How to disable cart when charger is plugged in.. but NOT WITH A REED SWITCH

[Volt_Ampere]

It's even more strict in our community. You have to have a valid driver's license to drive a golf cart anywhere on the roads. The includes supervised driving with an adult in the seat.

[pastor@southwestbaptist.o]

Alright....really?

Ezgo obviously puts the system on their carts from the factory because ADULTS do it too. Probably Golf course personnel forget to unplug.....hence the factory design. Ezgo wouldn't put the money into design and implementation if it wasnt a golf course problem. That is their market. I don't think golf courses higher in kids as their maintenance crew. Lol

It has happened twice in 2 years and One of those times the cart was covered in snow.

But two recepticle replacements in 2 years is expensive. And all I am really asking for is suggestions for an alternative to the fault prone reed switch design.

Please no lectures.

[Volt_Ampere]

My Yamaha also has a lockout when the plug is inserted. There is a third wire on the plug that goes to the controller. I think it's some kind of serial connection between the charger and the controller but I'm not positive of that. It's not working on my cart because I have an Alltrax controller now.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by pastor@southwestbaptist.o

Alright....really?

Ezgo obviously puts the system on their carts from the factory because ADULTS do it too. Probably Golf course personnel forget to unplug.....hence the factory design. Ezgo wouldn't put the money into design and implementation if it wasnt a golf course problem. That is their market. I don't think golf courses higher in kids as their maintenance crew. Lol

It has happened twice in 2 years and One of those times the cart was covered in snow.

But two recepticle replacements in 2 years is expensive. And all I am really asking for is suggestions for an alternative to the fault prone reed switch design.

Please no lectures.

Having survived (more or less) the hi-jinks and shenanigans of kids and grandkids and now great grandkids, I empathize rather than criticize.

Thinking outside the box a bit, why not install a "mechanical fuse" in the charger's output cable. Basically, an inline connector that separates rather then breaking the cart's charge receptacle or pulling the charger off the bench.

I've heard of Anderson SB50 connectors used to connect different plugs to a charger's output cable so the same charger can be used to charge carts with different configuration charge receptacles. A little tweaking might be needed to get the SB50 to uncouple easier, but the same setup could used in your situation.

Insert the mechanical fuse in the chargers output cable about a foot or two from the original plug so there is a straight pull on it if the cart is driven away while charge is plugged into it, but make it short enough so the cable end that stays with cart won't drag and get caught on something.

Your charger most likely puts out less than 20A, so an inline 20A (or higher) AC Plug/Receptacle might work, which might be less expensive and more readily available than the SB50 combination.

FWIW: I used the mechanical fuse concept on crash carts (and other things) in the hospitals I worked at. In a hurry to respond to a Code Blue, the medical staff (Adults with college degrees ) would forget to unplug the cart and the defibrillator and/or other things that were kept plugged in to an AC outlet to maintain their batteries, would end up on the floor.

[Romotor]

Install a single pole double throw switch on the hot side. One position to run, the other to charge.

[B747VET]

Originally Posted by pastor@southwestbaptist.o

I really need it to be automatic.

The kids put the cart on charge pretty regularly and they will not put it through the steering wheel or remove the key. I'm just saying.

I apologize for the safety lecture, but the words above, "they will not do it" were yours in a follow on post. If you had said, "Sometimes they forget to do it" instead of "they won't do it", that wouldn't have indicated behavioral related safety issues. Again, sorry for any misunderstanding on my part.

In your last post you clarified there were really only two damage events over a two year period. One when buried in snow, and one when maybe someone didn't put the cable through the wheel. I would give them a pass on the confusion from the snow, so it seems that the actual driving while connected problem has really only happened once in two years. That's more human nature than behavioral. So, probably not a big deal.

But I would still try to help them understand why looping the cord through the wheel is a good procedure to try and follow every day. I can honestly tell you that because of your thread, my and wife and I are now endeavoring to loop our bright yellow charger cord through the steering wheel every time. I will also share the concept with our neighbors. Sometimes the simplest and cheapest ideas provide really valuable solutions.

I would only add that we previously had bought a bright yellow charger cord with an internal light in the charger end plug and I think that also might be one reason that we haven't yet had any issues. The bright yellow cord and the light make it a much more discernible and safer condition as opposed to a more traditional simple black charger cord.

[jjance]

FWIW: I used the mechanical fuse concept on crash carts (and other things) in the hospitals I worked at. In a hurry to respond to a Code Blue, the medical staff (Adults with college degrees ) would forget to unplug the cart and the defibrillator and/or other things that were kept plugged in to an AC outlet to maintain their batteries, would end up on the floor.

JohnnieB Did you ever work on a GE AMX? That's the closest thing to a Golf Cart in a hospital. The drive system anyway.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by jjance

JohnnieB Did you ever work on a GE AMX? That's the closest thing to a Golf Cart in a hospital. The drive system anyway.

Yep. From the AMX through the AMX-4+

Since they have a separate motor on each of the two drive wheels, they had a zero-turn radius and the speed controllers had to be balanced so they would travel in a straight line.

AMSCO sold a Automatic Guided Vehicle made by the Jervis B. Webb Co. which was used for delivering meals and supplies, and was essentially a golf cart that followed a wire with a RF signal on it embedded in the floor. I worked at the University of Oklahoma hospital complex in OKC right after I got out of the Air Force and they had one of the systems. I didn't get to work on it much because I was too junior then, but it took an EE and two technicians to keep the system and all carts running.

[jjance]

Yep. From the AMX through the AMX-4+

I worked for Philips for 22 years before I retired. (and Picker and GE before that). I have on occasion had a chance to work on AMX's. But I'll tell you what. I would rather be working on a broken Cath Lab with a raging cardiologist chewing on my back side than an AMX.
PS I'm former Air Force. 30454