent, I purchase an 2002 cc with new batteries that had been stored for 2 yrs, great shape and runs fine.
Now I can spend more money on what ever and still be using the cart.
Just my 2 cents.