G29 Drive controller diagnostics

[Delft Maloo]

Ill be ordering the curtis once i get back home to Aus as i don't have the cart details with me here in the US to order one.

[Rharding]

Well, just wanted to let everyone know that I received the FSIP/Curtis conversion kit. Installation was pretty simple, couple of things that I would have done differently if I was making the conversion kit, but overall a good fit and everything needed was supplied.

This unit was pre-programmed from FSIP to supposedly match the factory Moric controller characteristics, except that the speed would be greater than the stock without the speed upgrade. I have to say that I am a little disappointed in the performance of or the programming of the controller.

There seems to be very little regen braking, but that is fine with me. The biggest issues are no speed increase at all in forward and the reverse speed is almost a turtle speed. Another thing I have noticed is that the walk-away feature works kind of OK when the cart is stopped on a flat surface, but does not do anything when stopped on an incline.

I may give FSIP a call about these issues but what can they do other than have me remove the controller and send it back to them for some tweaking?

I know I am one of the first to try this conversion out, but any feedback on these issues would be great.

Thanks.

[cgtech]

All the stuff you ask is adjustable, except maybe for speed. You could also rent a programmer off ebay and "get your hands dirty". If you do, be sure to get "oem level" so you can see/adjust everything. That hitachi motor is only capable of about 21mph on its best day (with stock size tires).

[Rharding]

Never saw a programmer on Ebay "for rent" will have to check into that. I know from the Curtis specs on the 1268, just about everything is programmable. I am sure you are correct about the max speed for the Hitachi motor, but the top speed is no where near that. It is just about like the stock Moric controller. Could there be anything else beside the controller limiting the speed?

[cgtech]

19 is max speed with moric controller IF ptv speed code is entered. 12-14 mph otherwise. What speed do you think you are getting? Are batteries fully charged? Have you tried unplugging tach sensor on motor (3 small wires, white plug)? This ptv code does not apply to curtis controller.

[Delft Maloo]

FSIP stated in in one of their emails to me that the cart should be capable of 25mph with the 500amp controller, if so or close to this would be great for me as my cart is still limited to 12mph atm, I'm still running on stock wheels and tyres for the time being.
What are the upgrade motor options for the Drive?

[Rharding]

gctech, 12-14 was what the cart was getting with the stock moric controller and was hoping that the upgrade would increase the speed, but the cart seems to run the same speed as before. FSIP could not tell me how much speed I would gain, but indicated it would be more than stock. The batteries are brand new and fully charged. What will unplugging the tach sensor do? Will this hurt anything? Does the Curtis controller not use this as a feedback to control the speed? If so, how will this effect the controller?

One other interesting note on the installation directions for the FSIP/Curtis conversion, it stated that if you had a certain part number motor, which I am pretty sure mine is, The top speed of the cart would be decreased by 7 mph after 5000 to 7000 amp hours of use and recommended replacing the motor brushes. This cart is a 2007, so I am sure i has many more amp hours of use than that. What is your opinion on that? Have you ever ran into that before?

[cgtech]

They are.referring to a factory TSB regarding a speed loss in 2010-2012.5 models. Your model year is not affected by this. Yes i have seen it, and id does.correct those affected motors. Yours is not part of that group. The new brushes are smaller than the replaced ones, which may be trading brush life for speed, especially on a cart with a larger controller. Unplugging a tach sensor will not harm any thing, and i am suggesting it as a temporary test only.

[Rharding]

Just tired unplugging the tach sensor wire. I guess that was a pretty good test as with it unplugged it would only go as fast forward as it would backwards. Which is very slow, so that does not look like an issue.

The motor brush note I mentioned said it covered the 2007 thru 2012 models. I have attached the installation manual for the conversion which has the statement at the beginning. Wasn't planning on changing the brushes anyway, but found this curious.

[cgtech]

I guess FSIP sees this problem affecting all YDRE hitachi motors '07-'12. I was refering to the Yamaha service bulliten GC2012-10a. Same topic tho. (guess yamaha is not interrested in this problem on "out of warranty" vehicles). I still think you should be seeing higher speeds. By Fsip's own claims, you should still be seeing 18 mph, even if brush problem is affecting you.