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Old 04-22-2022, 07:34 PM   #1
Ryan310
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Default Keep killing my controllers. Help

Club car DS series 48 volt golf cart.
Motor: D&D 9.2 hp series
Controller: Navitas 440 amp
New Intestate batteries
I was going up a dirt hill and then my golf cart just went dead. Found out my controller went bad and navitas sent me a new one. I put on a new solenoid with the new controller. Ran for a week. I towed my friends golf cart only 20 yards and then my golf cart went dead again. This time the solenoid and the controller went bad. I tested my motor terminals on continuity and ohms and it came out good. My connection are solid and my wires are new. Does anyone have any idea what the issue can be? I can’t imagine 2 controllers were bad. Plz help!
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Old 04-22-2022, 07:54 PM   #2
Fairtax4me
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Default Re: Keep killing my controllers. Help

I’m not an expert on motor upgrades or what’s needed for higher HP motors, but it seems to me that a 400a controller is a little lacking for a 9hp motor.
I’m not sure how Navitas rates their controllers, so can’t say if that controller should be able to handle what your motor is trying to pull.
Where did you buy the motor and controller? and did you get a recommendation on that combo from the seller?

Solenoids mostly burn out because they’re undersized and can’t handle the amount of current moving through them. What solenoid are you using? A 200a solenoid is probably too small for a 9hp motor.

Voltage drop also causes higher amp flow which will damage controllers and can overwork solenoids. How old are your batteries? What condition are they in? Have you checked the drop on them under load?
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Old 04-22-2022, 08:53 PM   #3
Ryan310
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Thumbs up Re: Keep killing my controllers. Help

@ Fairtax4me, I was thinking the same thing! Maybe I need the 600 amp controller. I will talk to a tech on Monday about that. Also, my batteries are new, only a few months old. The motor came with the golf cart when I bought it in December. I had an old navitas controller that was that kept overheating so I bought the new version, thinking that would help. That old controller never went bad but I stupidly gave it to a friend when I got my new controller. Let me know what you think. Thanks for the help and any future help I get.
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Old 04-22-2022, 08:59 PM   #4
CP241
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Default Re: Keep killing my controllers. Help

I don’t know that the controller being undersized would kill them that fast… it absolutely could if you run it pretty hard regularly. All depends on how you drive/use the cart. Sounds like when it’s under a high stress load it’s shtting the bed.

I wouldn’t necessarily rule out a problem with the motor though either. Ive never owned a navitas but I had a 10hp admiral motor on a 400 amp alltrax in a 2000 DS and believe me, I beat the snot out of that thing and never had a problem. That poor cart 25” mud tires and some trails and conditions not really suitable for a golf cart… never missed a beat. Have pictures of it somewhere stuck frame deep in peanut butter winching it out with my Honda rubicon

What size cables do you have as well? If it’s the stock 6 gauge cables that could create an awful lot of resistance with a few hundred amps running through them…
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Old 04-22-2022, 09:24 PM   #5
greg-g
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Default Re: Keep killing my controllers. Help

Well since we're all guessing here, my guess would be that he's stalling the system when he sitting there bullshiting with someone
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Old 04-22-2022, 09:29 PM   #6
Ryan310
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Default Re: Keep killing my controllers. Help

@Cp241, I have 4 gauge wire to the motor. Reading that you run your 10 hp motor golf cart makes me jealous. I have not run my golf cart like that but I want to. Do you know anything else I can do with the motor? I was told to take it to an alternator shop but what can they test that I haven’t already tested?
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Old 04-22-2022, 10:18 PM   #7
CP241
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Default Re: Keep killing my controllers. Help

Heat changes resistance. When motors work they get hot. There’s a possibility there’s something not happy inside the motor that just doing a resistance check ona. Cold motor won’t reveal. Also remember a loaded circuit is completely different than an idle circuit. As a generic example, You only need one strand of wire to have continuity and good resistance to check. But once you apply a load to that, clearly the one strand of wire isn’t gonna cut it. There could be a cold joint somewhere in the motor or a weak connection somewhere that only exposes the issue upon heat and load.

You could remove the motor and take it apart and check the brushes, armature, etc for any signs it got hot or unhappy. But again, may still be difficult to trace down without applying some current through it.
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Old 04-22-2022, 10:52 PM   #8
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Default Re: Keep killing my controllers. Help

Also if you bought the cart this way and the original controller was overheating, also indicates to me the problem is likely not within the controller.

I’d tear the motor down and check the commutator bars, brushes, everything jnternally carefully. Maybe the previous owner as stated above had a habit of stalling the motor and caused damage that’s not severe enough to be catastrophic but enough to be problematic
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Old 04-23-2022, 09:12 AM   #9
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Default Re: Keep killing my controllers. Help

Bad motor is the most likely cause of controller failures.
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Old 04-23-2022, 02:27 PM   #10
scottyb
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Default Re: Keep killing my controllers. Help

Food for thought
I have a 48v cart with big tires, a 14 hp long stack high torque motor, and a 500 amp control choked off at 300 amps. This cart never hits the 300 amp limit. These motors just don't draw that much. Personally I think 600 and 700 amp controllers are a waste of resources when an Alltrax 500 peaks at 570 amps and a motor never draws 300 amps... We can prove this with the monitor files.
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