36v ez go with pds won’t move in forward or reverse

[kdoriety]

I have pack voltage on pins highlighted in red. I always have voltage J4- pin 1 and 2. I even unhooked the wires from the switch and still have pack voltage on J4- pins 1 and 2. Haven’t gotten the chance to look much further.

[JohnnieB]

Maybe Pin 2 is shorting to Pin-1 in the plug.

The constant voltage on J1 Pin-1 is triggering the HPD error and is keeping it from running.

[kdoriety]

I have pack voltage on all wires highlighted in red. I also have pack voltage on J4-pin 1 and 2 all the time. I even unhooked the wires off the switch and I still have pack voltage on J4-pin 1 and 2.

[kdoriety]

I didn’t mean to post that last reply.

I thought the same thing but if I check continuity between 1 and 2 on the plug it reads open.

[JohnnieB]

With the J4 cable unplugged from controller, measure the voltage at Pins 1 and 2 on the controller.

If you have voltage on both, the controller is bad.

IF it is, replace it with an Alltrax XCT48400-PDS.

[kdoriety]

Ok the controller is putting power on both pins at all times, so the controller is bad.

I got this cart from my dad. He’s had 2 remanufactured Curtis controllers installed in the last year or so. This is 3rd one to go bad. I will definitely go back with an alltrax if that’s what you recommend. But do you know of anything that could be causing these controllers to fail??

Considered getting a high torque motor/controller/ solenoid kit. What’s your opinion?

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by kdoriety

Ok the controller is putting power on both pins at all times, so the controller is bad.

I got this cart from my dad. He’s had 2 remanufactured Curtis controllers installed in the last year or so. This is 3rd one to go bad. I will definitely go back with an alltrax if that’s what you recommend. But do you know of anything that could be causing these controllers to fail??

Considered getting a high torque motor/controller/ solenoid kit. What’s your opinion?

Re-manufactured, Rebuilt and Repaired all mean the same thing. A failed controller whose failed components have been replaced and the case cleaned. What isn't advertised and often overlooked is the simple fact that all the other components are the same age as, and have been subjected to the same use and abuse as the failed components that were replaced.

As for the cause of three controllers failing, were the symptoms exactly the same or were the failures different? A PDS controller is a drive by wire system and can fail in many different ways.


Alltrax XCT controllers aren't completely immune to failure, but they due have a two year warranty and very comprehensive set of real time monitoring and data logging of pertinent parameters, control inputs and error flags. (Sample of a few lines of a data log attached) In addition, the are user programmable, so you can tailor the performance characteristics to better suit your needs instead of making do with what some anonymous committee of bean-counters and shysters decided was best for the corporation's profit margin.

-----------
As for the high torque motor/controller/solenoid kit. What's the reason for high-torque? Does the cart have oversized tires and/or a rear seat? What type terrain is the cart going to be driven on?

[kdoriety]

1. The last 2 failures were different in that only 1 direction failed. Not sure exactly which component of the controller failed though.

2. It does have a lift kit with I think 21 inch tires. My dad bought it that way and had no problem with it for 6 yrs or so. And it does have a back regular back seat. Not limousine though if that’s what you’re asking. I’ll only use it for riding around the farm and dirt roads. That’s pretty much it.

[JohnnieB]

1. Works in one direction only is a failure of the low power controller. It send amps through the field windings in one direction for F and the other direction for R. The high power controller passes amps to the armature and maxes out at about 300A in a stock PDS controller, the bi-directional field portion maxes out at about 1/10 of that.

2. It takes about 17% more torque to climb the same hill with the same weight load with 21" tall tires than it takes with stock 18" tires. The rear seat adds weight and needs more torque whether it is occupied or not. Probably want a motor that has at least 20% more than stock torque.

[kdoriety]

Ok thanks. Do you have a motor recommendation? Or a whole kit recommendation?