EZ-GO Express S4 High Output - 1268 Controller Replacement

[icemanncsu]

Hi, I am here seeking some advice on my options and the correct components I should be considering for the repair below. Even though this is my first post here, I have been a reader for quite a while. Thanks for the patience with the wall of text below! :)


Original setup -

EZ-GO Express S4 High Output (2017 model)
23" Blacklash X tires
6 x 8V Trojan (Model: DC-8V) (48V pack)
Curtis 1268 - 400A Controller
“Motor” with Limited Slip Differential (LSD)


Back story –

My cart is in factory as delivered condition with the specifications above. I included everything I thought might be relevant.

I had been using a homemade programming cable emulating a Curtis 1314-4402 OEM PC cable to program the Curtis 1268. This past weekend I finally ended up making the mistake I knew would eventually happen. On the 4 pin (J3) programmer connector I used a +5V ATX CPU power supply connector to make this connection nice and neat. Only issue was that it had no ‘key’ on this end to ensure proper insertion to the 1268. So, yep, with the cable inserted 180 degrees incorrectly, the +15V from pin J3-4 was applied to my USB to Serial chipset (A genuine FTDI for those that know what I am talking about) and that quickly went pop boom bang and in rapid succession sent unknown voltage back to the Curtis 1268 on pin J3-1 (RX Data). A few days later I came back to inventory the damage as best I could tell. Everything seems ok except the controller, initially after the incident I could get the reverse alarm to chirp, but that now is completely dead. Also briefly the LED status indicator on the Curtis 1268 flashed the 1,2 trouble code (THROTTLE FAULT 1). Since I have no known good controller to swap in to confirm that the ITS throttle is good or bad, I’m going to treat it as OK for the moment. My working theory is that the controller during power up (TOW -> RUN) energizes the pins J1-13 and J1-15 to take a resistance measurement for the current throttle position. It’s during this step the controller is unable to perform since the controller electronics are likely faulty now, so it fails and throws the (1,2) error code, aborting startup and disabling further cart operation.

Now what? –

Instead of crying about my F’ up, I’m going to take this as an opportunity to possibly make some upgrades.

Instead of getting back in bed with the Curtis brand of locked down controllers, I’m looking to move to something else. All my reading and googling has led me to the Alltrax XCT-48500-1268 (https://alltraxinc.com/curtis-126412...t-replacement/) sorry if there are rules for posting to a vendors product page, I’m using this for those that want a visual of the unit and harness I’m about to speak too.

With this model controller it comes with all the greatness you know and love from Alltrax with a Curtis 1268 female wiring harness that makes swapping it into my existing cart “plug and play”. No repining necessary from what I can tell... (Possible gotcha here, just waiting to find it).

My plan is to swap out the known bad Curtis 1268 with the Alltrax XCT-48500-1268 above using the existing connector with the included adaptor. Mounting the Alltrax with the universal Alltrax mount bracket, unsure if I need this currently, but will have it on hand during the procedure just in case. Changing all power cabling including battery to battery jumpers to <=2 AWG at the same time.

Assuming everything besides the controller is still in OK condition, lets talk about the existing factory motor and solenoid/contactor.

First off here is what I know about the motor and transaxle. The following is directly from the labels on the two devices.

Motor:

Manufacturer: Advanced Motors & Drives (AMD)
Part Number: 628660
Part Number: DV1-4001
Volt D.C.: 48
Class H
Serial: 38224
Rating line 1: “EE” S2-60 2.4 KW
Rating line 2: AU2500 12/05/16

Transaxle:

Manufacturer: Schafer Driveline
LSD – 1A – 12-01-2016
Model or Part Number: 12AJ370-2
Barcode: 617150.101207.000369075 <- first (.) character is questionable, the sticker is very deteriorated.


I called EZ-GO today and tried to learn more about the parts as installed from the factory, in particular the motor. What I had deduced in my prior searches was that the motor on the Express S4 High Output was slightly different from the other PDS motors around. Honestly this being my first cart and everything being “new to me”, I was unsure of the truth of that statement. In my mind I regarded it as being too new for the “community” at large to have enough data to refer to it like the other motors that were manufactured for 10-15 year stretches.

During my research on the Alltrax above I learned that there is a Field Map matched to my motor, I was not given this data but was told it would be programmed into the unit before shipping to me. At the same time confirming this Field Map setting was able to be changed in the future by me if I decided to change the motor for whatever reason. By the way, the EZ-GO guy told me that this was the same motor installed on the “EZ-GO Shuttle 8”, so maybe if someone has access to motor data they can cross-reference with that model cart also. I have yet to find a database of these seemingly “dealer only” field mappings configurations to be publically available. Since I was not given the data or can view it on an official Alltrax document, it makes me wonder how I can confirm the settings in my Alltrax before completing the install. Would be nice to see a complete cross-reference chart of known compatible motors to Alltrax models, with unique programming settings for each motor. If someone has this, can you please send it over? :)

As for the Solenoid, the EZ-GO guy stated its model as 621330, which cross-references as a White Rogers 200A “heavy duty” solenoid. This component I am torn on changing out to a larger unit. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!

I know this has been quite the lengthy opening message. Thanks for reading if you made it this far! Hopefully you can help me purchase the correct components to be back on the road in no time!

Thanks!

[BobBoyce]

Sorry to hear that you may have damaged your controller. The generic 1268 controllers are a bit hardier than the dedicated E-Z-GO versions of those controllers. In order to reduce manufacturing cost, shortcuts are taken, such as optoisolation of certain inputs/outputs to/from the microcontroller chip. If it were a generic 1268, you would be able to just change an optoisolator and be back in business. unfortunately, the E-Z-GO edition has no such optoisolator, so the microcontroller chip itself would need to be replaced with a new one, then program it with the E-Z-GO OS/VCL. FSIP could do that, but at what cost? I think you have a good plan to go with the Alltrax. I'm a fan of Curtis controllers, but not so much of a fan for the E-Z-GO versions of these controllers. That was why I took it as a challenge to hack them

There is always the possibility that your 1268 controller is not really damaged, but that the memory map could have been corrupted. If that is the case, it can be recovered by resetting the controller and reloading the OS/VCL to it.

Bob

[icemanncsu]

Bob,

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah it was was under your guidance from the other thread I built that homebrew cable.

Its hilarious now, but when I was digging through my parts bin to find that FTDI dev board (now literally burnt through) used to patch the interface cable together I kept telling myself I needed to goto DigiKey immediately and order the correct 4pin connector with locking tab.

Well, now I have an excuse to upgrade and play some more. :)

[cgtech]

And if you go Alltrax, you won't need a fancy ftdi cable anymore, just a USB A to B cable.

[BobBoyce]

I've done a lot of learning using a damaged controller here and there, especially ones that died from being abused... Typically the logic section is still alive when the high current section gets fried, so you can have a lot of fun with the smarts of it.