EZGO RXV locked in place no TOW or emergency mode

[67birdman326ho]

Hello everyone,

Until today, I've been enjoying my 2013 EZGO RXV for almost two years. Driving onto my drive way I went over a bump, the golf car shook multiple times in rapid succession and then stopped/locked in place. I tried to set to TOW so I can move the car, that did not work. Set the connectors to emergency mode following the instructions, that did not work either. The golf car basically does nothing(no clicking or reverse beep sound) when I switch between R, N and F. I've never had any electrical issues or any issues with my golf car before. Well maintained since purchased.

While checking for any obvious red flags, I noticed the Curtis controller's multi pin connector had the locking tab broken and the wiring harness connector was loose on the controller connector socket and just part of the way out. I suppose the resulting vibration while going over the bump loosen the connector. I read somewhere on this forum(Bob?) that the Curtis controller memory will get corrupted if it gets hit with voltage glitches while in run, which sounds like what happened in my case. Any way, I've checked the following:
1. Visually checked and wiggled the connector under the cup holder. No corrosion on pins.
2. Battery voltage @ 50VDC
3. There is no voltage to the solenoid coil while in R, N or F. I believe this solenoid coil voltage comes from controller.
4. Visually checked the wiring to the key switch, all ok.
5. Checked all the relevant fuses including the 10amp and 7.5amp located on the TOW switch panel. OK
5. Took the front batteries out and visually checked the cable bundles by removing from the plastic loom. I noticed just slight white power residue on some of the cables. It worried me that there might be corrosion on copper cable itself, working the individual cables did not show any weakness in the cable copper strands.
6. My DPI 48VDC to 12VDC converter has a white cable which is the ignition signal, this voltage is not present. The converter does not output 12VDC to my accessories. It also has a additional constant 12DVC output which is wired to my horn and lights, that is working okay.

Without a diagnostics tool, is there any logical steps I can take or is there specific voltage levels at controller connector pins that would confirm a bad controller? Having on hand a PDF copy of the electrical drawings for my model would help tremendously.

Thank you very much for any help,
Tony

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by 67birdman326ho

Hello everyone,

Until today, I've been enjoying my 2013 EZGO RXV for almost two years. Driving onto my drive way I went over a bump, the golf car shook multiple times in rapid succession and then stopped/locked in place. I tried to set to TOW so I can move the car, that did not work. Set the connectors to emergency mode following the instructions, that did not work either. The golf car basically does nothing(no clicking or reverse beep sound) when I switch between R, N and F. I've never had any electrical issues or any issues with my golf car before. Well maintained since purchased.

While checking for any obvious red flags, I noticed the Curtis controller's multi pin connector had the locking tab broken and the wiring harness connector was loose on the controller connector socket and just part of the way out. I suppose the resulting vibration while going over the bump loosen the connector. I read somewhere on this forum(Bob?) that the Curtis controller memory will get corrupted if it gets hit with voltage glitches while in run, which sounds like what happened in my case. Any way, I've checked the following:
1. Visually checked and wiggled the connector under the cup holder. No corrosion on pins.
2. Battery voltage @ 50VDC
3. There is no voltage to the solenoid coil while in R, N or F. I believe this solenoid coil voltage comes from controller.
4. Visually checked the wiring to the key switch, all ok.
5. Checked all the relevant fuses including the 10amp and 7.5amp located on the TOW switch panel. OK
5. Took the front batteries out and visually checked the cable bundles by removing from the plastic loom. I noticed just slight white power residue on some of the cables. It worried me that there might be corrosion on copper cable itself, working the individual cables did not show any weakness in the cable copper strands.
6. My DPI 48VDC to 12VDC converter has a white cable which is the ignition signal, this voltage is not present. The converter does not output 12VDC to my accessories. It also has a additional constant 12DVC output which is wired to my horn and lights, that is working okay.

Without a diagnostics tool, is there any logical steps I can take or is there specific voltage levels at controller connector pins that would confirm a bad controller? Having on hand a PDF copy of the electrical drawings for my model would help tremendously.

Thank you very much for any help,
Tony

Check the keyswitch fuse and the motor brake fuse. Both are attached to the edge of the controller cover that has the run/tow switch. One fuse is under a cap with a pair of yellow wires and the other has a pair of red wires. If your controller was glitched, anyone with an OEM handset can write a known good file save back into it. If you don't have a good save, send me a read of your corrupted controller or all of the info off of your controllers label and I can build you a controller file that can be used to restore a corrupted controller. It will not repair hardware issues, only uncorrupt a corrupted controller.

Bob

[67birdman326ho]

Bob,

Many thanks for taking the time to assist me. I've attached a picture of the controller decal. Having a controller file will help me while I find someone locally that has a OEM handset. At the very least I'm educated before landing at the local Golf car repair shop.

The keyswitch and motor brake fuses are good. I measured 0 volts on the feed side of both fuses. The solenoid is not being engage so I'm assuming that is why there is no voltages at keyswitch and motor brake fuses? the solenoid coil is fed by the controller, there is no solenoid coil voltage while key in R, N or F.

I've also attached a picture of how I found the controller multi pin connector after going over a bump and things went bad,connector loose since the locking tab is broken. I'm crossing my fingers it just needs a reload.
Tony

[67birdman326ho]

Okay, I finally got my hands on a drawing which is what I should have done to begin with and the no voltage on the 10amp fuse is a problem, Should be easy to track. Will advise as soon as I can break off from work.

Tony

[usgicollector]

You might think about getting a new connector housing. Pins just rotate out and you can put them into the new connector one at a time. There is a youtube video on this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3d2u-a7udQ&t=66s



776164-1 - Connector Housing, IP6K9K, AMPSEAL Series, Plug, 35 Positions, 4 mm, AMPSEAL female crimp terminals
http://www.newark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&langId=-1&urlRequestType=Base&partNumber=94B9487&storeId=1 0194

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by 67birdman326ho

Bob,

Many thanks for taking the time to assist me. I've attached a picture of the controller decal. Having a controller file will help me while I find someone locally that has a OEM handset. At the very least I'm educated before landing at the local Golf car repair shop.

The keyswitch and motor brake fuses are good. I measured 0 volts on the feed side of both fuses. The solenoid is not being engage so I'm assuming that is why there is no voltages at keyswitch and motor brake fuses? the solenoid coil is fed by the controller, there is no solenoid coil voltage while key in R, N or F.

I've also attached a picture of how I found the controller multi pin connector after going over a bump and things went bad,connector loose since the locking tab is broken. I'm crossing my fingers it just needs a reload.
Tony

I have files for that model, version, and subversion. I would need the serial number for the controller, because when you flash the entire controller to reload it, it'll overwrite the serial number with the serial number in the file used to flash it.

Yea, the keyswitch and motor brake fuses should be hot with +48V at all times. Those are supposed to be connected to the battery pack + post. Follow the wires back to the battery and find where the connection is lost.

[67birdman326ho]

Gentlemen,
Thank you both for your guidance. Problem solved, I attached pictures.

The red and yellow 48 volt wires that feed the 7.5 & 10amp fuse attached to controller cover are spliced at the main harness leading to the controller cable bundle. I pulled the red and yellow wires out of the factory splice as the wires where corroded inside the shrink tube. The factory splice appears as spot weld of the wires.

Instead of stabbing in the dark, got the the drawing and found/repaired the problem in 10 minutes. Moral of my story, have the electrical drawings on hand before troubleshooting to avoid wasting precious time. I should know better.

usgicollector,
I did a temporary fix to the controller multi pin connector, picture attached. Thank you so much for the connector information. Will replace as suggested.

Bob, Thank you for your input. No need for the controller file at this point.

Thanks again and have a wonderful weekend,
Tony

[usgicollector]

Thank Bob he is the one that gave me that information. I'm just passing it along like Bob would like me to do.

[BobBoyce]