1987 EzGo missing slower speeds

hooknows · 08-05-2014, 06:22 PM

Hello,
First time poster, long time lurker. Yall helped me rebuild my metal tank of a golf cart without even knowing it. Best project I ever did. She came out AWESOME.

A month ago...some teens without thinking....slammed my cart from Rev to Forward. Since then I have only a high speed, and no lower speeds.
I read through some of the archives here, but I cannot decide if it is in the Resistor Coils, or the Solenoid, or the Sweeper.
I am handy with a ohms meter, and I did not replace any of these components during my rebuild. Any suggestions
Great site by the way!!!
Thanks

JohnnieB · 08-06-2014, 08:51 AM

The solenoid is probably good since the cart does run at high speed.

The wiper and wiper board are probably good since a bad contact only loses one speed.

That leaves the resistor coils.

The resistor coils are connected in series, so if none of the first three speeds work, R1 (or the cables connect it) is open.

hooknows · 08-06-2014, 05:02 PM

Thanks Jonnie B!
I was leaning towards the Coils, but did not want to thrown any $$ at it without due diligence.

Can I just one of the negative terminals on any battery and go to work?

Thanks

JohnnieB · 08-07-2014, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hooknows

Thanks Jonnie B!
I was leaning towards the Coils, but did not want to thrown any $$ at it without due diligence.

Can I just one of the negative terminals on any battery and go to work?

Thanks

If you are talking about troubleshooting, you connect the negative test lead to the most negative terminal in the battery pack. The are in series, so the most negative terminal is the one that does not connect to another battery. Also, the balack wire from the charge receptacle connects to it.

hooknows · 08-11-2014, 06:29 PM

Finally got to take a look at the old gal, and found that the front third lug of the third resistor coil was broken. I pulled the whole box out and found it tonight. The other coils look old and scaly, but they are intact. Should I just replace the third one? or the whole shabang? $20.00 vs $150-180 is a no brainier for me, but I did not want to miss the opportunity while it was out.

rlw · 08-11-2014, 10:43 PM

Hooknows,

It's not hard to repair the coils yourself, as long as the wires are intact. I took mine completely apart and cleaned up the connections with a wire wheel on a bench grinder. You can either replace the bolts or clean up the existing ones. You want to make sure that you have good metal-to-metal contact everywhere.

I had a problem with one of my cables - built a new cable, cleaned up the coil connections, put it all back together and it worked great.

Good luck,

RLW

rlw · 08-11-2014, 10:47 PM

In answer to your question about pulling the coil - just for safety's sake, I'd disconnect both the positive AND negative connections to the battery before I started to pull the coil out. Only takes 30 seconds to remove the other connector. Shorts in a golf cart's 36v battery bank can make BIG, SCARY SPARKS (and even explosions)!!!

As usual, be careful when using metal tools around the battery posts. Might not be a bad idea to put a piece of heavy plastic or something over the battery bank to be sure.

RLW

yurtle · 08-12-2014, 01:34 AM

Best bet might be to look for a used one.

If you can replace a single coil, that would be preferable. I've never seen one before, and don't know if it's possible.

Maybe the resistor could be repaired with a simple mechanical inline splice. There's a potential problem with either a crimp-on, which I'd avoid, and a copper one with set screws. The problem is the resistor gets hot by its very nature, and the dissimilar metals will expand and contract at different rates. Might could also be welded, but again, dissimilar metals. A home-made spot welder from an old microwave oven transformer might do the trick, as you aren't introducing any new material. If you know an electrician, you could probably cad-weld it.

See how the individual coils are connected to the terminals. It may give you an idea.

Finally, could you eliminate the broken coil and shift the others over, and jumper the last two terminals. It would essentially eliminate the slowest speed, and start off a little faster. I'm thinking each coil is a different length, so acceleration wouldn't be quite as linear as before.

rlw · 08-12-2014, 08:16 AM

Yurtle,

I guess that I misunderstood Hooknows - I thought he wrote that the "lug" was broken. If that's the case, it just needs cleaned up and the bolt (lug) replaced. If the wire is broken, then he needs a new resistor coil.

Hooknows - can you post some photos of the resistor assembly so we know what we're talking about?

RLW

yurtle · 08-12-2014, 01:45 PM

Or maybe I misunderstood. It was EARLY, even for me.

08-05-2014, 06:22 PM	#1
hooknows Not Yet Wild Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 12	1987 EzGo missing slower speeds Hello, First time poster, long time lurker. Yall helped me rebuild my metal tank of a golf cart without even knowing it. Best project I ever did. She came out AWESOME. A month ago...some teens without thinking....slammed my cart from Rev to Forward. Since then I have only a high speed, and no lower speeds. I read through some of the archives here, but I cannot decide if it is in the Resistor Coils, or the Solenoid, or the Sweeper. I am handy with a ohms meter, and I did not replace any of these components during my rebuild. Any suggestions Great site by the way!!! Thanks
hooknows Not Yet Wild Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 12

08-06-2014, 05:02 PM	#3
hooknows Not Yet Wild Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 12	Re: 1987 EzGo missing slower speeds Thanks Jonnie B! I was leaning towards the Coils, but did not want to thrown any $$ at it without due diligence. Can I just one of the negative terminals on any battery and go to work? Thanks
hooknows Not Yet Wild Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 12

08-11-2014, 06:29 PM	#5
hooknows Not Yet Wild Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 12	Re: 1987 EzGo missing slower speeds Finally got to take a look at the old gal, and found that the front third lug of the third resistor coil was broken. I pulled the whole box out and found it tonight. The other coils look old and scaly, but they are intact. Should I just replace the third one? or the whole shabang? $20.00 vs $150-180 is a no brainier for me, but I did not want to miss the opportunity while it was out.
hooknows Not Yet Wild Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 12

08-11-2014, 10:43 PM	#6
rlw Gone Wild Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Southeast Ohio -- "The Toenails of the Foothills of Appalachia" Posts: 232	Re: 1987 EzGo missing slower speeds Hooknows, It's not hard to repair the coils yourself, as long as the wires are intact. I took mine completely apart and cleaned up the connections with a wire wheel on a bench grinder. You can either replace the bolts or clean up the existing ones. You want to make sure that you have good metal-to-metal contact everywhere. I had a problem with one of my cables - built a new cable, cleaned up the coil connections, put it all back together and it worked great. Good luck, RLW

08-11-2014, 10:47 PM	#7
rlw Gone Wild Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Southeast Ohio -- "The Toenails of the Foothills of Appalachia" Posts: 232	Re: 1987 EzGo missing slower speeds In answer to your question about pulling the coil - just for safety's sake, I'd disconnect both the positive AND negative connections to the battery before I started to pull the coil out. Only takes 30 seconds to remove the other connector. Shorts in a golf cart's 36v battery bank can make BIG, SCARY SPARKS (and even explosions)!!! As usual, be careful when using metal tools around the battery posts. Might not be a bad idea to put a piece of heavy plastic or something over the battery bank to be sure. RLW

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08-12-2014, 01:34 AM	#8
yurtle Gone Mad Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Buford, GA Posts: 8,988	Re: 1987 EzGo missing slower speeds Best bet might be to look for a used one. If you can replace a single coil, that would be preferable. I've never seen one before, and don't know if it's possible. Maybe the resistor could be repaired with a simple mechanical inline splice. There's a potential problem with either a crimp-on, which I'd avoid, and a copper one with set screws. The problem is the resistor gets hot by its very nature, and the dissimilar metals will expand and contract at different rates. Might could also be welded, but again, dissimilar metals. A home-made spot welder from an old microwave oven transformer might do the trick, as you aren't introducing any new material. If you know an electrician, you could probably cad-weld it. See how the individual coils are connected to the terminals. It may give you an idea. Finally, could you eliminate the broken coil and shift the others over, and jumper the last two terminals. It would essentially eliminate the slowest speed, and start off a little faster. I'm thinking each coil is a different length, so acceleration wouldn't be quite as linear as before.

08-12-2014, 08:16 AM	#9
rlw Gone Wild Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Southeast Ohio -- "The Toenails of the Foothills of Appalachia" Posts: 232	Re: 1987 EzGo missing slower speeds Yurtle, I guess that I misunderstood Hooknows - I thought he wrote that the "lug" was broken. If that's the case, it just needs cleaned up and the bolt (lug) replaced. If the wire is broken, then he needs a new resistor coil. Hooknows - can you post some photos of the resistor assembly so we know what we're talking about? RLW

08-12-2014, 01:45 PM	#10
yurtle Gone Mad Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Buford, GA Posts: 8,988	Re: 1987 EzGo missing slower speeds Or maybe I misunderstood. It was EARLY, even for me.

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