Melex power increase

[tcarter]

Finally gathered enough to purchase new batteries. Works great, but wont climb very well. not much experience with Golf carts. Was wondering if there is a way to get more torque or lower gearing. thanks, Travis

[scottyb]

What year and model Melex? What brand of batteries? New or Old cables?

[tcarter]

i looked once awhile back but cant remember. I'll check it out later. im guessing an 80's early 90's model. it has a bed on it. 36 volts. old cables. not sure on the brand of batteries bought them at costco. thanks for the reply.

[scottyb]

You are gonna need a voltmeter to go any further....old cart, old cables, Costco batts = you are gonna need all the help you cna give this thing. Replace the cables with 4g. welders wire and clean clean clean all the connections you might gain back 15-20% .......maybe. Or you might have a bad battery..... Either way you are gonna need a voltmeter

[tcarter]

volmeter to see how many volts im getting out of all the batteries together? I can replace the cables. do you lose quite a bit of power there? Thanks for the help. I live in a mountainous area and might be just to optimistic about how steep these things can climb (re Rocky Mountains). Maybe not? Sure a lot of fun. took it out yesterday plinking with my .22. my property backs of to BLM land. Im sure its here in the forum but what about air pressure. I know lower is best on turf but what about in the hills. Seems like if you put bigger tires on then you would lose some power. Maybe not. Thanks for you time. Officer T Carter

[scottyb]

Sounds like fun. First lets figure out what cart you have. Any ID tag info and a pic?

[dans8555]

Hi Travis, I bought a Melex 212 last fall. Had the same problem, climbed hills very very slowly even with a full charge on the batteries. On the flat it ran like heck. Over this winter I replaced all the small guage wires, all battery connections are 4 ga, cleaned all contacts, had the motor refurbished. The batteries are 3 years old, but the volt meter reads they are holding full charges. Even after all this, it climbs hills a little better, but like Scotty B said only picked up about 15%- 20% power. I am a newbie also to carts, but from the tinkering I did, I think the only way to get more torque is to replace the motor. Good luck. They are fun to work on.

[tcarter]

Thanks for the reply. Ill get around to replacing the cables. Whats the cheapest way. I looked and the connections are pricey. seems like the ends are pressed on. Your right it sure is fun to mess around with them. I took my kids on a good ride the other night and we had a blast. I'm going to hook up a accessorie outlet so I can plug in my spotlight. I put my voltmeter on it today and it read 32 volts. kept it on when I pressed the accellerator, stayed at 32 volts. I have a really cheap voltmeter. but I thought they were supposed to be around 38 volts. need to borrow my brothers draw-meter and check all the batteries. I purchased 5 new and had one in that I bought a couple of months ago but I wonder if it was permanently drained being hooked up to a bunch of dead batteries. Ill get some pics and a pic of the serial plate. thanks for your help/time

[scottyb]

Just reading what you posted ... I guess you have one bad battery.Never mix old and new...the pack should never be drawn down below 36v ... perminnent damage will result if done repeatedly..... time to educate yourself on wet cell battery use and care......there are about 10 don'ts to lead acid battery useage and You are doing 9 of them

[tcarter]

Finally got some pics. Looks like its a model 512. serial number 245945. not sure what year. maybe someone could tell by the model serial number. anyhow. the battery that I already had wasnt that old. but It was with others that were dead for awhile. Ill add the pics. thanks for all the advice, help.