Considering a Yamaha Drive Cart & Quetions

[Johno7656]

Been gone from BGW for a couple of years, had tried using a 170cc Cazador UTV instead of an electric cart, but the high altitude (8,300’) caused more problems than any use we got out of it.

So I am looking at perhaps getting a Yamaha Drive Electric cart on Monday. I honestly cannot tell you very much other than this dealer gets carts off of lease and resells them to the public. Currently it looks like they have three Drives on the lot and all the ad states is that they are Yamaha Drive Electric and No Warranty. I am not concerned with working on and troubleshooting problems, but I know nothing about the Yamaha carts (our previous one was an EzGo Marathon).

So my question to the knowledgeable Yamaha fans out there is what are the most common problems that this line of carts exhibit? Are there any test that I could run, I know from talking to this owner previously that when they price them this low, they are not in working condition. I plan to take a VOM and battery tester and I know how to look for burned, corroded, and loose connections, any advice?

The ad also states no charger. I have a DPI 48V charger, but it is just a 2-prong (SB50) connector. I believe this cart takes a 3-conductor plug that is specific to this cart (state of charge sense line?). Can I attach a SB50 plug directly to the pack and use that charger of should I just bite the bullet and get the correct charger? I see where some chargers have known issues, is there a recommended charger that people are using these days?

Is there an owner’s manual that I can download once I know what year model it is?

Any other comments or advice you can offer? Thanks in advance. John

[LukeL]

What year is it? 2007 to about 2014 use an unconventional wet brake system in the transaxle. It works very well but is not the most fun to work on. Most people don’t even try (I successfully rebuilt one, it’s not actually that bad.)

As far as a two prong charger, you probably could do that but you wouldn’t have protection against driving away with the cart plugged in. Might not be a problem if you run the cord through the steering wheel.

Yamaha has a section on their website where you can download the owners manual for almost any model golf cart.

[Johno7656]

Thanks for the info on the manuals, I will check on that. As far as driving off with the charger plugged in, I have not had that issue in the past, but as i am getting older (been retired 13 years) that is something to keep in mind. And thanks for the info on the brake issue. This was something that I was a little concerned about. One thing we definitely need are good working brakes in the mountains and with 10% (and greater) grades, you can pick up speed very quickly.

The ad does not state year model, but I would assume to be within four years as that is what the Yamaha warranty period is. The carts he gets like this are lease returns.

I was not kidding when the ad just stated three carts, Yamaha Drive, no warranty and no charger. I will call on Tuesday to verify a few details, but when they get them in, and if they do not run, they do no trouble shooting, but just put a low ball price to get them out the door. John

[LukeL]

Sounds good. Keep us posted.

[Johno7656]

The ad was posted around 2PM on Friday, business closed over three day weekend, and at 08:30 this morning they were all sold. Sigh

[LukeL]

Man... sorry. I know how that feels. More will come up though!