Cart won’t move - solenoid?

[jeffro22]

Cart has been running great and then yesterday just lost power from a stop. I can hear pedal switch and see the volts drop .2-.3 when I depress pedal. Have 54v at pack so it’s a good charge. Not hearing solenoid click.

Heavy duty solenoid is only a few months old. Does it sound like the solenoid has gone out again?

2010 precedent - alltrax500 -58v lithium conversion

[R&TBabich]

Originally Posted by jeffro22

Cart has been running great and then yesterday just lost power from a stop. .... Not hearing solenoid click. ....

You can test the solenoid by pulling the Blue/White wire from the negative side of the small terminals (it goes to the controller) and jumping a ground lead to that post. Clip one end of a test lead to B- and tap the other lead to the post. Grounding the negative small post will complete the coil circuit and latch the relay, which is what the controller does.
If the solenoid clicks there is probably a missing input to the controller to satisfy the conditions it checks for activating the relay. It may just be a broken/loose wire or a bad switch.

[jeffro22]

It’s the solenoid. Swapped out an duo and running. Need to figure out why these keep failing on me. Guessing they can’t handle the higher voltage

[scottyb]

58v is nominal. It would be higher fully charged. Which is beyond the duty of a 48v solenoid coil.

[jeffro22]

I don’t exceed 56.7 v , but guessing that is still an issue. Any alternative solenoids? Will the sw200 handle this any better?

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by jeffro22

I don’t exceed 56.7 v , but guessing that is still an issue. Any alternative solenoids? Will the sw200 handle this any better?

I don't know, you are in experimental territory. The SW200 certainly has a physically larger coil but on paper they both spec out the same limits.
Are you running a suppression diode ?

[ThreeCW]

Originally Posted by jeffro22

I don’t exceed 56.7 v , but guessing that is still an issue. Any alternative solenoids? Will the sw200 handle this any better?

The KILOVAC LEV200 Series Contactor that I have is 48 volt nominal and 60 volt maximum coil voltage (see attached spec sheet). This is a 500 amp rated sealed contactor ... when I bought mine a 3+ years ago, I believe it was manufactured in the USA.

There may be other electric vehicle contactors that you might also want to consider which I believe are also built to higher standards than golf cart solenoids.

Check out the Gigavac GV200 series. Their 48 volt contactor is rated for 64 volts maximum coil voltage. I've also attached a spec sheet for your reference.

[Mooncarter]

Originally Posted by jeffro22

It’s the solenoid. Swapped out an duo and running. Need to figure out why these keep failing on me. Guessing they can’t handle the higher voltage

I'm trying to learn here too. Why would you think in the first place a 48v would work?

[Sergio]

A lot of folks including myself use that Solenoid with their Lithium setup, they should work up to 60v as the 48v is a "nominal" voltage rating.

[ThreeCW]

Does “Made in China” have anything to do with it?

Why buy from China when there may be local made options which may be more expensive but higher quality.