Cart just stopped

[John_in_Ohio]

In March 2021, I made a big purchase from Carts Unlimited and upgraded my 1999 Club Car DS (series / V-glide) to the following:
- Alltrax SR48600
- Alltrax FN1 personality control
- Heavy Duty Solenoid
- Heavy Duty F/R switch
- 2g wires

I also added the following:
- Plum Quick Rattlesnake Motor
- 51.2V LiFePo

Everything has been running GREAT for a year and Carts Unlimited was FANTASTIC on helping me with this project. But yesterday, I took the cart out and after getting to the end of the street, I turned the corner and nothing when I hit the acceleration pedal.

No abnormal pop, no weird noise, no funky smells, nothing.... It is the weirdest thing.

I looked for any loose connections and nothing.

When I press the accelerator, there is no "solenoid click". Jsut a click from inside the V-Glide.

I put the cart in Forward (pedal not pressed) and tested the volts from the negative battery terminal to the following locations and it was always 51.2V:
- Right side of Solenoid
- Left side of Solenoid
- All 4 motor posts (is this as expected?)

So, as you can see, I have not tested much. And frankly I feel like I have forgot all the knowledge that I accumulated a year ago when I did the upgrades. So, I am getting ready to enter triage mode and getting my hands dirty again.

I am getting my hands on a Windows Laptop tonight to plug in to the Alltrax controller as well to see if that tells me anything.... But I wanted to know if anyone has any good suggestions on what I should test (possibly in order) to figure out what is wrong.

My initial guess is that it is a control circuit problem or a failed solenoid. But both posts on the solenoid show 51.2V. I would have thought one post would be at 0 volts if the solenoid was the issue. Unless it is failed "closed" or activated?

Maybe it is the v-Glide or Alltrax Controller?

Thanks in Advance for reading this. And double thanks if you post a response!

Cheers!
John

[John_in_Ohio]

Reading this now....

https://www.cartsunlimited.net/troub...ting-tips.html

....still not sure.

[scottyb]

Check the Alltrax LED status light for any fault codes when you try to go
The solenoid will read 50v on both sides as long as the precharge resistor is in place. Note the SR control requires the resistor to be in place or it will throw a fault code.
There should be 50v measured across the 2 small solenoid posts when you try to go. If not, do a little more testing to find out if you are missing the + or the - side.

[John_in_Ohio]

Thanks Scotty! This gives me something to start with!!!

I do have the pre-charge resistor in place so that is why I am seeing 51.2V on both large posts.

Thanks again!!!

[scottyb]

You gotta start somewhere, let us know what you find.
Missing the - could be the controller's fault. Easily fixed by moving the negative wire from controller J1black to the controller B-.
Missing the + could be the F&R or Vglide micro switch fault... or the key switch.

If 50v is present between the 2 small posts and the solenoid will not click, it may have failed.

[seanmcg]

III

[seanmcg]

Originally Posted by scottyb

You gotta start somewhere, let us know what you find.
Missing the - could be the controller's fault. Easily fixed by moving the negative wire from controller J1black to the controller B-.
Missing the + could be the F&R or Vglide micro switch fault... or the key switch.

If 50v is present between the 2 small posts and the solenoid will not click, it may have failed.

Hey ScottyB,

I'm having the same problem with my DS as the OP is. I'm looking at your site to see how to troubleshoot the issue. Can all of the measurements and tests be done without, first removing the negative battery cable? I don't want to risk electrocuting myself.

Thanks.

[John_in_Ohio]

ALLTRAX CONTROLLER LIGHTS

OK. I just looked at the Alltrax controller lights with the accelerator pressed.

I am getting 2 Green + 6 Red flashes. But it is hard to tell if it is 1 Green and 1 Green + 6 Red. There is a pause between the 2 green flashes. And no pause between the 2nd green and 6 red flashes.

If it is 2 Green + 6 Red….According to the manual, that means "Low Throttle Under Range"

Low Throttle Over Range & Low Throttle Under Range:

• Low Side of throttle signal is outside of acceptable window for that
  throttle type.
• Check and/or replace throttle. Change throttle type to
  correct throttle installed on car.

If it is 1 Green and then 1 Green + 6 Red Flashes, the manuals says:

• 1 Green = 0-5k Throttle
• 1 Green + 6 Red = Pre-charge Failure (B+ voltage and KSI voltage differ by more than 5v. Stuck solenoid.)

Here is a video of the lights on the controller. https://drive.google.com/file/d/12bg...ew?usp=sharing

SOLENOID

I also read this regarding the Solenoid and testing it....

1. If your solenoid does not click, take out your multimeter, set it to DC volts on the 200 scale, and then attach a probe on each of the smaller terminals.
2. Press on the accelerator while the key is turned on and the cart is in forward.
3. The solenoid needs to be replaced IF the voltmeter shows a full battery voltage without a click.

When I do this, I get no click and 51.2V across the 2 smaller terminals.

THOUGHTS?

• Anything else I should be on the look out for?
• Should I get a Windows machine and plug it in to the Alltrax Controller?
• Is the solenoid bad?
• Maybe a couple of taps with a hammer if it is a “Stuck solenoid” as mentioned above based on the 1 Green + 6 Red flashes.
• The manual said a "Pre-charge failure". Does this have anything to do with the pre-charge resistor?

(sorry for all my ignorance.)

Thanks!!!
John

[John_in_Ohio]

Originally Posted by scottyb

You gotta start somewhere, let us know what you find.
Missing the - could be the controller's fault. Easily fixed by moving the negative wire from controller J1black to the controller B-.
Missing the + could be the F&R or Vglide micro switch fault... or the key switch.

If 50v is present between the 2 small posts and the solenoid will not click, it may have failed.

I just noticed that you said that "If 50v is present between the 2 small posts and the solenoid will not click, it may have failed." Sorry Scotty, I missed that earlier.

Do I need to replace the Solenoid since I am seeing this as I mentioned in the previous post?

[Volt_Ampere]

Hook up your laptop to the Alltrax and monitor all of the status. It will tell you what is wrong.