Jolt Forward Repair

[danielhack]

Recently acquired a 1997 EZGO Golf Cart. It was modified to be lifted and have extra speakers with a amp. I was driving down the street with 3/4 battery playing music pretty loud, all the sudden it lost most of its power, and had to pull over. It then just jolted forward at a max speed of 2mph when I pressed the accelerator. And it will either eventually slow to a stop. I dont know if it is solenoid, motor, or the brushs in the motor. Please Advise. Thank you!

[AzPete]

Sounds like you killed the batteries. 37.5 volts is about as low as a 36 volt system should be run at.

[gotmud10]

Originally Posted by AzPete

Sounds like you killed the batteries. 37.5 volts is about as low as a 36 volt system should be run at.

Im sure he just means 3/4 on the charge meter considering you need 32.7 volts for the cart to move at all. But sounds like solenoid or controller to me. 1st as stupid as is sounds, check to make sure you dont have any loose connections. Is max speed always 2mph now or will it ride out and then slow back down? If it rides out and then slows back down its solenoid...if your stuck half throttle at all times, id say controller.

[danielhack]

Yes I meant 3/4 on the charge meter. I have charged it up to full battery. And I checked each battery individually and some are better then others but they are all good. I double checked all the connections to make sure none were loose.

It will not ride out or go past 2 mph it continually jolts forward before eventually slowing to a stop. And the lights and speakers still work to the same level as always. So you think it is the controller that needs replacing?

[simple man]

Dan, the first thing I would do is to charge your batteries. Even though the meter says ¾ charged, you may have a bad battery! Charge them and then test drive with a DMM connected to your battery pack + and - and post what you have when this occurs.
Also feel the connections and see if any are hot. Be careful, they can get really hot!

[danielhack]

Yes I did charge the battery up all the way and the meter read full. The 3/4 I was referring to was when the cart started to malfunction. I tested all the batteries with dmm and they are fine. The last owner replaced 5 of the 6 batteries 3 months ago.

The connection coming from the solenoid was much hotter then the other ones.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by danielhack

Yes I did charge the battery up all the way and the meter read full. The 3/4 I was referring to was when the cart started to malfunction. I tested all the batteries with dmm and they are fine. The last owner replaced 5 of the 6 batteries 3 months ago.

The connection coming from the solenoid was much hotter then the other ones.

Welcome to BGW!

What are the battery voltages?
When measured 12 hours after charger automatically shuts off, the 36V battery pack should be at 38.2V.
Each 6V battery should read 6.37V and the difference between the highest and lowest should be 0.1V or less.

When cart is misbehaving, what is the pack and individual battery voltages?

If you have 5 new batteries and 1 old battery, you will soon have 6 old batteries.
Replace the old battery with one the same make and model as the other 5.
-------------
What type drive system does cart have, Series or DCS?
(If it has a Run/Tow switch on controller/solenoid cover, it is a DCS)

[gotmud10]

Originally Posted by danielhack

Yes I meant 3/4 on the charge meter. I have charged it up to full battery. And I checked each battery individually and some are better then others but they are all good. I double checked all the connections to make sure none were loose.

It will not ride out or go past 2 mph it continually jolts forward before eventually slowing to a stop. And the lights and speakers still work to the same level as always. So you think it is the controller that needs replacing?

Ohhhh thats not how I read it the first time. Buy that little load tester for 30 bucks at harbor freight and check your batts first to make sure they all load test alright before spending 300 on a controller.

[Gonkulor]

Originally Posted by danielhack

Yes I did charge the battery up all the way and the meter read full. The 3/4 I was referring to was when the cart started to malfunction. I tested all the batteries with dmm and they are fine. The last owner replaced 5 of the 6 batteries 3 months ago.

The connection coming from the solenoid was much hotter then the other ones.

Why did he only replace 5 of the 6? I'm sceptical untill a load test can be done.

But really? Why only 5 batteries?

[danielhack]

I am guessing the last owner did it because he was told one of them did't need replacing. I am going to replace it with a new one. Thank you all for all the help. It ended up being a problem with the motor.