Club car, no go, controller smoking

[gfretwell]

The title says it. The cart slowed down and when it stopped the controller was smoking and it won't go anymore
It is a 36v club car without resistors pre 2000.5 as best I can tell.
Is the controller fried or something else?

smoke from a controller ... no go ... yep replace controller

http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Custom_Options.html

find the serial number for year

[gfretwell]

Thanks, that was my guess, I just did not want to start throwing parts blindly.

[gfretwell]

I got my new controller from ProgRama and it fixed my problem. I figured out a few things putting this in. First is take out the right rear and center rear battery. Then you can get in there. I put a 4" block under the cart to hold the controller while I hooked up the wires. Take a picture of it before you take them off so you can figure out where they go.
Be sure you think about how it twists going back up there so you get the wires routed right. Otherwise it will tangle up and not go in. (the black one and the skinny yellow one are the problem).
Throw away the 1/4" nuts and washers and use nuts with captive star washers to mount the controller. Then you are not trying to assemble 3 parts, blind, standing on your head. Those will sit in the socket so you can just shove them up there and spin them down.

glad it worked out for ya

[gfretwell]

Don't plan on getting your $100 core charge back from ProgRama. They told me the internal components were "burned out" so it was not eligible for a core.

Excuse me Skippy but isn't that why you replace a controller?

[klanel]

Originally Posted by gfretwell

Don't plan on getting your $100 core charge back from ProgRama. They told me the internal components were "burned out" so it was not eligible for a core.

Translated, it was probably either unfeasible or unrepairable. Things that may make it unrepairable are lifted foil traces due to excessive heat, charred circuit boards which the carbon is conductive, or possibly too many components damaged. I've seen boards with giant holes burned through in spaces that components once populated.

Good news is that the one you got may not have had catastrophic issues before being refurbished.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by klanel

Translated, it was probably either unfeasible or unrepairable. Things that may make it unrepairable are lifted foil traces due to excessive heat, charred circuit boards which the carbon is conductive, or possibly too many components damaged. I've seen boards with giant holes burned through in spaces that components once populated.

Good news is that the one you got may not have had catastrophic issues before being refurbished.

Refurbished?
- like a refurbished engine with one new piston.

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Refurbished?
- like a refurbished engine with one new piston.

Exactly! They fix what's wrong with them and send them back out the door.

[gfretwell]

Originally Posted by TahoeDawgZ71

Exactly! They fix what's wrong with them and send them back out the door.

Apparently only if there is nothing really wrong with them.

I would assumed on something like this they would just replace the entire circuit board.