Self inflicted wiring problem

[gpmclaughlin]

Hopefully somebody here can give me a hand identifying a self inflicted wound.
I decorated my 2001 Club Car DS 48V for the annual Golf Cart Parade here in my Florida neighborhood. This entailed using a separate 12v lawn mower battery connected to a 330w inverter and used extension cords underneath the cart for powering the LCD lights and other decorations which worked out fine (No I didn't win - what a GYP!).
The reason I'm describing the Christmas setup is to demonstrate how even though I went to great lengths to avoid damaging any of the cart electric components for this event I damaged it anyway.
The self inflicted wound happened when I removed the extension cords from underneath the cart and not having any respect at all for the 22 yr. old wiring system.
I broke a wire on the F/R switch which I repaired and loosened up 2 wires on the ignition - also repaired.
The problem I'm having now is that the cart will run at full power for about 800 ft then quit. The solenoid still clicks but it acts like there is no power - even though the batteries are fully charged. IF I let it sit a couple of hours or so it will run the same 800 ft then quit again - same thing.
It appears that something (?) is heating up and shutting the whole thing down....
Any ideas? Thank You!

Gary McLaughlin

[simicrintz]

I cannot hep you with your problem (I'm sorry) but I sure would like to see a pic or two of your cart all decorated :)

[CP241]

Unfortunately due to the nature of this problem, this may be more of a “hands on required” type of fix. It’s probably not going to be a standard x,y, or z type failure most are used to seeing.

I’d suspect something has a loose connection somewhere. I’d go through every connection with a fine tooth comb and I’d bet it is one of those “d’oh moments” once you find it. Maybe one of the spades at the controller or something?

[Wakko47]

Tell us more about the parade. :)

My community did one, but it was just a bunch of carters that got together on our own to do it. Only 12 carts showed up, so next year we will advertise.

[minimac]

We had over sixty decorated carts for ours. I had battery(AAA)powered lights, tinsel, along with my underside LEDs, even a Christmas decorated blow up (110V powered) wiener doggie on the top. Last year, a guy had a running train set on his roof!
Me, I would double check everything I touched. While looking, clean and check every connection,making sure they are tight. tighten and clean all of the cables, and add dielectric grease to all of the plugs and connectors after cleaning them.

[gpmclaughlin]

Hi everybody. Thanks for the support! I took minimac's and CP241's suggestion and found loose plug in connectors that were barely hanging on to the wires they were supposed to be connected to on the F/R switch which was not obvious in the least. 4 broken/damaged wires later I was able to drive it around the neighborhood (slower than usual) tonight!
It all comes down my disrespect for the elderly (wires that is).
Love this forum. Thanks for your help. I'll post some X-mas parade pics if I can get them off the website. This neighborhood had 36 carts in the parade itself and a huge turnout along the route.
I definitely will have more respect for the elderly in the future.

Thanks Guys,

Gary McLaughlin
Valrico, FL

[simicrintz]

Great pics; looks like you live in a pretty cool neighborhood

[Noonan]

Looks like a good time, nice job on the cart! I'm glad you found your electrical gremlin, those are usually the biggest pain in the buttocks to chase down.

[gpmclaughlin]

Originally Posted by simicrintz

Great pics; looks like you live in a pretty cool neighborhood

It's a nice neighborhood - golf course - but Florida is notorious for their HOA's. While I appreciate and benefit from the purpose of the HOA it can be very overbearing and unreasonable at times. Laughs! The HOA organized the event and also owns the Golf Course so it's a double edged sword.
Thanks for all of your comments and advice!

Gary McLaughlin