Compatible motor? Villager 2+2 LSV. Exact replacement not found.

[gangstead]

I've got a 2009 Villager 2+2 LSV. I'm the 2nd owner, have had for 3 years. First two+ years it worked great. It's been garage kept through both owners and used fairly gently. Nothing modified. I believe first owner ran it on a golf course, my family runs it to the neighborhood park and back (.7 miles each way). Always left plugged in to the built in charger. Battery water levels checked every month.

REPAIR BACKSTORY STARTING...

Last summer I noticed the charge wasn't going as long as it used to so I got a new set of batteries. Last fall it started acting funny. You'd step on the gas, hear a click, and no movement at all. Try again and then you were up and moving a full 25 mph no problem. It did this more and more often over the months to where it would hardly ever move and we'd just leave it in the garage. Also sometimes (but not always) you could smell that burning electrical smell a little bit when it did work.

This spring I finally decided to do something about it. Pulled the solenoid and after some testing decided it was reading a high resistance when engaged so I replaced that. Didn't help. I pulled the motor and 2 of the brushes were seized (I could see sparks when I put the rear on jack stands and ran the motor for a few seconds. So I got a replacement set and it seemed to work on a slow run around the block. I noticed I forgot to put a lock washer on the motor connection and like a dummy I forgot to put it in TOW and disconnect the battery before putting it on and zapped the controller (it was the end of a long hot session in the garage). It was just 100% dead. Sent the controller off to a place to be "refurbished" or whatever they do. It came back and I put it in and the cart and the cart would run again. Hopped in to do a slow drive around the block and the motor started smoking again, real heavily. Pulled the motor and a winding on each side is burnt out.

REPAIR BACKSTORY ENDING. Questions ahead:

Now I'm assuming the motor is toast. I'm looking to get a replacement. Unlike most questions on this forum I'm not looking to upgrade. I'm fine with stock performance (25 mph even just 18 or whatever a non LSV cart goes is fine) and I'm looking to avoid a cascading series of upgrades, I just want it to get working like stock again. What motor can I get to get back up and running?

The motor is labeled Club Car part EJ9-4002 48 VDC 5.0 HP . Controller is labeled Curtis 1510A-5351 (350 Amps)

When I search for the model number on the motor the online places always show out of stock (example although it is listed as 7 HP but claims it replaces EJ9-4002 ) so I'm looking for what can I get that's available. If I go down in horsepower is the controller going to push too much current and fry the motor? If I go up in horsepower is the motor going to draw too much current and start frying the controller or batteries?

I've read through the owner's manual and all it says about the motor is "Direct drive 48 volts DC, shunt-wound, 5.0 hp". Doesn't mention anything about IQ anywhere but this does have regenerative braking so I guess that means IQ? Honestly the regenerative braking has been more annoying than useful so I wouldn't pay extra for a motor with it if I had a choice.

[Fairtax4me]

Regen braking is handled by the controller. There are some tricks that can usually get around that, but it depends on if you have an IQ or Excel controller.
Talk to David Hicks at Revolution Golf Cars, he can make a recommendation for a replacement motor, and how to change/eliminate the regen braking to suit your style.