PDS troubleshooting problem

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by gmansc

Wow, I never thought it would be that serious. Can they be rebuilt? Do I pull it and have some kind of bench check done? I am guessing there is no way the speed sensor has any effect on any of these symptoms.

Thanks very much for all of your help.

If the speed sensor was bad, you wouldn't get the rapid beeping when cart was pushed in Run. Also, cart would only do about 3MPH since the controller goes into a reduced performance mode when it doesn't get a speed sensor input and generates a 1-3 beep error code when in diagnostic mode.

As for the motor. It is running, but not running right and all the practical test I know of are just gross Go/No-Go.

The motor has no front bearing and the armature will rub on the field shoes if you try to run it on the bench.

The motor itself is simply an off the shelf traction motor and a local electric motor shop can service it. Some forum members have rebuilt their own motors (brushes, rear bearing and cleaning the carbon dust out), so do a search on motor rebuilding, or start a new thread with motor rebuilding in title and they might jump in.

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In all honesty, I'm not 100% sure your motor is bad, but everything else appears to be working. On the other hand, the motor in a 2005 cart is at least 12 years old and likely in need of a new set of brushes and a thorough cleaning, and maybe a new rear bearing.

[gmansc]

Thanks so much for the detailed help with this. I will do a little more research and go from there. I assume with guys upgrading there might be some used motors in good shape. I might just take this cart back home and run it around the houst till it quits. At lease I still have my lifted Precedent that is running well😊

[gmansc]

Update.

After exhausting my abilities and doing all the troubleshooting that has so kindly been offered here I stopped by a shop near the coast where I keep the cart to inquire about a used motor. The owner offered to do a check at his shop for what I thought to be very reasonable. I dropped it off this AM and he called just about 1/2 hour ago telling me it was fixed. Told me it was the controller. Said it was working but was not sending the proper amps to the motor to reach max speed. He installed a controller and told me he was getting over 19 mph with my Freedom plug re installed.

He told me we could leave it in or he would be happy to remove it, install the old one and just charge me for the diagnosis. Based on what I see controllers going for it seems very reasonable for the repair. Not sure if it is proper protocol to share the cost on here but I will if someone tells me it is OK for a reference.

[orangeman6]

If you can hold off a bit on committing to the controller that guy put in, I'm sure JohnnieB or ScottyB will be along shorty. You didn't mention if the controller he put in is stock, used, rebuilt, etc. I'm not the guy to be able to tell you what a new Alltrax would do for your cart, but based on what I read here, they seem to be the way to go. Maybe it would be worth it to you to at least get the info and then decid which way to go. FWIW, I put a 48500 in my 01 series and got a noticeable improvement in performance.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by gmansc

Update.

After exhausting my abilities and doing all the troubleshooting that has so kindly been offered here I stopped by a shop near the coast where I keep the cart to inquire about a used motor. The owner offered to do a check at his shop for what I thought to be very reasonable. I dropped it off this AM and he called just about 1/2 hour ago telling me it was fixed. Told me it was the controller. Said it was working but was not sending the proper amps to the motor to reach max speed. He installed a controller and told me he was getting over 19 mph with my Freedom plug re installed.

He told me we could leave it in or he would be happy to remove it, install the old one and just charge me for the diagnosis. Based on what I see controllers going for it seems very reasonable for the repair. Not sure if it is proper protocol to share the cost on here but I will if someone tells me it is OK for a reference.

If you want it to do about 24 MPH, install an Alltrax XCT48400PDS controller.

The stock PDS controller limits the motor to 4400 RPM in freedom mode, which is about 19 MPH on stock height tires. The max RPM with the XCT is user adjustable and a stock PDS motor will spin about 5600 RPM when being fed from a 36V battery pack, which is about 24 MPH. Or you could adjust it to a lower max speed if desired.

Posting the cost is okay, but repair cost vary by geographic location.

[gmansc]

It is a stock rebuild Curtis with a warranty. I am OK with 19 mph on this cart.
The cost out the door is just a bit over $400.00. I have seen prices for stock controllers all over the place. The shop diagnosis was only $35.00 and is of course already in the price should I choose to leave the controller in.I could pay the fee and order a controller but do not think I would end up much better off on price.

Plus, this was the first time I had stopped by this particular shop and the owner was very nice and spent a lot of time with me. Customer service needs to count for something.

[gmansc]

I see the rebuilt controllers on eBay for $200.00 with exchange. Just do not know how hard it would be to get any warranty issue covered.

Looks like the altrax is in the $400/$450 range. Is it a direct swap or do I need to install other parts?

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by gmansc

I see the rebuilt controllers on eBay for $200.00 with exchange. Just do not know how hard it would be to get any warranty issue covered.

Looks like the altrax is in the $400/$450 range. Is it a direct swap or do I need to install other parts?

The Alltrax will require additional parts because it is an upgrade not a replacement - For a cheap fix you're on the right road. The dealer will have to R&R the control if it doesn't last the 1 yr. After that you will have to anti up another $400 to replace it again and that's why I don't like repaired controllers.

[kgsc]

gman, could you get out a little cheaper, yes.. But as you said your cart is up and running, you have a warranty and sounds like you have found a good repair shop to deal with. You could also ask them if they offered an upgrade path if you chose to.

If you are happy, let it ride. My 2 cents

[gmansc]

Originally Posted by kgsc

gman, could you get out a little cheaper, yes.. But as you said your cart is up and running, you have a warranty and sounds like you have found a good repair shop to deal with. You could also ask them if they offered an upgrade path if you chose to.

If you are happy, let it ride. My 2 cents

This is probably what I will do. Thanks for the input.