Electric Club Car Clicks, and moves for a split second, then stops

[Stevegrmich]

Originally Posted by DragonTamer

I am aware of one cell of one battery that is shot, and am looking for a used replacement, so pack voltage drops very sharply after it's been off the charger for a few hours. I get 48 at that point, and it will stay there for a while. Goof cart run time is in the hours range, still.

So I connect the red wire to the yellow wire post on the solenoid? I tried that before, and was greeted with a mighty large spark, even with the accelerator not depressed. Should there always be power on that circuit?

If by some chance the controller is shot, I've Found a replacement for $250 down the road. A $40 solenoid fits in the budget much better, however.

I did bypass the OBC, and nothing happened. Cart reacted exactly the same as before.

. . . one bad cell in one battery can bring down the whole pack and create issues similar to what you describe . . . batteries are it's "heart" . . .

[DragonTamer]

Originally Posted by delagem

Not true. The F/R switch has full pack voltage/amps running thru it. Here's a pic of one, after being smoked. Note the thin aluminum bus bars in the OEM switch, and melted plastic:



Fortunately, there is a HD F/R switch. Several, actually. TahoeDawgZ71 told me about this one, the Club Car 36v F&R Switch Assembly, part no. 1011997. Best of all, it only costs $44. Here's a pic of one. Note the solid copper bus bars:



This needs to be converted over to use on a 48v cart. Take those 2 aluminum bus bars from the OEM switch, and put them across the bottom of the new switch, as shown in this picture. These aluminum bars will only be used for reverse.

Mine just has a few little wires going to it... Like... 14awg or 16awg wire. Do those really take full voltage/current?

Originally Posted by Stevegrmich

. . . one bad cell in one battery can bring down the whole pack and create issues similar to what you describe . . . batteries are it's "heart" . . .

Yeah, yeah, i know :P It'll get replaced sometime soon. Thankfully the cart is only used for 10 minutes or so towing, so the batteries can run off of interface charge for the duration of the towing. I am looking for a used battery somewhere, though. The rest of the pack is basically solid at 8.3volts per battery (Within .3 volts), so i don't want to replace the entire pack, since that would run about $800, and high school bands don't get the best of funding :P

[delagem]

You'd better take a few pictures, and post them here. You might have some odd wiring, or a conversion of some sort.

[DragonTamer]

Will do... I'll even put my multimeter on it when i take the picture :)

[shadowman]

Originally Posted by Stevegrmich

. . . one bad cell in one battery can bring down the whole pack and create issues similar to what you describe . . . batteries are it's "heart" . . .

1000% right if you have a battery with a dead cell it needs to go or its gonna cause all kinds of havoc.........that should be the 1st thing you correct...........................

[DragonTamer]

So, small update.

Solenoid is replaced, and when i was replacing it, i shorted out the frame to the battery a few times (twice) resulting in some mighty large sparks, and apparently, breaking whatever was shorting out that cell in the battery. I also replaced all the wires between the batteries with new ones (The old ones were VERY corroded, and the ends were looking rough, so i spent $80 on 4AWG wire and some nice connections for the batteries. Drove the cart around all day yesterday, pulled 1500 pounds a mile, drove another mile full speed, didn't charge it overnight, and then drove it another 2 or 3 miles today, and i'm still getting 47.9 off the battery bank. The "bad" battery was giving me 8.5 at the beginning of today (sitting overnight, after the driving yesterday), so i'm wondering if it'll stay working well for a while. It's certainly bubbling now, so that's encouraging, and the pack is taking a good 12 or 13 hours to charge now, vs. the 2 or 3 before.

The new wiring is also very stiff, so it's easy to bend and make a nice clean route AROUND the battery tank lids.

I'll post a picture of the previous wiring tomorrow, and then the current wiring Monday or Tuesday. At the beginning of today i was getting 51.7 volts, and now it's 47.9, after a lot of full speed driving.

[DragonTamer]

So here's the old wiring. I brushed all the corrosion off, replaced all the connections on the wires (except for the two extras for the stereo... Haven't gotten that far yet) and then wired it up with some nice 4AWG wire.

[shadowman]

have you done anything about the bad battery?............................

[delagem]

I was hoping to see a photo of the "small" wires going to the F/R switch, to see what's going on there...

[DragonTamer]

Originally Posted by shadowman

have you done anything about the bad battery?............................

Well, the car sat in a garage for upwards of a year with almost no use. Most of the batteries were in need of water, as well. I noticed the voltage drop on that battery when i added water, and surprisingly, now it's back. After sitting overnight from a long day of work, i was still getting 7.8 out of that battery, vs. the ~6 i was getting before after being off the charge for an hour or so. I'm thinking whatever was shorting out the cell got dislodged... Cart is working much much better now, though.

Originally Posted by delagem

I was hoping to see a photo of the "small" wires going to the F/R switch, to see what's going on there...

The F/R lever is on the center of the picture on the left. It's basically to the left of the meter. You can see most of the wiring from the picture. (I'd think the wiring is 14 or 16awg)