Please tell me my friends didnt just mess up my buggy

[chaselee]

Ok so I just put one side of a pair of jumper cables from the melted terminal to the melted battery post andthe reverse alarm works and I also touched the gas pedal and it went forward. So what does this mean? I'm guessing it's good news.

So I guess the big question is...why did I have a battery lead and terminal melt while the thing was in operation!? Thanks again for all the help fellas!

[meimk]

Battery terminals melt from heat. over tightened or under tightened connection, corrosion, poorly crimped end on the cable. Anything that makes the current "jump" through the air to get to the other side will cause welding kind of heat. If the connection was a bit "if'y" and the weight of a bunch of people on the cart caused it to draw harder on your battery pack, that would do it. Sometimes a melted terminal can be saved and there are threads on this forum that discuss that. Easiest to replace the battery if you can find a comparable one.
The GOOD news is that it seems you got lucky on the motor & controller.

[chaselee]

That's fantastic news! I was not ready to spend that kind of money on this thing 4 days after I bought it.

[kgsc]

You need to find out the age of the batteries you have in there. Should be a date code on a sticker or stamped in one of the battery terminals. If they are fairly new you could just replace one. If older it may be time for a set. Definitely check the cables and replace the bad ones for sure. When you have the controller cover off spin the run tow switch so it is correct.

[chaselee]

The batteries are 2 yo. And yes I will definitely be fixing that switch so there's no confusion going forward

[Mooncarter]

Your friends did not just mess up your buggy.

[chaselee]

Well it appears that the cable melted and broke contact causing it to go dead so there was no power backfeeding while being towed. I replaced the battery and cable end and she's as good as new! Thanks again for the help!!

[JohnnieB]

I'd take a close look at all the high current cables. All 10 of them ought to be 4Ga or thicker.

Check the temperature of the cables after a hard run, if any is more than about 10°F above the air temperature, it need to be fixed or replaced.

[bronsonj]

Wow, you did get lucky on the run/tow issue!

Your batteries are 2 years old and if you maintain them (regularly clean the connections and check the water levels) you should get a lot of life out of them yet. Replace the one bad battery with a new one (it will age faster than the rest and will in short order act like any other 2 year old battery).

You'll need to clean all the terminals well and seal them regularly.

Your cart is 36V. 36V draws more amps than 48V to do the same work if everything else is equal. Bigger tires draw more amps. Adding rear seat and more people to the cart draws more amps. Going uphill draws more amps.
Amps = heat. So you may be at (or beyond) the capability of a 36V drive system...

--------- Edit --------

I am confused though as you said it is a 36V drive but a Run/Tow switch means it is sepex and I thought all Sepex systems were 48v. Pictures may help of the battery/controller.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by bronsonj

--------- Edit --------

I am confused though as you said it is a 36V drive but a Run/Tow switch means it is sepex and I thought all Sepex systems were 48v. Pictures may help of the battery/controller.

The DCS golf carts (Curtis 1206SX controller - 1995 to 2000 era - Medalsist and TXT) and the PDS golf carts (Curtis 1206MX - 2000 to 2010 era - TXT only) are both sepex drives and 36V.

The TXT-48 (Curtis 1206HB) came out in about 2010.

There were some 48V sepex drive carts with other than golf cart body styles with Curtis 1264 and 1268 sepex controller, but I'm not sure of the body styles or years at the moment.