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Electric EZGO Electric EZ GO Marathon, Medalist, TXT and RXV.



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Old 04-16-2017, 08:44 PM   #1
JGC403
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Default Solar

I'm new to golf carts and this site in general, but I thought I would of seen more solar panels on carts. Just cause I thought that the roofs on these things are a huge flat surface and perfect for mounting solar panels. Will the solar panels not extend the range that much? I found this solar panel controller, that lets you use a 12 volt panel and bumps the voltage up to 36 or 48 volts.

https://www.altestore.com/store/char...-carts-p10634/
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Old 04-16-2017, 10:26 PM   #2
BobBoyce
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Default Re: Solar

Quote:
Originally Posted by JGC403 View Post
I'm new to golf carts and this site in general, but I thought I would of seen more solar panels on carts. Just cause I thought that the roofs on these things are a huge flat surface and perfect for mounting solar panels. Will the solar panels not extend the range that much? I found this solar panel controller, that lets you use a 12 volt panel and bumps the voltage up to 36 or 48 volts.

https://www.altestore.com/store/char...-carts-p10634/
I had done a 3 panel solar charged cart and I was quite pleased with the result. I never had to plug the cart in for the entire time I had it after that. I kept it parked in the sun, and not only did it keep it charged, but it extended the range. I would drive it out to a fishing spot and it would charge while I was fishing. I put a battery disconnect on it and with the battery pack disconnected, I could drive it from the solar panel power alone, slowly.

When I decided to sell the cart, I removed the solar roof and put the factory roof back on, and gave the buyer the cart charger that I had not used for years. I regret selling that cart now, it was a really nice Marathon. The solar panels are now serving as part of the solar array for my house.

Here is a post where I described how I had done it.

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...ml#post1358356
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Old 04-16-2017, 10:48 PM   #3
Mooncarter
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Default Re: Solar

Been wondering the same thing for a long time. I always reasoned it was because of the need for batteries needing to be brought up to a certain level without interruption, and, how would it affect/disrupt the on board computer when plugged to the regular charger.

Seems as though these issues would have been ironed out (if they are issues) by the manufacturers a long time ago.
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Old 04-17-2017, 04:26 PM   #4
JGC403
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Default Re: Solar

Quote:
Originally Posted by BobBoyce View Post
I had done a 3 panel solar charged cart and I was quite pleased with the result. I never had to plug the cart in for the entire time I had it after that. I kept it parked in the sun, and not only did it keep it charged, but it extended the range. I would drive it out to a fishing spot and it would charge while I was fishing. I put a battery disconnect on it and with the battery pack disconnected, I could drive it from the solar panel power alone, slowly.

When I decided to sell the cart, I removed the solar roof and put the factory roof back on, and gave the buyer the cart charger that I had not used for years. I regret selling that cart now, it was a really nice Marathon. The solar panels are now serving as part of the solar array for my house.

Here is a post where I described how I had done it.

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...ml#post1358356
So all you added to the cart was solar panels and a charge controller?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooncarter View Post
Been wondering the same thing for a long time. I always reasoned it was because of the need for batteries needing to be brought up to a certain level without interruption, and, how would it affect/disrupt the on board computer when plugged to the regular charger.

Seems as though these issues would have been ironed out (if they are issues) by the manufacturers a long time ago.
Well aren't the carts with the PDS have regenerative braking, so the motor is generating electricity and feeding it back into the batteries, correct me if I'm wrong. So the solar panels would be basically the same thing constantly feeding power back into the batteries, and at the end of the day you could always plug it into a regular charger to top off the batteries.
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Old 04-17-2017, 04:51 PM   #5
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Default Re: Solar

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Originally Posted by JGC403 View Post
So all you added to the cart was solar panels and a charge controller?
Yuppirs


Quote:
Originally Posted by JGC403
Well aren't the carts with the PDS have regenerative braking, so the motor is generating electricity and feeding it back into the batteries, correct me if I'm wrong. So the solar panels would be basically the same thing constantly feeding power back into the batteries, and at the end of the day you could always plug it into a regular charger to top off the batteries.
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Old 04-17-2017, 04:58 PM   #6
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Default Re: Solar

Makes sense to me.
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Old 04-17-2017, 06:19 PM   #7
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Default Re: Solar

What charge controller did you use, that you were able to adjust bulk, float, and absorb settings?
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Old 04-17-2017, 08:04 PM   #8
BobBoyce
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Default Re: Solar

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Originally Posted by JGC403 View Post
What charge controller did you use, that you were able to adjust bulk, float, and absorb settings?
It was an old resistor cart and I was beta testing one of the MPPT charge controllers that Outback Power Systems was working on. After that I switched to a production run FX60. MPPT charge controllers convert excess voltage to more charge current. When running on solar alone I bypassed the charge controller though to prevent risking damage to the charge controller. I set up breakers for doing that.

By the way, Square D 'QO' breakers are also DC rated. I use them a lot for solar power stuff.
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