Speed before and after HD F&R or Reversing Contactor upgrades

[offthemap]

Alright guys, I have a 1998 TXT 36v Series cart with a stock motor, a lift and 22" tires, Alltrax Axe 4844, Super Duty Solenoid with 2ga cable set on brand new 6 - 6v Trojan T105's with less than 10 charge cycles on them.

My cables and F&R switch get hot after short runs and the cart has nearly ZERO torque in reverse when I try to back up into my driveway and my flat ground speed is only 11-12mph which really concerns me and I don't have the torque I think I should be getting on moderate hills. Two questions:


- How much speed/torque increase (if any) should I expect after upgrading to an HD F&R switch or the SW182 or SW202 reversing contactor? I'm probably gonna go to the SW182 because of it's price point

- How much increase in speed are you guys seeing after a 36v battery pack is properly broken in?


Later on I would also like to do the Plum Quick Bandit motor upgrade, too.

[GABulldawg]

I am very interested to see this answer, I am about to do all of the same things to a 36v ezgo. Package from Scotty arrives today.

[offthemap]

Me too. I've done a lot of research and cant find an answer that's already out there.

[scottyb]

You won't see performance increases from Amperage delivery components like cables & switches unless the old components are soooo bad they restrict delivery. Typically cable and switch components are the ground work which allow delivery of increased amperage associated with controller upgrades and allow for speed increases in Series carts like aftermarket motors and or increased operating voltage.

[offthemap]

Originally Posted by scottyb

You won't see performance increases from Amperage delivery components like cables & switches unless the old components are soooo bad they restrict delivery. Typically cable and switch components are the ground work which allow delivery of increased amperage associated with controller upgrades and allow for speed increases in Series carts like aftermarket motors and or increased operating voltage.

Ok, let's assume that the amperage is being severely restricted because I'm getting so much heat in my cables between the F&R switch and the motor and in the actual switch cam. I am assuming that by replacing the restrictive component (in this case the bottleneck at the F&R) I will increase the "flow" of amperage and thus increase the torque... am I correct?

At any rate, with the set up I am currently running isn't 11mph unusually low for a top speed on flat ground?

[kernal]

My experience: I have one cart now but I ran 2 for the better part of 15 years. Both series (not sepex). I never experienced a performance change, that I could detect, associated with battery break in. I'm not saying it doesn't happen but it didn't for me. Trojan battery Co. suggests their batteries may not perform at their optimum until after 10-20 cycles. I wouldn't expect too much. All my batteries were Trojans except for the current set which are Crowns. The Crowns are behaving like the Trojans----excellent so far.

As has been said, series carts don't respond to performance controllers like sepex. After you get the foundation established: batteries, cabling, F/R switch and controller, then you can reap the benefits of larger tires, gears and performance motors. My performance increase came with a high speed motor and then 48v conversion. What you get with series carts is rugged simplicity. Mine hasn't missed a beat in 15+ years and is used heavily.

I never had a heat issue with the cart below even with the original 6ga (4 ga now) cables. It will run for hours just creaping along or full out. If I work at it I can get the F/R switch (HD cam) to warm up some but thats it.

I suspect there is other issues with the OP's cart. The performance as stated is sub par based on my experience. First thing I would check is brakes (dragging) and then bearings. After that the motor. May be on the way out though unusual for a series cart I think.

[offthemap]

Alright. Thanks for the input. I already have the larger tires and it was my understanding that I would attain 18ish mph with everything in working order. My mechanic also just looked at the brakes and there was not an issue other than a brake cable that was replaced.

So do you guys suggest that I look at the motor next? Is it possible to test it without having to do a full swap?

[DaveTM]

Just a couple of comments from a 48-V TXT owner of a series cart that uses it primarily for hunting in Southwestern Pa. where hills are hills and mountains are mountains.

First, if your getting heat buildup in your F\R switch, then your amp drawing to the motor is likely to much for your current switch to handle. Yes, I went to the HD F\R switch and after toasting two of those, I finally (shoulda did this right from the get-go) purchased from ScottyB a Super Duty Reversing Contactor, along with upgrading my heavy duty battery and motor cables to his 2-ga. crimped and soldered ones, and any issue of heat has long since disappeared.

Second, your controller is a Alltrax 4844, which.....if I have read correctly on the Alltrax web site, this is an adjustable controller via hooking it up to a laptop and "tweaking" the controller to give you more speed. Of course, if you adjust your controller to give you more speed, you will sacrifice torque. And if you adjust it for more torque, you will sacrifice speed. So....it's a trade off.

Third, Now...in order to get more speed and more torque, I believe you will need to upgrade to a 48-V set of batteries. I think your existing controller will handle the increased voltage, but you will also need a new charger and likely a new solenoid. But those are ScottyB questions.

If this didn't help.....maybe it stirred the pot!!!

[offthemap]

I thought about adjusting the controller, too, but I'm already starting out at sub-par levels of both speed and torque. Giving up on of either will be unbarable. I will still give this a shot anyways. I kinda just want to see what I can do with the platform.

Also, I bought my super duty solenoid from Scottyb and it was rated for 36 & 48 volt applications, so the last thing to upgrade will be the charger and a new battery and I think I will go to 42v. I just want to try and get my system up to and running at what would be considered a "normal operating level" before I go and make any larger scale upgrades.

[kernal]

Something isn't right. Take a good look at the F/R switch. It may be heating up the wires. Cart should run better than you described even completely stock.

Look at this thread: http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...tting-hot.html Very common.