’93 Club Car

[doodles bug]

Had to register to view some pix and pdfs so I thought I’d tap the knowledge base here.

Naturally, like everybody else, I’d like more speed, more power and longer battery life. Go figure.

I didn’t really do much research before I bought, wasn’t even shopping for one, but this one popped up one evening on Craig’s list for $750 while all others were twice that price. I was at the business the next morning and had it bought before opening time.

It had weak and mismatched batteries which I ran the remainder of the first summer but replaced late last spring. For now, the granddaughter and I have used it for trips back and forth to the neighborhood pool and for some joyriding around the development. I am pretty well satisfied but the granddaughter gets unhappy when we hit the grade on the return trip that slows it down considerably. I might find myself disappointed when we try exploring the 1238 acre park across the street.

I was or am an electrician. I have an electrical engineering degree and worked as an EE. I have also worked as a mechanical engineer.

As an electrician, I worked for a railroad, and at 2 GM auto assembly plants. As an engineer, I did design and start-up of large conveyors systems for automotive plants. I am not unfamiliar with DC motors. Diesel locomotives run on them, the diesel engine turns a generator or alternator which provides power to the traction motors on the axles. Automotive conveyors used DC motors for the build conveyors and especially those with multiple drives or those that must be position synchronized. Variable frequency AC has taken over now though.

The cart is 36v, v-glide controlled and what I have in mind is to increase the wire size. I have some 4/0 welder lead but may just go with 2/0 battery cables. I need to check the motor commutator and brushes, blow the dust and cobwebs out of the motor, clean all connections and the v-glide wiper, check for mechanical drag and lube everything.

I have read some about converting to 48v for the next time I need batteries but I’m not sure I can justify the expense of the charger and controller until I know how much I would gain. I’d like to know what would be involved in converting the resistor control system to a solid state controller. I’m not looking for a kit sales pitch here, I want to know the nuts and bolts level of what has to be done.

Any other suggestions?

[Scott H.]

Originally Posted by doodles bug

Naturally, like everybody else, I’d like more speed, more power and longer battery life. Go figure.

Get rid of the resistor coils and go solid state. If you jump up to 48 Volts and leave the 36 Volt motor, you'll get everything you're wanting and then some.

Originally Posted by doodles bug

I didn’t really do much research before I bought, wasn’t even shopping for one, but this one popped up one evening on Craig’s list for $750 while all others were twice that price. I was at the business the next morning and had it bought before opening time.

You still got a good deal if the body is in good shape!

Originally Posted by doodles bug

I might find myself disappointed when we try exploring the 1238 acre park across the street.

Nope, you WILL be disappointed, trust me.

My '86 was a resistor cart and gave me nothing but trouble until I changed over, there is no way I would have thought about doing something like that. I'd get half way through and with my luck something would burn out.

Originally Posted by doodles bug

I have read some about converting to 48v for the next time I need batteries but I’m not sure I can justify the expense of the charger and controller until I know how much I would gain. I’d like to know what would be involved in converting the resistor control system to a solid state controller. I’m not looking for a kit sales pitch here, I want to know the nuts and bolts level of what has to be done.

When I changed mine over from 36 volts to 48 volts and left the stock 36 volt motor on the cart, it honestly woke the cart up and got it moving like I thought it should. The rule of thumb is it will give you a 33% increase across the board, but I swear it feels like more with my cart!

I tow trailers around my property and before where it would strain, now it just gives a slight grunt and goes. On the flat road it went from ho-hum to you better not be wearing a loose hat because you will be turning around to go get it.

As far as the process of converting over to a solid state system, open the battery compartment and take a good look, most of what you see in there will be removed and put in the scrap pile.


I know you're not wanting a sales pitch, but I am going to tell you to go to ScottyB's site and look at the conversion page. It will tell you the parts you will need to replace to convert over to a solid state system no matter where you end up purchasing the parts from. I do hope you will think about using a site supporter for your parts though, as they help keep this site running for us to enjoy and learn from.



Once again, I'm going to have to mention ScottyB's kit, but it's just to use as a reference on how easy they are to install. Do a site search for it and you will find more than one person saying it can be done leisurely in one weekend with nothing but hand tools. One person that I know of didn't even bother to bring his cart home, he took a small tool box to his camp ground and did it there.




As far as upgrading now V/S later, I am going to give you an idea to think about.

Get in touch with ALL the companies you're looking at purchasing the conversion kit from and ask if there is a way to convert over to solid state now and keep the 36 Volt system with the option of going to 48 Volts later.


There just might be a solution out there for you where you don't have to get rid of your new batteries and charger, but you will get the reliability and longer run time from a solid state system.



I hope this helps some,
-Scott H.

[doodles bug]

First, there is major factor in the now vs later. My granddaughter sometimes drives the cart (with me in the other seat). She is the reason for my user name and the name I’ve given the cart. After some evolution of her nicknames, one has become Doodles. I was a railroader and used a variation on the name doodlebug which was a self-powered rail car. She just entered the double digits age and I don’t want to overpower the cart to where she can’t drive it.

Originally Posted by Scott H.

The rule of thumb is it will give you a 33% increase across the board, ...

That is one of the things that concerns me. To prepare for a conveyor job when the new GM Fairfax plant was built, my employer sent me to a week long training course at Reliance. They stated that normal/common motors experience damage at 25% above normal rated RPM. They recommended not going more than 10% over the rated RPM. There are specially built motors that will withstand higher RPM. I haven’t read the nameplate on the motor to see what the rated RPM is and I don’t know what RPM I am running. I found several threads that suggest running the 36V motor on 48V with the addition of a controller.

Originally Posted by Scott H.

Nope, you WILL be disappointed, trust me.

My '86 was a resistor cart and gave me nothing but trouble until I changed over, there is no way I would have thought about doing something like that. I'd get half way through and with my luck something would burn out.

I wasn’t thinking of exploring the entire park in one trip.

We’ve already seen much of it. The granddaughter has done cheerleading at some of the several football fields and is taking riding classes at the stables. I would like to see if there is a cart path to the sables.

I’m not sure how the controllers work but I assume it is pulse width. No increase in speed or torque with the 36V batteries but lower drain on the batteries resulting in longer trips.

[Scott H.]

I don't know much about how the controllers work internally, so I can't help you there.

However, I can say that my cart has been running on 48 Volts with a 36 Volt motor for a while now and I haven't had a single problem yet out of the complete electrical system. I'm not exactly what anyone would call easy on my cart either. I use it for yard work, hauling dirt to landscape the yard, and heavy pulling more than running the neighborhood.

Originally Posted by doodles bug

First, there is major factor in the now vs later. My granddaughter sometimes drives the cart (with me in the other seat).

I can completely understand. I let my nieces and nephews ride on mine when they come over and keep a sharp eye on them because of the speed the cart now goes. I hardly ever let them take the cart out without either my girlfriend or myself going with them.

I have proven to them that I will turn the key off and take it out of the switch if they get stupid and won't listen.

Originally Posted by doodles bug

No increase in speed or torque with the 36V batteries but lower drain on the batteries resulting in longer trips.

That's why I suggested contacting all the companies you're looking at to see if they had something available to keep the 36 Volts for now, but can be upgraded at a later time if so desired.

It sounds like it will be a win - win if you find something that will work for you.

You'll still get the benefits of the controller system without having to go to 48 Volts right now and if the cart does speed up because of the more efficient system, it's not going to be too much for your granddaughter to drive. It will also be more reliable since the coils that are constantly weakening by heating up and cooling off constantly will be out of the system.

-Scott H.

as a fellow 93 owner ..stock... i am happy with the performance...
i have 2010 batteries and run around my area at 12mph we did a test a few months ago and went 15.2 miles from full charge (38.5v) before needing a charge (36.5v)
i looked into the upgrade ...
with batteries ,charger,cables,HD f/r switch,controller (mild) kit... i was over $2000
to me it was not worth the price .. but then i'm a poor white boy
i do recommend good cables ... i also do a monthly cleaning of v-glide,f/R switch, and check all wires
the simpleness of the 93 cart is ez to fix .. just my 2 pennys

[doodles bug]

Thanks much for the input from the both of you.

I’m still undecided but that was to be expected. For now, it’s fine except for that one grade and I’m not spending a couple thousand bucks for that one small hill. This may all change if I use the cart more at the park across the street.

crash test dummy, I like simple and currently, it is about as simple as it can get. Easy to fix is of course a plus but to me the easy to diagnose is even more important. I see many threads here asking in effect “What can be wrong with my cart?” With mine it’s much simpler to determine.

Scott H., On the other hand, I do like speed and power. I bought a 1980 Jeep CJ with a 258ci 6 banger in 1987. It now has a complete fiberglass body and a GM tuned port fuel injected V8. I can outrun the Camaros and Firebirds that the engine came in. It’s fun when somebody comes up beside me at a light and blips his throttle, brummm, brummm, brummm. The only hint of what I’m running is the dual exhausts in the rear. I’m nice and quiet. When the light changes, I run away from him. It’s especially fun if he has his girlfriend with him.

I could justify the expense there though. My trip to work was about a mile and a half to I-70, 19 miles on I-70 (with a 70mph speed limit on the Kansas side) and about another mile and a half at the other end to the office.

I’m taking your suggestions under consideration for if I can make similar justifications for the cart.

[doodles bug]

Originally Posted by crash test dummy

I thought that might be the case given the animation in your sig. Back at ya.

We took the golf cart to the park, not really enough power but adequate.

Bad news, the granddaughter wants it to go faster. I told her she might not be able to drive it if I did that. She said that’s OK.

[jakesnake27]

Originally Posted by doodles bug

Bad news, the granddaughter wants it to go faster. I told her she might not be able to drive it if I did that. She said that’s OK.

Time for some upgrades!

[doodles bug]

Took the cart out with my old Garmin nuvi in hand. Did not have a long enough flat street to really check top speed. We got up to 19MPH on the longest flattest section in the neighborhood. When we got to the grade incline at the end, it was still accelerating slowly.

Top speed registered on the nuvi was 21.1. That was on a section that seemed to be flat after a decline. At the end of the decline, we were doing 18MPH and accelerated to the 21MPH on the flat. We were still accelerating when we hit the next incline.

We were able to do 12MPH on that incline I previously posted about from a dead stop. It just doesn’t seem that fast. We tried it several times just to make sure the nuvi was reporting the correct speed.

Didn’t seem bad for a stock 36V, ’93 cart with v-glide.

We couldn’t test the battery range, got stopped by the Park Police about 100 yards into the park. More about that in a new thread.

Originally Posted by jakesnake27

Time for some upgrades!

We’ll see what some contact and connection cleaning, BIGGER cables (2/0 or 4/0) and some good maintenance does first. Maybe more later, but I REALLY like simple and REALLY hate black boxes I can’t control.