36v ez go with pds won’t move in forward or reverse

[kdoriety]

I backed the cart out of the shop and after a few hours I started pulling it back in and it just stopped suddenly. Hasn’t worked since. I’ve done some trouble shooting. My main question is this: when I put the golf cart in forward or reverse the solenoid instant pulls in. Is this normal or should it only pull in by the pedal switch?

[bronsonj]

First off, what does your battery pack measure for voltage when it's just sitting there. Does that number change and what is the new value when you hit the GO pedal?

[kdoriety]

Fully charged pack voltage is about ~37.4. Voltage doesn’t change at all with pedal, and the solenoid doesn’t click with the pedal.

Solenoid is closed in forward

Solenoid is open in neutral

Solenoid is closed in reverse

[JohnnieB]

Put controller in diagnostic mode and listen for the beeped error code when you try to drive cart. Text at bottom of attached PDS label tell you how to put controller in diagnostic mode.

I suspect you have a bad pedal switch or the pedal is not fully returning to the full upright position and are getting a HPD (High Pedal disable) error.

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The controller tells the solenoid to energize when the Run/Tow switch is in Run, Keyswitch is On, F/R switch is in either F or R and Pedal is pushed.

Symptoms indicate the pedal switch is staying closed.

[JohnnieB]

The battery is less than 80% SoC (State of Charge), so that issue needs to be corrected also.

[kdoriety]

I will check pedal switch when I get home. That is my next step, I just suspected that if the switch was always closed the cart would try to take off immediately??

As far as diagnostic mode, where does the beep come from? Reason I ask is because the reverse beeper is removed.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by kdoriety

I will check pedal switch when I get home. That is my next step,

1. I just suspected that if the switch was always closed the cart would try to take off immediately??

2. As far as diagnostic mode, where does the beep come from? Reason I ask is because the reverse beeper is removed.

1. That is what the HPD feature (error code 1-4) is supposed to prevent.

2. The beep comes from the beeper. Sounding when in reverse is just one of its many purposes.

Also, removing beeper could be costly. See attached.

[kdoriety]

Johnnieb thanks for the advice. I just got home and tried to enter diagnostic mode for the heck of it. Of course no sound came from the cart because the beeper is either removed or doesn’t work not sure (I got this cart as a project so who knows what’s been done to it). So I will repair that when I have time early next week.

The strange thing is that I can hear the pedal switch clicking as if it’s working but when I tried to read resistance from the black to white wire on the 4 wire plug, my meter says it actually always open. I haven’t had time to dig any further than that. What’s your thoughts on that?

[kdoriety]

Ok johnnieb. Just double checked my prints. The green and red wires are the pedal switch. Opening and closing like it should. OL to .2 ohms.

The black and white wires are the ITS- this is reading OL at all times

[JohnnieB]

The beeper is probably still there with a wire disconnected. It is mounted on the left side of the passenger glove-box and can be seen under the cowl, or through the dash with the keyswitch and F/R switch panel removed. Reattach the loose wire and it ought to work. (FWIW: You can quieten it down to a less offensive level by putting some tape over the sound hole.)

Troubleshooting 101: Use a Voltmeter.

The get the solenoid to energize, battery pack voltage (38.2V when fully charged) has to be present on all the pins with wires highlighted in red attached to them. Normally, the final step is the pedal switch putting battery pack voltage on J4 Pin-1 (J4 Pin-2 is source and Pin-1 is switched)

Verify the voltage on J4-Pin-1 goes away when pedal is lifted.

Also attached is a drawing of the voltage paths through the PDS controller and a image of the controller with Pin-1 highlighted on all the jacks.