New to Carts-picked up 94 Medalist

[TRL WGN 1]

As the title says, I picked up my first golf cart a couple weeks ago. It is a 94 Medalist, 36v. PO stated that the batteries are less than a year old. There is no date on them, so no way to really tell, other than the fact that they look really good.

I live on a very hilly piece of property and have access to the family farm all around. I am wanting to use the cart mainly around the yard, but will want to be able to cruise the farm with it. So, on the hills, right now, it really slows down. On some of the big ones it comes down to walking speed, though it does keep trucking.

After much reading on here, my plan was to start with upgrading the cables and maybe the F/R switch, to maximize the output of my batteries and flow to the controller. Upon further inspection last night, it appears that the cables have recently been replaced between the batteries (I am guessing when these batteries were installed) and they appear to be larger, maybe 4 ga. The problem I see is, they didn't replace the two cables that run to the F/R switch or the ones from switch to controller, so there is definitely a bottle neck with these cables that are most important to change.

Anyone have a guesstimate on how much difference in hill climbing power I may notice, if any, in upgrading these cables, or is upgrading the controller a definite before I will notice anything?

Also, can anyone tell me what kind of battery life I should expect running a 36v cart in hilly terrain? Hours?

At this point, I am trying to decide if I should keep this cart and make some upgrades to it, or cut my losses and go to a gas cart for my terrain. I got into this one cheap enough, but not sure it is going to fit my needs of hauling two adults and two children around hilly property reliably.

thanks for a great forum with lots of information. I plan on spending plenty of time here.
Kyle

[madoc1]

welcome to BGW. do you have a series or dcs cart? if there is a switch on top of the controller, you have a dcs. if not, it is a series and all 13 cables need to be at least 4ga. had the same problem with my series medalist and added cables, hd f/r switch, then added a 480 amp controller and hd solenoid. all this made more torque. later added two batts. for a little extra speed. a medalist is basically a txt with a metal body, and a good sound cart. have fun.

[TRL WGN 1]

madoc,
thanks for the reply. Yes, I should have stated, it is a series. Which is quite interesting just how fast it free wheels down hill. Definitely gives the brakes a work out. I think the cables are 4 ga between batteries. Is there a quick way to measure their diameter and figure out?

[AzPete]

Of the two carts I have....I recently did a test of the 96 TXT Series. This was on flat dirt roads with me (heavy) and wife (not so heavy) in the cart.

Started with batteries at 38.4 volts. Ran full throttle most of the time for 1 hour and 10 mins. We traveled 10.7 miles at 11 - 13 mph. After the cart had sat for 10 mins when parked, the voltage read 37.0 and I plugged in the charger. I have 4 ga wires and a replacement motor dated '01. Cart is 36V with batteries about 2 years old I think.

I also found the cart runs better after that hard run as it normally never gets more than 20-30 mins of running between charges.

Now, the wife's 94 Medalist (100% stock) is slower but it never leaves the yard as it is set up for her gardening.

Just listed as a reference as yours may vary.