EZGC RXV 2013. Sound familiar to anyone?

[Not Walking]

Coasting down steep hill, BIG BANG (and I mean BIG) in the rear end, cart locked up, got brake released and pushed cart back on trailer, got it home.
Cart would only move slightly in F & R.
Tested Encoder/ Speed Sensor - faulty. Replaced it.
Cart moving again in F & R.
Motor brake? (or something else) noisy and slow to release on acceleration from stationary.
Went to check out brake today and noticed motor had spun on housing and lodged itself into the back panel.
Motor and differential assembly can be rotated as one by hand on the axle housing.
Broken Axle maybe?
Just after a starting point to begin repair and any tips on what to look for.
Cheers for any help with this one.
Steve

[ojo]

Take some pictures or short video to demonstrate the situation. For me, it sounds like it's time to replace the rearend.

[sleeplesstwo]

Pictures would be helpful for sure. The emergency brake failing is a common problem on the RXV. There are lots of posts and information about that issue. If I were to guess, that was the first issue. The other issues could happen after the brake failed and locked up.

Brake failed/locked motor on a steep hill.
The stress and torque of this caused the axle housing pins to break, allowing the axle housing to rotate in the u-bolt that goes around the leaf springs. That could have been the bang?
The entire motor/rear axle assembly rotated causing the wires on the encoder to be damaged. I would remove the inspection cover on the motor and check for any damage on the 3 phase leads into the motor.

Do you have large wheels and tires? The leverage applied by them on a locked up brake can be very violent.
Are you running a lithium pack? Lost of issues out there with lithium and RXV's.
You said your motor rotates in the housing. Did I read that correctly?

It doesn't sound like a broken axle to me. Sounds like you would need to start your repair by either getting the pins welded back onto the axle housing, or weld the housing onto the housing saddles at the leaf springs to prevent it from rotating.

[meimk]

I'll agree with both of the above: We need pictures / video to see just what you are seeing. However, it does sound like the axle has come loose from the spring saddle, locating pins, U-bolts.

[Not Walking]

Thanks for the reply sleepless.
The points you have made are spot on and after inspecting things today I can confirm that this is exactly what has happened.

The axle housing pins on both sides have snapped off. I guessed that these were somehow locating pins that slotted into now vacant holes.

I will take a closer look at the motor leads and wiring and check for damage.

The ubolts on both sides were loose. Ive tightened these up after aligning everything up again as best I could guess. The whole assembly is tilting slightly toward the front of the cart. Is this correct or should it be vertical?

The motor was not rotating on the housing but with it, thankfully. Bad eyesight.

Standard wheels and tires. 4x12V batteries.

Cart is running ok again without any strange noises. I will get new pins tacked on to the axle housing asap. I suspect they have been missing for a while. Ive only had the cart a short time..

I suppose the only mystery now is why the brake locked up in the first place.
And, will it again.
Thanks again for your help

[Not Walking]

Thanks to everyone who posted as well.
Good stuff.

[sleeplesstwo]

Loose u bolts would certainly shorten the life of the pins. In truth, there really is no mystery to the motor brake. RXV motor brakes have a very high failure rate. If you replace it, I would recommend that you install an OEM or look through this site for a recommended after market replacement.

Tilted slightly forward is what I remember, If you need some exact measurements, I can get them for you.

Don't be discouraged about your issue, the RXV is a great cart.

[cartdoc1969]

Were the batteries full when this happened ? Was the resistor cage hot ? With fully charged batteries and going down a steep hill, the regen braking can cause the controller to burn off the extra power through the resistor. If that gets hot enough it can trip the temp limit switch on the cage. That would kill power to the controller and lock the brake.

[Not Walking]

Sleeplesstwo
Thanks for that. I'm thinking when the alignment pins get tacked back on the assembly should be sitting in the right position, or close enough. I did 18 holes on Sunday without any brake lock up so I'll see how it goes. The brake pedal is very touchy though, I might check the sensor. I nursed the cart along, taking off slowly, accelerated down hill and let the controller do most of the braking. When I replace the pins and check the brake sensor is working properly I'll give it a good test run!

cartdoc1969 The batteries were just below fully charged. I did not know about or check if the resistor cage was hot. The hill, although steep was only a distance of about 20m. Good info for me check if it happens again.