Solenoid Issues

[Scottg]

I have recently purchased my first golf cart, a 97 club car, and have replaced the solenoid 4 times. Each one reacts differently. Some stay engaged and some stay open. A couple have worked correctly for a short time. The cart will creep in forward and reverse once and I’m assuming at this point the solenoid is stuck in the engaged position. There has got to be something causing theses solenoids to fail. I have purchased all of them from Amazon and they may be sub par.

[Sergio]

It is going to be hard to suggest causes without knowing exactly how they are failing.

You should be able to post photos after a few more posts, but in the mean time, take one of the failed solenoids apart and look inside at the contact surfaces.

If You are buying one of these types (link below), notice how if you allow the stud to turn it will no longer make a full contact inside and it will quickly fail:

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...ml#post1194783

[NoleFan4Ever]

And also were they the same type and the same manufacturer each time? (Lots of Chinese junk on e-Bay and Amazon.)

[meimk]

Yes they may be "sub par", but may also be just wrong. Solenoids are made in many varieties, many of which look alike: starter solenoids, continuous duty solenoids, 12 volt, 24 volt, 36 volt, 48 volt etc. And of course there are the just cheap "made in China" variety that really aren't much good no matter what purpose they are intended for. That said there are other parts that control when the solenoid gets engaged. Start with finding the correct wiring diagram for your particular cart. Check the rest of the system before buying more parts.http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...-diagrams.html

[Scottg]

Thanks for the advice. I compared all of your suggestions to my situation. My cart is now operating correctly. I checked the wiring and tested my new and old solenoids for continuity and found that some would not close and some were stuck closed. I tapped my new one with a hammer and it now operates as it should. I think I am just getting junk trying to save money. However there may still be something else causing these to fail. Thanks again for all the advice.

[Sergio]

What kind of solenoid do you have and did you look inside to see how the contacts are aligned?

Basically you have not done anything to troubleshoot other than buying new solenoids.

If the contact surfaces inside are fully aligned but severely burnt, you may have a wiring issue that is causing the Solenoid contacts to bounce under load.

If your controller does not have HPD, you could even have a bad micro-switch inside the throttle.

You need to understand how the contacts are failing in order to troubleshoot.

[Roxyflash]

If your welding solenoids in other words stuck how are your batteries ? Low voltage is worst then no voltage something is fishy.