2009 CC Prec IQ Burning Smell

[CCNorth]

My saga continues. I apologize for the long post.

My cart refuses to move. I had old TPS still installed so ordered and installed new MCOR4 per David Hicks' instructions. I didn't think it would solve my problem but knew it needed the upgrade. It did not solve the problem.

As stated in another post, my batteries were old so I replaced them with new Trojan 875's. Inspected each cable and connector and all seemed good with no obvious burned or loose or over-flexing wires. Hooked up new batteries and charged overnight. Cart still refused to move but the solenoid did click and buzzer worked in reverse. THEN, I noticed a burning smell. Key was OFF and I lifted seat and placed switch in TOW and disconnected the battery pack negative then positive cables. No cables or posts were warm or smoking.

I used the "nose test" and the smell was definitely coming from the control panel. I disconnected all battery cables and took out #3 & 4 and opened the panel. Smell was in the area of the solenoid, on that side of the panel.

I found no burned, broken or loose wires. What I did find is the bottom post coming out of the Tow/Run switch is easily bent forward and backwards and sideways. I realized this when I tried to disconnect the pinkish/red and green wires and those things are stuck on there like they are glued. I can't budge them.

I'm too afraid of fire to hook the batteries back up. The only other thing I knew to check without batteries was the motor continuity. Had no continuity from F1/F2 and A1/A2... nada.... nothing. Used two different multimeters to verify results with both set to 200 ohms.

With the dead motor I assume my controller is probably dead also. If the Tow part of the switch is not making good contact did I destroy my motor when I had to tow in about 500 yards the other day??? Would the switch having a burning smell in the Run position??

[R&TBabich]

Originally Posted by CCNorth

..... What I did find is the bottom post coming out of the Tow/Run switch is easily bent forward and backwards and sideways. I realized this when I tried to disconnect the pinkish/red and green wires and those things are stuck on there like they are glued. I can't budge them. .....

The Tow/Run switch is a rather inexpensive ON/OFF switch used to provide power for all the electrical system - Key switch, Reverse buzzer, OBC, FNR switch and an input to the Controller.
It is used to kill power to the system when doing maintenance or towing.
You probably could just replace it and see if your problems clear up.
Power from the battery pack comes in on the Pink wire and continues on to the rest of the system on the Light Green.
I added a 30A inline fuse in the Pink line and tapped it off bat1 instead of the solenoid.
Also replaced the switch with one for a Yamaha that is a black rocker with Tow-Run labels and got rid of the plate it was mounted on to gain more access to the battery compartment.
Not sure how it is mounted in a Precedent.

[Fairtax4me]

Most of the time a burning smell from the controller area is the resistor on the solenoid getting hot. The resistor only gets hot if there is a short in the controller or motor.

The only test you really need to do is a continuity test on the motor. Remove all of the cables from the motor. If the studs are rusty use penetrating oil to help them loosen up. Use a narrow wrench on the lower nuts to keep the studs from spinning.
Check continuity of the motor.
You should have continuity from A1 to A2, and F1 to F2.
You should Not have continuity from Any A terminal to any F terminal.
You Should not have continuity from any A or F terminal to the motor case.
If you have continuity between A-F or from A or F to the case, the motor has an internal problem. Most often this also damages the controller, so that will need to be repaired or replaced after the motor issue is sorted out.
If the motor is bad, it needs to be corrected before attempting to use any other controller.

If the motor tests good, then the controller has failed.

[CCNorth]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

Most of the time a burning smell from the controller area is the resistor on the solenoid getting hot. The resistor only gets hot if there is a short in the controller or motor.

The only test you really need to do is a continuity test on the motor. Remove all of the cables from the motor. If the studs are rusty use penetrating oil to help them loosen up. Use a narrow wrench on the lower nuts to keep the studs from spinning.
Check continuity of the motor.
You should have continuity from A1 to A2, and F1 to F2.
You should Not have continuity from Any A terminal to any F terminal.
You Should not have continuity from any A or F terminal to the motor case.
If you have continuity between A-F or from A or F to the case, the motor has an internal problem. Most often this also damages the controller, so that will need to be repaired or replaced after the motor issue is sorted out.
If the motor is bad, it needs to be corrected before attempting to use any other controller.

If the motor tests good, then the controller has failed.

I guess I did not make it clear in my post that I did check motor continuity. I did _not_ have continuity from A1 to A2 or from F1 to F2 and should have. :( Also, I did not have continuity from A to F or from A or F to the motor case.

So, I did not have the continuity I should have had from A1 to A2 and F1 to F2. And, I did not have continuity where I should not have had it.

What does that tell you?? I sincerely appreciate any and all help.

[movin-on]

Looks like you need a motor...Was the cart in tow when you towed it...Does the resistor across the big terminals of the solenoid look heat damaged....

[Sergio]

Make sure the cables were disconnected from the motor when measuring resistance or continuity otherwise you will get invalid results.

When disconnecting quick connectors like the Tow/Run switch, use needle nose pliers and only pull the connector straight out, the mechanical fastening used in those connectors do not withstand much lateral movement.

[CCNorth]

Originally Posted by movin-on

Looks like you need a motor...Was the cart in tow when you towed it...Does the resistor across the big terminals of the solenoid look heat damaged....

Thank you for your help! I'm afraid you are correct about new motor. Absolutely, the cart was in Tow.
Solenoid is a bit dirty but with no obvious damage that I can see. The resistor looks okay to me but I'm not sure how it's supposed to look. This is the first time I've ever had the control panel open so it's all new to me.

[CCNorth]

Originally Posted by Sergio

Make sure the cables were disconnected from the motor when measuring resistance or continuity otherwise you will get invalid results.

When disconnecting quick connectors like the Tow/Run switch, use needle nose pliers and only pull the connector straight out, the mechanical fastening used in those connectors do not withstand much lateral movement.

Cables were disconnected. However, I had a hard time getting the top bolt off A1, connected to the pinkish/red wire, because there was only a tiny bit of space to fit a wrench to hold the bottom bolt to keep the stud from spinning. I had to use one of those throw-away flat wrenches like you get when you assemble a piece of furniture. I hope that makes sense. There was enough space on the lower bolt of A2 to use a regular wrench.
Could the fact the stud of A1 seems to be turned in too much be a problem??

After disconnecting the cables I cleaned all the studs before testing.

As you can see from photo there was rust and corrosion at all those connections.

As I said, the cart has been used very little the past 4 years and has sat in my son's garage. This is the first time I have attempted any work on it. All previous work was done by a local cart small business. I do have experience working on my Honda ATV's.

Cart had been gently used on well maintained dirt/gravel/grassed roads at our farm. The only off-road activity was driving through a green field. If possible, I avoided mud. Just saying that it was never abused.

[movin-on]

A1=Green
A2=White
F1=Orange
F2=Blue
Needle nose vise grips work good holding the lower nuts...

You can test the motor with 12v to see if it runs..Since you have the cables off the motor already...Disconnect pack + and -.....Jack up the rear of the cart..Get two #6 or larger cables...Jump A1 to F1 with one of the cables...Jump A2 to F2 with the other...Get some jumper cables and connect one end to a 12v battery pos and neg...Apply 12v positive to the A1 post and negative to the A2 post (you will get a spark)...The motor will run if it is good...

[CCNorth]

Originally Posted by movin-on

A1=Green
A2=White
F1=Orange
F2=Blue
Needle nose vise grips work good holding the lower nuts...

You can test the motor with 12v to see if it runs..Since you have the cables off the motor already...Disconnect pack + and -.....Jack up the rear of the cart..Get two #6 or larger cables...Jump A1 to F1 with one of the cables...Jump A2 to F2 with the other...Get some jumper cables and connect one end to a 12v battery pos and neg...Apply 12v positive to the A1 post and negative to the A2 post (you will get a spark)...The motor will run if it is good...

I wish I had a 12v battery but I don't. <sigh>

I tried continuity testing again. Before I did this I recleaned the posts using wire brush then a wire wheel on Dremel. Wiped posts with PB Blaster and rinsed with WD-40. Wiped and dried well. I bet you're laughing.
I cleaned all the cable connectors using wire wheel. They are squeeky clean. I DID NOT reconnect the cables to the motor. :)

Continuity from F1 to F2 (Orange & Blue) very erratic. Kept repositioning until I finally got 2.5 or 3.4. It would not stop bounching and decide on a definite number no matter where I placed and held the leads. I know these readings are too high

Bigger issue is that I have NO continuity from A1 to A2 (Green & White).

Is it fair at this point to say that my motor is toast??