Help with Danaher controller RXV

[Lees23]

Hello all,

I have a Danaher controlled RXV, 2011 I believe, that I have had for 5 years and has been a great cart. When I first purchased it there was an intermittent issue where sometimes it just wouldn’t run. That issue was resolved by replacing the brake pedal switch. We use it around our lake condo complex and it’s never abused. It does not have a rear seat so loads are always pretty minimal.

Last summer my brother was driving it and it just suddenly stopped and locked up the wheels. I put it in tow and neutral and pushed it back to our garage with another cart. A dealer told me the brake probably went bad in it, so I swapped the brake with an extra working brake I had in my garage. That did not resolve the issue. The accelerator pedal switch (not throttle pedal sensor) had a broken rubber boot around it so I thought maybe water got in the switch and ruined it, so I ordered a new throttle switch. That did not resolve the issue. I have now ordered a brake switch (because it went bad before) but have not received it yet. If that does not resolve my issue, where else should I look? Or shall I say, what other part should I throw at it!

The cart will turn on, you get two clicks of the solenoids (like normal) but you get so action when depressing the accelerator.

The other thing to note is that a week or two before the cart stopped working we had some intermittent hiccups that were the result of the negative terminal lead being loose and arcing/shorting out.

To my knowledge the cart is an old fleet conversion and is set to run 19mph. It has not been modified beyond that.

I like the cart and am okay with buying a new controller for it if needed. If that is what’s next on the part to try to fix it, what controller is the best for that cart?

Thank you!

[usgicollector]

Here is a troubleshooting guide.

[jon21588]

You can jumper the red and white wire where the brake switch connects to the wiring harness to test if that's the issue. With that being said, your brake wouldn't unlock in tow mode if the brake switch was the issue.

[Lees23]

Originally Posted by jon21588

You can jumper the red and white wire where the brake switch connects to the wiring harness to test if that's the issue. With that being said, your brake wouldn't unlock in tow mode if the brake switch was the issue.

Thanks. Thoughts on a couple more likely causes? I know the Danaher controller isn’t the most replaced, is it coming for them to just crap out?

[jon21588]

Do you have a multimeter?

[Lees23]

Originally Posted by jon21588

Do you have a multimeter?

I do. I skimmed the troubleshooting guide.

[Lees23]

Originally Posted by jon21588

Do you have a multimeter?

If you have areas to focus on or other ideas, I am all ears!

[jon21588]

I would check the charger interlock voltage at the controller. Negative lead on main negative terminal, positive lead on blue wire pin 17 on the main harness plug. You can use a paper clip to probe the connector if you don't have probing leads.

It has been a while since I've had to troubleshoot an rxv so I can't remember what problems make it disengage the solenoid.

I'd probably check key switch, solenoid and the charger interlock.

[jneubig]

I had a similar situation with a lock up and no run and mine ended up being a faulty solenoid. It was sporadic then a complete failure on a camping trip. Fairly inexpensive piece to swap. You mentioned you swapped the brake with one you had. Was it a known good piece. Did you ohm it as outlined in the troubleshooting guide? One more thing on the Danaher era carts is a sonic weld in the harness that was known to have corrosion issues. A quick search should show quite a few threads talking about this.

[nickdalzell1]

Just because an RXV locks up does not mean the brake died. ANY error no matter how insignificant will pretty much throw you off the car like an angry horse.(the idea of a limp mode seems to have escaped EZGO) I hate these things. Drive by wire is a solution in search of a problem and often causes far more problems than it attempts to solve.

But there are many reasons for it to not go even though it does the power on self test (POST). Faulty backup beeper, brake slipping during test (often makes it go BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! until you cycle the key again and hold your breath), any fault in the pedal group (there are encoders for brake and accelerator, and two micro switches as well) the charger interlock (blue wire of small gauge that has a little bullet lead clipped on, acts like a reed switch and disables car if it thinks it's charging), the motor encoder, motor temp sensor, controller heatsink temp sensor, solenoid, key switch (yes this has caused many a headache) and that's just half of the causes.

Be thankful you got a Danaher version. the Curtis ones have enough faults they check for and fail over to fill a high school textbook.