Precedent Alpha Body Light Issue

[SavannahBulldog]

Stumped on this one.

I have a Precedent with Alpha Body that I was having an issue where the lights that had been ran prior to me owning it that were being powered by 2 of the 8v batteries was causing the cart to jump into limp mode when the lights were on.

Based on a suggestion from someone who experienced this exact issue, I wired in a 48v to 12v 10a reducer and ran the lights into that. All that changed on my setup was the wires from the lights that ran to the batteries now run to the reducer, and the reducer runs to 48v.

Now after install - when I flip the light switch I get a very brief flicker of the headlights and then just the daytime running light remains on. When the switch is turned off, the DRLs go off. If I flip the switch again I get the very brief flicker of the headlights every time and then just the DRL bar.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[CCNorth]

We need to know the year of your cart to be able to offer the best advice.

[SavannahBulldog]

Originally Posted by CCNorth

We need to know the year of your cart to be able to offer the best advice.

It’s a 2011 48v Precedent Excel

[fstop]

Originally Posted by SavannahBulldog

Stumped on this one.

I have a Precedent with Alpha Body that I was having an issue where the lights that had been ran prior to me owning it that were being powered by 2 of the 8v batteries was causing the cart to jump into limp mode when the lights were on.

Based on a suggestion from someone who experienced this exact issue, I wired in a 48v to 12v 10a reducer and ran the lights into that. All that changed on my setup was the wires from the lights that ran to the batteries now run to the reducer, and the reducer runs to 48v.

Now after install - when I flip the light switch I get a very brief flicker of the headlights and then just the daytime running light remains on. When the switch is turned off, the DRLs go off. If I flip the switch again I get the very brief flicker of the headlights every time and then just the DRL bar.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Not sure what type of lights they are (LED or incandescent), but it sounds like the headlight load may be too much for the converter and the converter voltage output drops after an initial attempt to provide the current needed for those lights.

It could also be that somehow something else on the HL circuit is drawing power also (10A should be enough for the headlights, I'd think, even if incandescent).

It would also stand to reason that this load was also enough to throw the cart into limp when you had it wired to 2x 8v FLA batteries. This should have worked, though definitely not ideal, assuming the batteries were not in poor condition.

I'd put a volt meter on the output of the 12v converter and watch it when you turn on the lights. If it drops below ~11v I'd say something - either the HLs themselves or something else wired into that circuit you may be unaware of (or is malfunctioning) is drawing too much current.

Another, but more remote, possibility is that if it is an LED HL, possibly the driver board is having an odd interaction with the 12v converter and not allowing the HL to work at startup, so then shuts itself down until power is re-applied. Not so likely I'd imagine, but possible I think.

Good luck tracking it down.

[SavannahBulldog]

Originally Posted by fstop

Not sure what type of lights they are (LED or incandescent), but it sounds like the headlight load may be too much for the converter and the converter voltage output drops after an initial attempt to provide the current needed for those lights.

It could also be that somehow something else on the HL circuit is drawing power also (10A should be enough for the headlights, I'd think, even if incandescent).

It would also stand to reason that this load was also enough to throw the cart into limp when you had it wired to 2x 8v FLA batteries. This should have worked, though definitely not ideal, assuming the batteries were not in poor condition.

I'd put a volt meter on the output of the 12v converter and watch it when you turn on the lights. If it drops below ~11v I'd say something - either the HLs themselves or something else wired into that circuit you may be unaware of (or is malfunctioning) is drawing too much current.

Another, but more remote, possibility is that if it is an LED HL, possibly the driver board is having an odd interaction with the 12v converter and not allowing the HL to work at startup, so then shuts itself down until power is re-applied. Not so likely I'd imagine, but possible I think.

Good luck tracking it down.

Thanks for the response. They are LED alpha body lights, I should have specified. I will check the voltage output on the reducer this evening and see what’s happening there when the lights are switched on

[sthreatt]

I am puzzled by what could make your original setup put the cart into limp home mode, but setting that aside, LED lights are , unlike halogen or incandescent, extremely polarity specific. ( hence the name, light emitting "diodes" ) Just as a thought, make certain that you have the correct polarity from the reducer to the light harness.

[simicrintz]

I don't think they will work at all if wired "out of polarity", but this is good info for those that do not know about the importance of polarity and LED's. Hopefully I am wrong about not working at all, but that has been my experience!

[sthreatt]

Originally Posted by simicrintz

I don't think they will work at all if wired "out of polarity", but this is good info for those that do not know about the importance of polarity and LED's. Hopefully I am wrong about not working at all, but that has been my experience!

I've seen LED light kits wired polarity reversed on golf carts and they will "work", but not properly. Nothing works with it's intended function, but things work or not work kind of backwards. The control module on the kit controls different functions by switching polarity within the module. For example, high beams and low beams may be switched by reversing the circuit. Or park lights may be reversed. Technically, you could say they don't work, but they can act "crazy" when reversed. A BASIC, non-upgrade-able LED light kit, where no control module is integrated, you are right, won't burn at all.