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

[DragonTamer]

So my high school's band has an electric club car. Not entirely sure of year, but i know it's lacking the tow/run switch many of them apparently have. It does not have regen braking. I can identify a controller, OBC of a cream color, and then the battery bank and motors. It's a bank of 6 8 volt batteries, and there's also a 12 volt stereo wired into two of the batteries.

So, basically, when the gas is pressed, the car will kinda jump, but then won't move. I can hear a click, but i have no clue what to measure where. I've tried resetting the OBC, but that didn't do anything. The car stopped driving when it was throw into reverse, full throttle, while moving forwards full throttle. All of this was done on low batteries, so i was thinking the OBC had glitched, but apparently not. I've dug around as much as possible, and all i can find is the resister on the solenoid getting extremely hot when the gas is pressed. The low battery light also flashes a few times after the pedal is released.

I can likely answer any questions, but i need to know what to look for in order to have any clue what to check and measure.... Any help is greatly appreciated!

[shadowman]

so until it was thrown into reverse it worked fine? there will be a tag on dash center lower area you,ll have to bend to see it....1st two #,s are year.....have you checked any of the basics? check every cable make sure they are tight ....every cable.......check each battery for voltage.........the flashing dash light indicates low voltage or maybe something happened with OBC but the other symptons sound like controller went south...........for testing only you can take the resistor off solenoid and see if cart runs normal just also you can take the diode off just remember its direction when you put it back on...........disconncet main pos and neg battery cables before working on solenoid.................................

[DragonTamer]

It mostly worked fine. It would stutter a bit if the batteries weren't completely charged, but it worked fine for the most part.
Battery pack is showing 55 volts at full charge, and each battery is between 8 and 8.5 volts. All connections look good.

So basically remove the resistor from the solenoid and see if the motor will turn?
I'll get the year off the cart as soon as i can... I don't actually have it near me until around 2:00, so i've got a while until i get back to band. Just trying to get ideas to try and figure it out.

[shadowman]

take a digital voltge meter with you also.....yes just take diode and resistor off solenoid.......diode is one way so remember, it has a silver band on one end remember which way it goes................and try and get all the info you can, like model, does it have a lever or rockerswitch for F&R............battery readings......................

[DragonTamer]

I can do that... I'll report back as soon as i have info.

It has a rocker switch with a neutral setting.

Would a dying controller cause the stuttering issue noticed at take off when the batteries aren't 100% charged. It seems to start when pack voltage hits 52 volts.

EDIT: LEVER switch with neutral.

[simple man]

I would suggest you fully charge the batteries before anything else! Let the charger run until it automatically shuts off. also make sure water just covers over the plates before you charge the batteries. Do Not fill the batteries before charging! Use the fill indicators only when the charge has finalized!
Here's a helpful chart as to what to look for in battery voltage. Remember to charge them and let them set for 12hrs or so for accurate readings!

[DragonTamer]

The batteries are all good, charged, and watered. That was the first thing I checked when the motor started stuttering.

I do hear the usual High pitched whine from the controller when the pedal is pressed. It's just not as loud as usual.
The cart wil try to move once, and then it has to be turned off and back On to make it try again.

Sorry for any typos. On my phone right now.

[DragonTamer]

The golf cart is a 1995 club car. Serial number is A9530-447347.

When the gas is pressed, my meter is saying there is a constant amperage draw of .3amps, and bank voltage is about 52 volts right now. The low battery light also lights after the pedal is held down for a few seconds. The cart will move a bit (not move... more nudge) and then do nothing. Putting it in neutral 10 seconds will cause it to do it again on next attempt. I can hear the controller whining as usual, but it gets quieter after the motor fails to turn. Tried pulling the resistor off of the solenoid, and it didn't do anything. Resister gets VERY hot to the touch after a few seconds of pressing the accelerator.

It's doing EXACTLY what it does when one attempts to drive it when it's charging.

[delagem]

The resistor getting hot is a CLASSIC symptom of a bad solenoid. Crudded up terminals from age, or possibly from massive voltage shock (insert name of bonehead who was throwing it from full forward to full reverse!) The cart is trying to run, but the solenoid isn't passing the volts/amps on. So the cart is trying to spin the motor thru the tiny wires on that poor little resistor.

Taking the resistor off is not a valid test of the solenoid. You can simply do this before using a voltmeter to check for continuity across the solenoid, if you choose to test that way. Bad solenoids will still show continuity across the large lugs, if the resistor is still in place, but won't carry the amps necessary to run the cart. I wouldn't bother to test your solenoid in this fashion. Try these two things instead:

Two things to test. Control circuit to the solenoid, and the solenoid itself.


Control Circuit:
Is the solenoid clicking when you step on the pedal? If yes, you have confirmed the control circuit to the solenoid is working correctly. If not, you've got something bad in that circuit. (Not likely)

Solenoid Itself:
Easiest way to test: Take one of the large terminals off of the solenoid, and affix it to the other large terminal. Jack the rear wheels up. Step on the accelerator. Do the wheels now spin? If so, confirmed bad solenoid. Buy a new one from a site sponsor, or support your local dealer. Buy a new resistor while you're at it. Smoked one is probably compromised.

Don't attempt to run the cart with the solenoid jumped out, think of the solenoid as a large safety switch to the entire wiring. You don't want to run without it...

EDIT: You are likely testing your pack voltage incorrectly, as the chart that SimpleMan posted shows. The highest you should see is 51v. I'm guessing you're testing while the charger is connected and charging, or immediately after charging. As SimpleMan said, let the pack sit overnight before you test.

[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.