Motor arcing sound - problem or not?

[JohnP3]

Howdy all, not sure if I even have a problem. After lifting my 2021 Onward 48V I now notice a subtle intermittent “electrical arcing” sound when cruising and motor not under stress or acceleration. Only seems to happen when pedal is down but not floored. Did I just notice this now because there is more space under the cart for this noise to reverberate?

I checked all wiring connections at batteries and motor – nothing loose or burned and no physical signs of arcing. Found that when the tow switch is in RUN position and the key is OFF, a push to roll the cart a few feet seems to generate a very slight arcing sound from the motor – just before the rear warning buzzer activates. This happens when I push it in either direction.

I have searched this forum and the web all over and can’t find this symptom anywhere. Is this something to do with regenerative braking and is normal? I cannot be sure this is the same noise heard while cruising, but suspect it may be. Or am I just too picky? (read:anal).

Thank you for any advice or suggestions on how to proceed. I appreciate this forum and the people here more than I can say.

-John-

[Fairtax4me]

Make sure all of your bolts are tight. Leaf spring u-bolts, spring mount and shackle bolts, lug nuts, etc.
Shouldn’t be anything in the motor making noise or arcing unless there is physical damage to the brushes, commutator, or the studs where the cables connect are loose or twisted.
Do not try to tighten or even touch any of the motor connections until you put the cart is Tow and disconnect the battery pack negative. After that make sure the cable ends are good and tight, the studs are not twisted or loose, and none of the cables are being stretched or pulled tight.

[JohnP3]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

Make sure all of your bolts are tight. Leaf spring u-bolts, spring mount and shackle bolts, lug nuts, etc.
Shouldn’t be anything in the motor making noise or arcing unless there is physical damage to the brushes, commutator, or the studs where the cables connect are loose or twisted.
Do not try to tighten or even touch any of the motor connections until you put the cart is Tow and disconnect the battery pack negative. After that make sure the cable ends are good and tight, the studs are not twisted or loose, and none of the cables are being stretched or pulled tight.

Thanks for your response. I dropped a microphone in different places to record the noise. When amplified It does sound more like rubber or friction squeaks. I’ll re-torque everything and see what happens. This cart is nearly new so there are no known physical defects unless something self inflicted when installing the lift.

Again, many thanks and I will report back with resolution.

[JohnP3]

Update:
Re-torqued everything in the rear suspension and lug nuts; still have intermittent “squeaks” or "chirps" that now seems to come from front suspension. The control arms on this lift (All Sports) have rubber bushings, not poly like from the factory and I think these are suspect. I sprayed some penetrating oil on all the rubber bushings so we’ll see what happens. If I eventually stumble upon or identify a definite fix I’ll post it up to add to this knowledge base.

Thanks for your suggestions Fairtax4me.

-John-

[_ogre]

penetrating oil spray can be destructive to rubber or polyurethane bushings. dry silicone spray or silicone grease should be used. i'd remove what you can with brake clean and use this stuff or the spray

amazon.com/Energy-Suspension-3-Pack-Formula/