1995 Medalist Small 2HP Motor Questions

[razlfraz]

Hi All,

I have recently been trying to diagnose slowness\improve speed in a 1995 36v Series Medalist that is very slow. It can get to 9mph in perfect conditions, flat road, no wind, etc, but typically runs below that. Going up hills is obviously even worse, 3-5 mph. Here is what i have done to try and diagnose:

• New batteries, reading 38.2 resting voltage.
• Replaced all cables with 2ga.
• Replaced solenoid with 400 amp one.
• Tire Pressure is good.
• I've checked voltages going to motor, ITS position\voltages, orange reverse half-speed wire. And those all seem to be correct as well.

I was at a loss, everywhere i look says these carts are supposed to go 14 mph stock. But then i finally saw something that stated that these carts could also come with smaller 2hp motors. Sure enough i check mine and it was one of the small blue 2hp motors.

Finally, my question - Everyone always preaches that you can't increase both torque and speed by simply upgrading the motor. It's either one or the other. Is that really the case here though? I find it hard to believe that the torque could get any worse.

I was looking at the high speed D&D 170-006-0001 motor as a replacement, but it states that it has a -15% torque loss over stock. I 'm thinking if i lost 15% torque over my current setup, the cart would fail to even move.

So, would i be fine upgrading to this motor, while keeping the stock controller?

Thanks in advance

*Edit*
I realize that i could also upgrade the controller to negate the torque issues, but I don't have the budget for both motor and controller. Only one.

[scottyb]

I find one of the biggest hindrances to decent performance in these carts is the 36 volt operating system. 36 volts is your Gramma's operating voltage.
All of these carts need to upgraded to 48v eventually

[razlfraz]

Hey ScottyB, thanks for replying, your posts have helped me countless times in my quest to fix this cart!

My plan is to one day go to 48v (cables, solenoid already in place), but right now my budget is limited and I just got these new 36v batteries. So i'm replacing one component at a time, trying to get the best speed for dollar now, while also prepping for the future.

Say i did get a new controller and new 48v batteries, if i kept the 2hp motor, my top speed would still be pitiful right? I can't remember the formula, but even at a 25% increase in speed from the 48v conversion, the motor would still only get me to 11.25 mph.

So with that said, my main concern is torque if i did upgrade to the D&D motor now. Would the torque actually decrease from this upgrade, or is my current 2hp current motor so small that i shouldn't have to worry about it?

Even, theoretically, if i were to upgrade to the other stock motor option for these carts, the 2.7 HP one. Since i am increasing speed, then i would have to be also losing torque, right?