Charging issue at low speed

[Pitsch1]

Having a charging issue at low speed. I was reading that the cart goes from battery to alternator/charging at a certain rpm. The issue I'm having I will be at the correct rpm but it feels like a 1" spot in the pedal where if the pedal isn't at the exact spot it reverts back to battery. So basically if I'm puttering around in slow traffic at night, the lights and motor start to drain the battery. Tonight, I put the cart in Neutral and switched it to service mode, ran the motor at low rpm and without the motor speeding up or slowing down, pedal movement of about an inch would engage or disengage the solenoid all the while rpm stayed the same. When i first got the cart last year, the lights would pulsate and i ended up getting a new voltage regulator. In the past 6 months, at night, you can see the headlights dim when it goes back to battery even if driving quickly and just letting off the gas. GCOR? maybe or

[Golf cart guy]

Not GCOR.
Right at engine start up, the system is not going to be charging. Once the engine starts to run, the charge system will kick in and should run up to 14 volts.
You said you changed the voltage regulator....OEM, or did you buy online? If so that could be your problem. Or...if the starter has been changed and its not OEM, I see those not charge correct at low speed.

Lights will dim, when you are on the battery, thats normal.

[meimk]

Originally Posted by Pitsch1

ran the motor at low rpm and without the motor speeding up or slowing down, pedal movement of about an inch would engage or disengage the solenoid all the while rpm stayed the same.

That may or may not be a GCOR issue. Within the GCOR are 2 micro switches. One to engage the solenoid as you step on the pedal when starting. The other engages to ground as you release the pedal, to stop the spark and kill the engine. It sounds like those 2 switches could be out of sync. Your 1" of pedal travel could be the distance between when the 1st switch engages the solenoid (and the starter spins) and the 2nd switch disengages and allows spark - so the engine would actually run.
The other (more likely) possibility is that the throttle cable is out of adjustment and not opening the carburetor throat till further down in the pedal travel. Either way, an inch of pedal travel where the engine continues to turn the same speed, suggests it's turning over on the starter and not really running at that point.

[Pitsch1]

Its not an oem regulator. I dont know the history of the cart, but I do know the former owners used a Club Car dealer for any repairs . the charging issue, to me, seems to be pedal related over rpm. Its almoat like a dead spot where the engine rpm stays the same butbwithin that small diatance of pedal travel its switches from battery to charger

[meimk]

There is no physical switch "from battery to charger". The starter motor spins to get the engine started and continues to spin as long as the pedal is pressed. Once the engine is running faster than the starter would turn it on it's own the starter is being pushed by the engine and starts putting power back into the battery instead of taking from the battery. The solenoid keeps the starter engaged the entire time the pedal is pushed.

[meimk]

Originally Posted by Pitsch1

Its almoat like a dead spot where the engine rpm stays the same butbwithin that small diatance of pedal travel its switches from battery to charger

The RPM's stay the same because the engine isn't running yet. It's turning over on the starter. It will not / can not charge until the engine is running and the RPM rise.

[Pitsch1]

I'm going to try and post a video. Also, what does the 1st activating micro switch do in the GCOR? I have the cart apart. when i press the gas pedal very slowly, i hear the 1st micro switch, nothing happens. is that just energizing something? no voltage change. and yeah, I got the year wrong. LOL its an 08. im going to check the wiring for anything loose or dirty.

[Pitsch1]

Here is a quick video of what its doing. I uploaded it. Keep an eye one the volt meter

Clubcar.mpg