Installing USB charger in gas ST Sport

[VaporLock]

I have a previously owned ST Sport 2+2 to which I want to add a USB charging port. It has a volt meter as well, so I would like for it to only have power with the ignition in the ON position.

I am at a complete loss as to where to find 12v power when the switch is on. I am looking for a power source behind the dash.

I have been unable to find a suitable wiring diagram for my cart.

All my searches here return results for electric carts which necessarily deal with 48v systems--which I do not have.

Any help would be appreciated.

[CP241]

You will have to either wire a toggle switch or rewire the cart.

From the factory the circuit goes from battery to pedal switch. Then to key switch. Then to the solenoid to energize it. So the key ONLY has power when you press the pedal down.

It takes a little "know how" but not overly difficult to reverse it to run from battery to key to pedal to solenoid. That's the only way you're gonna get it to work with the key.

[BigRed77]

What is the volt meter on it for?

I was thinking you could wire a 12v USB port directly to the battery and it shouldn't draw anything unless something is plugged in

[VaporLock]

Originally Posted by CP241

You will have to either wire a toggle switch or rewire the cart.

Arrg. This was supposed to be a "simple" upgrade.

Originally Posted by BigRed77

What is the volt meter on it for?

Well, I thought I'd be clever and get a charger with the voltmeter. That way I'd be able to check my battery level rather than using the old "if it doesn't start, the battery's dead" voltmeter.

However, it's going to draw power (no matter how minimal) even when not in use.

Originally Posted by CP241

It takes a little "know how" but not overly difficult to reverse it to run from battery to key to pedal to solenoid.

Now, I've got a little know how, but what I don't know is if I could cause any damage by changing the wiring as you suggest. It would also help if I had a wiring diagram, but hours of googling have failed me in that regard.

Any reason I can't tap in to the wires off of the ignition switch since I don't have a complicated controller like electric carts?

I have a 3 position, 4 terminal ignition. The positions are OFF, ON, LIGHTS. The terminals are L, I, B1, and unlabeled (so I'll call it B). [Now, remember this cart was previously owned so I don't know if what I'm seeing is factory wiring.]

L gets 12v in all positions when grounded to the frame.

In OFF position, putting a mulitmeter from L to I shows 12v, L-B1 0v, L-B 0v.
In ON position, L-I 12v, L-B 12v, L-B1 0v.
In LIGHTS position, L-I 12v, L-B 12v, L-B1 12v.

Here's where my little know how fails me--and I clearly don't understand ignition switches. Using the multimeter, and grounding to the frame, B shows 0v even with the key ON or LIGHTS. That doesn't make sense to me.

At any rate, any more help is greatly appreciated.

PS: Direct wiring to the battery with a toggle switch seems the easiest method. But I hate to add another switch to my dash that only serves one function. And besides, I'm on a mission at this point to understand what's going on with the electrical system.

[CP241]

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/showp...06&postcount=6

Here's where my little know how fails me--and I clearly don't understand ignition switches. Using the multimeter, and grounding to the frame, B shows 0v even with the key ON or LIGHTS. That doesn't make sense to me.

This is because the pedal switch is BEFORE the ignition switch. The ignition switch cant and wont see power unless the pedal is depressed and you're driving the cart. This is also why your gas gauge only works while you are driving.

Check the diagram and you'll see what I mean about having to reverse the circuit. You're not adding to or taking anything away, you're just rewiring it so the key switch comes before the pedal switch.

Yamaha and club car are already done like that. Not sure why ezgo decided to do it backwards

[VaporLock]

Thank you so much for that wiring diagram! I have spent hours looking for one.

Good to know I can re-wire without causing any harm. I may give it a try.

So, does E-Z-GO wire all their gas carts (of the same age) the same? I noticed that wiring diagram is for a TXT. If so, that may make my search for the other wiring diagrams easier.

[CP241]

I've had several TXT's, workhorses and MPT carts. They're all basically the same and follow that diagram

[VaporLock]

Alright! I rewired my cart today and installed the USB port/voltmeter. Everything works! So, I'm going to share what I did.

If ANYONE has serious concerns about what I did, please, please, please, speak up. The last thing I want is for my cart to burn down inside my garage.

I began by running 2 wires from behind the ignition switch to the accelerator pedal box located in the floorboard. I removed the red wire from the accelerator micro-switch (which is always hot) and the blue wire attached to the "I" terminal on the key switch. Using one of the new wires I ran, I connected the red wire (previously on the micro-switch) to the "I" terminal on the key switch. Using the other new wire, I connected the blue wire (previously on the key switch) to the accelerator micro-switch.

This effectively reversed the ON-OFF key (key switch) to micro-switch (MS3) circuit you can see in the wiring diagram I attached.

Now, in the factory wiring, the "I" terminal on the key switch not only has the blue wire to the solenoid but also a red wire going to the fuel gauge (see Accessory wiring diagram attached). My new wiring scheme resulted in the fuel gauge being always on. However, I noted that the "B" terminal on the key switch has effectively become my accessory terminal which has 12v power with the key in the ON position (and without the accelerator pedal needing to be pressed). The "B" terminal has a green wire running from the key switch to the accelerator micro-switch. So, I moved the fuel gauge's red wire to the "B" terminal with the green wire, and viola!, the fuel gauge only comes alive with the key in the ON position.

In order to add my USB ports, I created a "Y" connector which I connected to the "B" terminal and which gave me extra terminals to connect the USB port, green wire, and red fuel gauge wire.

I attached the ignition switch diagram because it's the only such diagram I could find. It is for electric carts, not gas, and, it is NOT the way gas carts are wired. In our carts, the "L" terminal has an always hot, blue-white wire from the fuse box. With the key in the LIGHTS position, the "L" terminal connects to the "B1" terminal and turns the lights on. I suppose I could reverse the way the "B" and "I" terminals are wired and things would work just as they are now (and the "B" terminal would have the, um, Battery connection). This would align with the wiring in electric carts. BUT, I'm still not 100% sure I understand how this key switch actually works. So, I'm leaving it alone for now.

Again, if anyone has concerns about what I've done, let me know.

[ezgojack]

Originally Posted by VaporLock

I have a 3 position, 4 terminal ignition. The positions are OFF, ON, LIGHTS. The terminals are L, I, B1, and unlabeled (so I'll call it B). [Now, remember this cart was previously owned so I don't know if what I'm seeing is factory wiring.]

L gets 12v in all positions when grounded to the frame.

In OFF position, putting a mulitmeter from L to I shows 12v, L-B1 0v, L-B 0v.
In ON position, L-I 12v, L-B 12v, L-B1 0v.
In LIGHTS position, L-I 12v, L-B 12v, L-B1 12v.

I'm trying to wire a radio through this same switch so that it cuts the red acc power to the radio in the off key position. What does B draw in all positions when grounded to the frame? I want to run my red circuit through the switch and use the black/yellow circuit already at the radio for the memory on the radio to maintain settings. In this scenrio, each curcuit would use the same common black wire already at the radio. 2007 Gas EZGO ST Sport II.

[CP241]

Same basic principle as his diagram above but I do it easier.

There should be a red(?) wire coming out of the pedal box, below the shifter. This wire should be connected to the battery and show power all the time.

There should be a green(?) wire coming out of the floor right in front of the solenoid. This wire will have power ONLY when (both) the key is on and the pedal is depressed. This wire activates the solenoid.

I just reverse those 2 wires right there, you’ll have to extend them a bit but they’re only about a foot and a half apart. So the red wire goes to the solenoid and the green wire goes to battery. This reverses the circuit so power goes through the key first, then through the pedal switch and then to the solenoid. Takes 5 minutes.

Keep in mind if you’re running a radio or something you STILL need to run a fused wire to the dash (15a or so) to power the radio. Don’t just run it off the key switch, the switch isn’t meant to handle much current and you’ll burn out the contacts.