How many amps should I see climbing hills?

[brianjwilson]

I just installed a new Admiral MOT-D4 with my Alltrax XCT 48500 controller, 2ga cables, US Battery 6x8v pack, etc. The cart is lifted with 22" tires. I was expecting a bit more power climbing hills, and noticed that my amperage never climbs above 200-225 amps, even though the hills are only 10-20 seconds of climbing. With this motor at 14hp and the rest of my setup I would have expected higher current and less speed drop when climbing. Any ideas? No hot cables / connections, fully charged pack. Max current in controller set at 400. I'm at a loss.

[Volt_Ampere]

Electric motor HP ratings are almost meaningless. You don't say what your gearing is or how well it's accelerating. You don't even say what cart model you have. But your currents sound about normal for normal gearing.

[brianjwilson]

It's a Yamaha G19 with I believe normal gears. It accelerates great and has plenty of torque. I guess I don't understand what dictates the current. I would have expected to see current approaching max controller settings if that is what would be required to maintain speed while climbing. Just like it approaches near zero when coasting before regen kicks in. I understand why gearing would affect the torque produced at the wheels, but not the current running through the motor. Am I misunderstanding how that works? Is the battery pack the limiting factor (I didnt think so)? Could you please explain it? Thanks.

[brianjwilson]

I found a really good blog post that describes it. Seems 200 - 250 amps is about right. Thanks.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by brianjwilson

I found a really good blog post that describes it. Seems 200 - 250 amps is about right. Thanks.

Link the forum to blog or copy and paste so others can benefit please.

[brianjwilson]

Got it. Wasn't sure if that was OK to do. Here is the link...

https://www.golfcartstuffhodgepodge....er-controller/

This was helpful to read through for me. And the current I'm seeing is consistent with the horsepower ratings of the motors I have tried on my cart. I didn't realize what a margin of safety there was in the controller capacity compared to what the motor can handle.

For my situation, I'm just climbing too many steep hills too often with too big of tires I think. I have plenty of available RPMs for the speed I want the cart to go. So I'm swapping out the rear end gears for a 15:1 and that should give a 20% torque boost to help keep my speed when climbing. Will update the group after I do that with the results.

[gable74]

Strange. I have the Plowman Riot Kit and Alltrax 48500 controller in my g29. I also have a 6" lift and 23" tires. My cart will climb any hill I thrown at it. That's with me (180lbs), my wife (100lbs), and my dog (70lbs) sitting in the front seat. I keep the controller set at 400A max output. This hill coming from the creek rises about 50' in a very short distance and the cart doesn't miss a beat. The stock motor/controller would not make it 25' (with just me in the cart) before failing.