EZGO Sport 2+2 E Textron Model Will not move

[wellhereitis]

Hello world, this is my first post. I have an EZGO Model Sport 2+2E with date code K2205. It will not move. The cart simply died in our yard about 10 minutes after my hourly yard guy used it to move a tiny yet exceptionally heavy yard trailer full of wet dirt up my steep driveway (obviously i'm unhappy with him as i told him the trailer was too heavy and to unload half the dirt before he moved it, but he ignored me and did it anyway and so here we are). I think i have confirmed that the solenoid is bad. I removed the solenoid and the resistors and i do not get any continuity across the energizing coil, it does not click when it is "energized" by the pedal switch at 36v, and there is no continuity across the load terminals in any condition. Are there any other troubleshooting steps to determine if the solenoid is in fact bad? I would just go out and replace the solenoid and give it a try, however, when testing other components with my multi-meter, i noticed some odd continuities happening. It seems that Both the B+ and B- terminals on the controller have continuity to the body of the controller, indicating that my yard guy may have fried not only a $20-$50 solenoid, but possibly the $400 speed controller, or maybe even the motor itself as well. Hopefully the fact that he did not smell any burning electrical magic smoke is an indication that the fix is simply the solenoid, but given how bad he loaded the motor i doubt i'm going to get out that cheaply. I'm not super good at DC motor wiring knowledge, but i'm pretty sure the speed controller B+ shouldn't have continuity to the speed controller chassis under normal operation, but if i'm wrong it wont be the first or last time. I've included pics of inside of the cart. I checked the voltage on the batteries and they are nearly fully charged at 38+v. I obviously need to clean the batteries and terminals, but are there other troubleshooting steps i should take before just blindly replacing the solenoid? I don't want to replace the solenoid only to fry the speed controller, or fry the motor if they aren't already toast. Likewise i don't want a fried speed controller/motor to fry a brand new solenoid. Thanks in advance for any help.

[wellhereitis]

I'm going to shamelessly bump this thread. If that's not allowed plase delete this post. I'm really hoping somone can give me an assist here. Should I simply repalce the solenoid and see if that works, or should i remove and disassemble the speed controller to see if i can determine what is grounded in the B+ circuit? Thanks for any help.

[kgsc]

If you are getting 36+ volts going to the 2 small terminals on the solenoid when you press the go pedal and no solenoid click I would guess it is toast. Does the controller get pack voltage on the small red wire and b- when the pedal is pushed? If yes jack up the rear end and jump the main legs of the solenoid and push the pedal to see if the wheels spin.

[georgia088]

You can put the two big cables that go to the solenoid on the same terminal to test if the solenoid is bad and if it is your only problem. This would just be bypassing the Solenoid. If it does run with the solenoid bypassed, you know that your motor and controller are still good. However, it doesn't necessarily mean the solenoid is bad. It could be the activation circuit, but if you are getting the correct voltage to the small terminals I would say solenoid is shot.

[wellhereitis]

Originally Posted by georgia088

You can put the two big cables that go to the solenoid on the same terminal to test if the solenoid is bad and if it is your only problem. This would just be bypassing the Solenoid. If it does run with the solenoid bypassed, you know that your motor and controller are still good. However, it doesn't necessarily mean the solenoid is bad. It could be the activation circuit, but if you are getting the correct voltage to the small terminals I would say solenoid is shot.

When i connect those two big cables together i get a big spark...

[georgia088]

This should just be doing externally what the solenoid is doing internally. The solenoid connects those two cables inside when you hear the click. Do you have a tow/run switch? Was the cart off when you moved the cables?

[wellhereitis]

Originally Posted by georgia088

This should just be doing externally what the solenoid is doing internally. The solenoid connects those two cables inside when you hear the click. Do you have a tow/run switch? Was the cart off when you moved the cables?

I have never seen a tow/run switch. Yes the cart was off when i did that. I'll go test it again to be sure, and i'll test with multi-meter before i touch teh cables together. I think the B+ is grounded somewhere inside the controller.

[georgia088]

Looking at the pictures, I don't think yours would have the tow run switch. It has the heavy duty f/r switch.

[wellhereitis]

Thanks again for your input by the way.

I'm not sure what may have happened or changed but the cart is moving again. I was trying to test the controller functionality so i connected the control wires back to the solenoid along with the diode, and the resistor across the load terminals with the B+ wire to the controller installed on one load post. I took the B+ from the battery and touched it to the resistor for a few seconds (as that seems to disipate the large voltage difference and avoid the large spark) then touched it to the same post as the B+ wire from the solenoid to the controller. When i first pressed the go pedal nothing happened, excep that i thought maybe i saw a tiny amount of smoke from somewhere near the diode. Then i pressed the pedal again and this time more smoke came out, and it was definitely from the diode. I thought i had it in correctly but perhaps it was in backwards? So I removed the diode and reconnected the red and black wires to the control posts on the solenoid again. Then I placed my ammeter around the B+ wire to figure out if it was drawing any current when i pressed the pedal. Without pressing the pedal I was getting maybe 1A (wondering if caps were charging in the controller?). I checked the voltage at the controller and the controller was correctly getting 36v to teh B+ post, because i had both cables connected to the same post on the solenoid. I then pressed the pedal to see if i could get any real current flow to the controller or if anything would move and i heard the solenoid actually click in but the cart did not move. So i let go of the pedal and tried it a few more times and the solenoid clicked in every time. So i turned the key off again and connected the B+ to the input side of the solenoid and the tightened everything on the solenoid back down (minus the Diode, which i assume is now toasted since i let out the magic smoke). I pressed the pedal a few more times and could hear the solenoid click. Just for giggles i pressed the go pedal and held down the pedal for a second and then, miracle of miracles, the cart moved. I tried it again and the cart moved again. It think it felt a little funny when i was driving it, like I would have to hold the pedal down for .25-.5 seconds before the cart woudl start to move, but that may have been just me being tentative on the throttle since i didn't want to mess it up worse that it already was. I quickly drove it right to my shed in the barn (60 yards tops)to get it out of the sun so it would be easier and more pleasant to work on. Right now it is charging. So to sum up the current state, right now the solenoid clicks when i press the GO pedal, and the cart will move. The resistor is installed across the load terminals of the solenoid, but the diode is out of the control circuit currently. I tested the diode and i get continuity across it, but i definitely let some smoke out of it and there is a small crack in the side. So it would seem that possibly the solenoid is good and possibly the motor is also good, but i still am not sure about the speed controller. I feel lucky that the cart moved, but i don't think im completely out of the woods yet...Any suggestions on next steps to be sure i don't damage anything worse? Thanks again for your help folks.

[georgia088]

I am not sure about the diode. Obviously the diode only allows current through in one direction. On my cart the band which indicates which way the current flows is point to the terminal closest to the battery pack. But I am not sure if they are always that way. On mine this just gives a place for “extra voltage” to go when the regenerative braking is putting current back in the pack and the key switch gets turned off. It allows the current to go to the pack instead of “dead ending” at the solenoid when the key is switched off (while moving) and going back to the controller...... at least that’s how i understand it. I am far from an expert. So do take my word on anything lol. Maybe johnnyb will be on later to help or you could maybe pm him. He’s the one that could definitely help.

It doesn’t make sense to me why the cart didn’t move when you had both large cables on the same side of solenoid and then did when you changed back. Bad connection? When it first broke would it not go in forward or reverse? (Possibly bad f/r switch? Hopefully it will work fine once you get it charged.