I think I need a new controller???

[Whiskey11]

They didn't make it today, darn....


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[cmar143]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Measure battery pack voltage.
Should be about 38.2 if fully charged.

Then connect DVM between B- and M- terminals on controller.
Key = ON
F/R = F or R
Slowly press throttle until solenoid first clicks.
You should read full battery pack voltage.

If not, you've got an open cable, contact or connector in the high current loop.
My guess would be the F/R switch contacts.

If you do get full battery pack voltage.
Press throttle slowly to floor.
The voltage should decrease down to nearly zero as pedal is depressed.

If not, check for B+ at Pin-4
If you've got B+ at Pin-4, check ITS.

If ITS is good, controller is bad.

--------------
Like Scotty said earlier, those big tires will kill a stock controller, so if it is bad, replace it with something that can deliver the needed amps without a melt-down.

I just did this test on a series cart and it has full battery voltage with dvm on B-and M- and when I press the pedal down slightly it drops to .3 and then to 0 V. The solenoid clicks but cart doesn't move in f or r. Checked ITS and switch is working and voltage moves on terminals on tube when pedal is depressed.

[cmar143]

Also I read voltage on white ITS wire should be 1.7v when pedal is pressed but I am getting 5v with one lead on white and one lead on black. Is that how to test this? And at M- and B+ on controller I get 6.6v without pressing gas pedal and full battery voltage with pedal all the way down

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by cmar143

1. I just did this test on a series cart and it has full battery voltage with dvm on B-and M- and when I press the pedal down slightly it drops to .3 and then to 0 V. The solenoid clicks but cart doesn't move in f or r.

Originally Posted by cmar143

2. Also I read voltage on white ITS wire should be 1.7v when pedal is pressed but I am getting 5v with one lead on white and one lead on black. Is that how to test this?
3. And at M- and B+ on controller I get 6.6v without pressing gas pedal and full battery voltage with pedal all the way down

1. If the solenoid hadn't clicked, you might read some voltage there due to the pre-charge resistor being connected across the solenoid contacts. However after the solenoid clicks, it should read full battery pack voltage and slowly decrease down to near zero as pedal is slowly depressed to floor.

2. No, that is not how to measure it. Connect negative DVM lead to Negative post on battery pack (or leave it on the B- terminal on controller, they are the same point electrically) and connect Positive DVM test lead to the white wire to get the pedal up and pedal down voltages. The black wire is the voltage source to the ITS, the white wire is the signal output from the ITS to the contrller.

3. The way a controller works is chopping the DC current into pulses about 18,000 times a second and the amount of current flowing flowing through the motor is determined by how wide the pulse is, or the duty cycle of the pulse. It is called Pulse Width Modulation or PWM.
The control element, is a bunch of MOSFETs (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) in parallel, physically located between the B- and M- terminals of the controller.

All that is between B- on the controller and B- on the battery pack is a single heavy gauge cable.
The rest of the cables, connectors and contacts are between M- on the controller and B+ on the battery pack.
Measuring between B+ and M- is less concise, so I don't do it that way.

If you do not get FULL battery pack voltage between the B- and M- terminals on the controller after the solenoid first clicks, keep moving your positive test lead one step closer the B+ at the battery pack until you find it. The problem will be located between where you find the missing voltage and the previous step.

[cmar143]

Ok I retested the ITS with negative lead on the battery and get 1.6V on the white wire as soon a solenoid clicks and 2.6V with pedal all the way down. On black I get 10.5V when solenoid clicks and 7.8V all the way down. As far as checking from B- and M- on the controller I am not getting full pack voltage...only .362V down to 0 with pedal fully pressed. Im not sure what you mean by moving pos lead closer to B+ to find it. Is there a way I can bypass the FnR switch to see if the issue is there? I would think if it was the FnR that the cart would at least move when the rod is wiggled or work one way at least. Both micro switches are working properly there too. Thanks for the help

[JohnnieB]

If you are not getting full battery pack voltage between B- and M- when the solenoid first clicks, you have an open cable, contact or connection someplace between M- on the controller and the positive post on the right front battery (B+).

Here is a schematic with the high current circuit traced out.
Note that there is a single current path from B- at the battery pack through the cart drive back to B+ at the battery pack. The same total drive current passes through each and every cable, connection, contact and component equally, so they all have to be good.

The next test point closer to B+ would be A1 on motor, then A2, then C on F/R, then B on F/R, then S1 on motor, and so on all the way back to B+ on the battery pack.

Those ITS voltages are a bit flaky, but they might straighten out when you get full battery pack voltage between B- and M- when the solenoid first clicks.

Check ITS again after the high current problem is fixed.

[scottyb]

That is good info there Johnnie. I smell a stickie there. His problem could be at the F&R. A quick check is a continuity test at the rear terminals. Basically, you should have continuity between parallel pairs of contacts in F and R. See diagram above

[JohnnieB]

What do stickies smell like?

The same technique (B- to M-) works with Series, DCS and PDS, just the test point names and locations are different.

If the powers that be want me to do some troubleshooting procedures for the stickies, let me know for what and I'll put together something.

[Whiskey11]

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[Whiskey11]

This is what I have. Now is this the correct replacement? Doesn't look like it to me. What's the deal with the solenoid? Is it replaced also with hat I just bought?


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