Has anyone done a controller-only upgrade?

[eflyguy]

.. not looking for more speed just yet, but wondering - has anyone done a controller-only upgrade on their cart that could comment on the extra torque it gives?

I'd like to be able to get more control over regenerative braking and speed control, and could really use more torque for our steep driveway. The cart will do about 15mph on level ground but the steepest part of our driveway drops it to 8-10, depending on the weather, phase of the moon, etc.

I'm sure our old batteries aren't helping but I can't afford to upgrade those and the controller just yet.

We have a '99 36V DCS with stock everything, if that's relevant..
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[dougmcp]

I'm not sure a new hi amp controller will fix your problem until everything else is OK.
Have you replaced the 6ga wiring with 4ga yet, that may help for the driveway.
After you pull the hill to the top of your driveway, check the wiring for hot spots, maybe just one not so good connection.
Load test the batteries, you may have one cell bad.

[jcourtney986]

I just changed the controller only to an Alltrax DCX 400 and did get noticeable torque improvement but it seems to be draining the battery a tad faster so now I'm looking at new batteries. The controller install was easy, but the solenoid was a pain on my PDS. To be honest, I'm not even sure what gauge cables I have been that is my next idea. Also, taking it in for a load test this week as I couldn't quite figure it out myself.

[eflyguy]

I have 4ga cables, sorry, everything is not *quite* stock! :D

We melted a battery terminal (coming up the hill!) thanks to a corroded cable, which - after a google search for a remedy and finding this site - started my journey to wildness!

I expect to change the batteries after a while, but want to milk them for all they are worth first! If the controller switch will make a difference, I'd go for it sooner though. Draining the batteries faster is a logical side effect, and confirms you are getting more power to the motor with a different controller..
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[gornoman]

My first upgrade was 4g cables and they made a slight difference. Next was 400a Alltrax and that was a nice bump in torque, good hill speeds but still slowed down on inclines. Then I went to 48v. I am happy now.

I have a series cart, so I never got a speed increase till I up'ed the voltage. Your sepex motor should spin faster with more amps available from what I have been told. I cannot verify this as I have not done one.

[eflyguy]

Thx. Sounds like it's worth doing anyway..
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