Low range in a Club Car Series?

[golfer188910]

Howdy!

I have a 2000 Club Car DS (series) with the following upgrades (see below). The thing rips & I have really been enjoying it. However... after about 6 miles the thing is about to lose battery. Gets very slow, all torque is lost, and just simply is about to die. After 6, I can probably make it to 10-12 mile range but it is SLOW. Is this normal for a series? Also, is there anything I can do to lengthen it?

550AMP controller
D&D high speed motor 170-003-0002
2 Gauge cables
HD FNR switch
HD Selenoid
6" lift
23" wheels

Update: Sorry! The cart has brand new Trojans (3/20) and shows good pack after charge, and when all the way dead will still show 48.

[Bama Brad]

Sounds like batteries..what is voltage 12 hours after pack has completed charge? Do you have a digital volt meter on dash? If so, what is reading after it sits for a few minutes at that 6 mile mark? How old are batteries?

[golfer188910]

Originally Posted by Bama Brad

Sounds like batteries..what is voltage 12 hours after pack has completed charge? Do you have a digital volt meter on dash? If so, what is reading after it sits for a few minutes at that 6 mile mark? How old are batteries?

Sorry! Brand New trojans... 6x8 system.

12 hours after charge is showing 54.3 volts & at 6 mile park 49 & then after limping home it will show 48.2ish...

After limping home every battery will be over 8v but barely... 8.0, 8.1, etc...

[Bama Brad]

After full charge, all your batteries reading about the same? May also want to do a load text on each. Just make certain that you don't have a bad one in the bunch. Where are you located? I know that some of the battery experts have posted that in northern climates (cold weather), batteries do not have the capacity that you will see with warmer temps., but that seems to be excessive loss of capacity. Maybe some of the experts will chime in soon.

[Sergio]

High speed motor paired with 23 inch tires also creates a lot of heat on the Controller and Motor.

Did you ever stop and let it cool to see if the Controller was on thermal safety current limitation?

If You have a Laser Infrared Temperature Gun you can also take a quick measurement of the motor and controller when the cart slows down.

[morvolts2]

can you load the cart up and have the place where you got the batteries test them?

[golfer188910]

Originally Posted by Bama Brad

After full charge, all your batteries reading about the same? May also want to do a load text on each. Just make certain that you don't have a bad one in the bunch. Where are you located? I know that some of the battery experts have posted that in northern climates (cold weather), batteries do not have the capacity that you will see with warmer temps., but that seems to be excessive loss of capacity. Maybe some of the experts will chime in soon.

Im in California... I will check if all batteries are reading the same next & will let you know.

[golfer188910]

Originally Posted by morvolts2

can you load the cart up and have the place where you got the batteries test them?

Yes, there is actually a golf cart shop down the street and I can just drive the cart there. If all else fails here, I will have them load test it.

[golfer188910]

Originally Posted by Sergio

High speed motor paired with 23 inch tires also creates a lot of heat on the Controller and Motor.

Did you ever stop and let it cool to see if the Controller was on thermal safety current limitation?

If You have a Laser Infrared Temperature Gun you can also take a quick measurement of the motor and controller when the cart slows down.

This is a good question.... how do I see if the controller was on thermal safety limitation? It is an older rebuilt controller with no programming allowed. I have a infrared temp gun and can try that, but what temps should I be looking for?

[Jake_Daddy]

That’s not much range. I have a similar set up with 500a and speed motor. Tires are stamped 23 but measure 22”. I have never tested range but we did a golf cart parade mostly at speeds of ~10-12mph and it was over 10 miles got home and batteries were still at 80% or so. I have definitely done over 6 miles with the majority at full throttle and never got anywhere close to 50% on my batteries. Sergio may have a good suggestion to check though. When camping last summer I did about a 3 mile stent running about 26-27 with all the family on the cart and it didn’t go into limp mode but the motor got plenty hot and the controller was very warm too.