DCS solenoid wont click cart stalls

[tboyd20111]

I have a 97 DCS with run/tow switch with brand new batteries and the solenoid wont click. I have replaced solenoid and it still does not click. I can put the run/tow switch to tow, wait 30 seconds and flip it back to run and the solenoid wont click but the cart will move approx 10 feet and then the motor will stop but the lights still work and the battery meter still shows full charge. I can jump the solenoid and the cart will go with no problem. I have swaped the ITS with my buddies TXT ITS and still does the same. I have used a jumper wire to by pass all micro switches and key switch and still the same issue. I have replaced the speed controller box beneath the solenoid with another used speed controller and still same issue. I get 36 volts on positve side of solenoid and 34 volts on the other side of the solenoid. I have checked voltage on all pins on the conector on top of the spped controller and all have voltage except the one going to the buzzer. there is no buzzer installed. I have also verified that the reed switch is good. My hair is already gone and going to start pulling on my beard next. Please help!

[radioman]

Did you happen to check for battery system voltage on the solenoid small terminal (coil) measured from battery negative when turn the key switch on??? (left most small terminal with the yellow wire on it). (The other side of the coil gets negative from the controller.) From there the positive voltage is also fed to another micro switch in the pedal box to pin 5 on the controller(supposed to be a green wire). If the controller sees positive here it puts out a negative on the opposite small terminal and the solenoid goes click. Note the switch in the pedal box is a normally closed that is held open by the plunger until it moves into the ITS and it drops out and you should get 36 volts through it.

[tboyd20111]

With key on and no pedal I get nothing at pin 5, 36.2 volts on both yellow wire and blue wire on small terminals on solenoid. I only get the 36.2 volts on pin 5 when I push the pedal. Thanks for your reply.

[tboyd20111]

So if im reading your post correctlly the side with the blue wire should read zero when the pedal is applied??? Anyway, the run/tow switch acts like a reset because when the cart moves 10 feet then acts like the motor quits, I can push the toggle switch to tow, wait 30 seconds, switch it to run and then I get another 10 feet. I can repeat this process over and over.

[radioman]

Originally Posted by tboyd20111

With key on and no pedal I get nothing at pin 5, 36.2 volts on both yellow wire and blue wire on small terminals on solenoid. I only get the 36.2 volts on pin 5 when I push the pedal. Thanks for your reply.

36 volts on pin 5 means pedal switch is working. The voltage you measure on the yellow means all your switches to furnish 36 volts is working. The controller furnishes negative on the blue wire when pedal is depressed. The reason you are measuring 36 volts on the blue wire on other small terminal is you are reading through the coil of the solenoid. When you press pedal the controller should make the blue wire negative from pin 6 and the solenoid should energize. Apparently it is not getting negative.

One other thing 36.2 volts indicates your batteries need recharging. Fully charged batteries should read 38 volts but I don't think that is the problem.

It is possible you have a bad controller but I don't want to make that call but everything points to that as a possible cause.

[radioman]

Originally Posted by tboyd20111

So if im reading your post correctlly the side with the blue wire should read zero when the pedal is applied??? Anyway, the run/tow switch acts like a reset because when the cart moves 10 feet then acts like the motor quits, I can push the toggle switch to tow, wait 30 seconds, switch it to run and then I get another 10 feet. I can repeat this process over and over.

I think you are getting some movement from the cart when you press the pedal because there is a pre charge 250 ohm resistor connected across the solenoid contacts (and I bet it gets real hot if you hold pedal down after cart stops). You may have noticed it when you replaced the solenoid. It is charging all those capacitors in the controller and they have enough stored energy to lurch forward. The purpose of this resistor is to prevent sparking of the solenoid contacts. When you bypassed the solenoid if it wasn't there you would have got a big spark that would have got your attention. That is the only thing I can think of why the cart would move like this. It looks like everything is in order except negative to the blue wire from the controller and batteries need charging. That is about all I know about this. When you jumpered the contacts did the cart move normally when pedal was depressed?
Maybe JohnnieB or some others can add to this.

I check back tomorrow.

[tboyd20111]

Yes, the cart moved normally when the solenoid jumped. I bought a used controller and installed it and the cart is doing the same thing. What are the odds of the second controller having the same problem as the first? Is that a normal problem with that controller to act in that way or does the controller usually act differant if its bad? Is there a test I can do on the controller itself either installed or on the bench? I really appreciate your time!

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by tboyd20111

Yes, the cart moved normally when the solenoid jumped. I bought a used controller and installed it and the cart is doing the same thing. What are the odds of the second controller having the same problem as the first? Is that a normal problem with that controller to act in that way or does the controller usually act differant if its bad? Is there a test I can do on the controller itself either installed or on the bench? I really appreciate your time!

You should have bought a lottery ticket instead of a used controller and you'd be a millionaire.
Kidding aside, I suspect you have far better odds of getting a bad used DCS controller than breaking even playing the lottery.

How does a DCS controller act when it is bad? Answer: A DCS controller (Curtis 1206SX) performs at least a half dozen functions and each function can fail differently, so a list of how many ways a DCS controller can act when it fails, would be a pretty long list.

However, troubleshooting a DCS controller (or any other component) can be reduced to a single question. Is it doing what it is being told to do?

In other words, when specific conditions are met, the controller is being told to activate the solenoid.
If the controller tells the solenoid to activate, that part of the controller is good, if it doesn't tell the solenoid to activate, the controller is bad.

Activating the solenoid is a two step process. First you have to get B+ to one of the small terminals on the solenoid. (If you have B+ on Pin-6 at the controller, the solenoid has B+ applied to one of the small terminals.)

The second step is to get B- applied to the solenoid's other small terminal. That is supplied via Pin-7 on the controller.

To get the controller to supply B- to the solenoid via Pin-7, you have to have B+ on Pins 5, 6, 9 & 10.

If B+ is being applied to one side of solenoid coil, you will measure B+ in Pin-7 before pedal is pushed, and then drop to zero when pedal is pushed.

From what I've read here, either the controller is bad (both of them) or the blue wire (or connections) between Pin-7 on the controller and the solenoid coil is bad.

[radioman]

In the cart is best place to run test. The problem seems to be the controller is not energizing the solenoid. Try this, verify blue wire not getting negative (0 volts) when pedal is pushed. If not disconnect the blue wire from the solenoid and run a small jumper from Battery - and touch it briefly to the solenoid where the blue wire was removed. if the solenoid clicks connect jumper temporary and see if the cart performs like it should. The solenoid should click and the cart run normally otherwise. If it does make sure the blue wire is good to pin 7 on controller and it does not have voltage on it. Use caution running these test that you don't run into over something.

I see JohnnieB replied to your post too while I was figuring out what to do next. He is very knowledgeable. I will turn you over to him for assistance.

[tboyd20111]

well i forgot to unhook the blue wire from the solenoid before touching that post to the - on the battery and SPARK. Now nothing works. No battery indicator, no forward or backward movement, nothing. The lights still light up. Voltage from - to solenoid is 37.8 (same as battery pack) and voltage to the other side is the same unless i put the toggle switch in the tow position then voltage is 35.2. No voltage reading at any of the pins except pin 10 is 37.8. I tried jumping the solenoid like i use to to make the cart go and now that doesnt work either. Also want to mention with all this messing around with it there was a point when I touched one probe of the volt meter to - battery and the other probe to the chassis and it would read battery voltage like the chassis was hot. With it sitting overnight and putting everything back together it doesnt read like that anymore. I think im about to tow the cart with my truck and do 90 down the highway and see whats left of it!