came accross a PCX-954... but something is wrong

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Do some research. I said MAY HAVE based upon the stock cart having a 2.5 motor. I said may have because I'm not sure what motor was in it originally and 2 hp seemed small for this size vehicle.
Most people who upgrade a motor go for 5-10 hp more not .5 so yeah a big motor would not perform exceptionally well with the 275 amp controller.

Scotty,

I don't have manuals for a 1996, but the 1993 parts manual says the motor is 2.0HP while the specs at the end of the 1995 Service manual says the motor is 6.5HP (at 1500RPM).

Of course, HP is a rubber yardstick, so both could be referring to exactly the same motor, just at different RPM. (HP = Torque X RPM / 5252)

Also, the controller shown in picture posted is a 400A unit, rather than a 275A unit. (Curtis 1205 instead of the 1206 found in most series drive golf carts.)

The speed spec is 12 MPH on 18" tall tires.
Didn't find a gear ratio for the differential.

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Sounds like the pack voltage (amps) aren't getting to the motor.

Any of the cables getting hot?

[Lochlin]

I have one of these carts and upgraded it to 48v because it was too slow. That's a 1600 pound cart without people on it. 36v isn't enough outside of a flat factory floor or airport or wherever that cart was to be used. Prior to the upgrade, mine would only go 8-9 mph on a flat. That said, a couple of mph still indicates that something is wrong with your cart, obviously.

Your motor is definitely not what I have in my cart so, unless EZGo was putting different motors in the same cart (which actually can happen) it's not original. Still, those GE motors are rugged and I have some doubts that your motor is the issue. 2 1/2 HP should be enough to get more than a couple of mph. Those are very easy to pop off. You may want to remove it and check the brushes to make sure that one or more isn't held up. You can bench test the motor with a 12 v battery once it's out of the cart.

Really, it's more likely that there is a non-motor issue with the cart. You need to load test the batteries first and foremost. I know you were told that they are only a year old but still, if you don't confirm that they doing their job then everything else you do could be futile. You may know how to load test. Here is a link if you dont:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2knGYucoyo

As single bad battery, or even a single bad cell within a battery, will show proper volts when the cart is at rest but immediately crap out when the cart is being used.

If your batteries load test good then you will want to test the voltage at the motor with the back of the cart up in the air and running to make sure that the pack voltage is making back to the motor. By the life of me, I don't recall how this is done on that cart, though. With the cart running you have to measure on the A1 S1 A2 S2 terminals depending on what direction the cart is running. I can't remember which is which. You'll figure it out easy enough with a trial and error though.

[mfinnegan]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Scotty,

I don't have manuals for a 1996, but the 1993 parts manual says the motor is 2.0HP while the specs at the end of the 1995 Service manual says the motor is 6.5HP (at 1500RPM).

Of course, HP is a rubber yardstick, so both could be referring to exactly the same motor, just at different RPM. (HP = Torque X RPM / 5252)

Also, the controller shown in picture posted is a 400A unit, rather than a 275A unit. (Curtis 1205 instead of the 1206 found in most series drive golf carts.)

The speed spec is 12 MPH on 18" tall tires.
Didn't find a gear ratio for the differential.

-------------
Sounds like the pack voltage (amps) aren't getting to the motor.

Any of the cables getting hot?

None of them are getting hot that I noticed. But I'm dead in the water right now. The solenoid stopped engaging. So I think I need to replace it. Question though. Knowing the controller I have, what's a good motor I can swap this 2HP out for? I have a 200AMP solenoid with the diode and resistor in my amazon cart now. Should I get a bigger one? I will if you suggest it. So a 400amp controller with this solenoid in my amazon cart... which motor should I be looking at? Does the AMP rating on the motor pic I posted even mean anything?

[mfinnegan]

Jesus H what did I get into... I removed the front panel and like nothing is even connected except a kill switch and the (wrong) ignition... 3 turn ignition on order so I can use my lights but I'm gonna need some serious help with this wiring

[mfinnegan]

Originally Posted by Lochlin

I have one of these carts and upgraded it to 48v because it was too slow. That's a 1600 pound cart without people on it. 36v isn't enough outside of a flat factory floor or airport or wherever that cart was to be used. Prior to the upgrade, mine would only go 8-9 mph on a flat. That said, a couple of mph still indicates that something is wrong with your cart, obviously.

Your motor is definitely not what I have in my cart so, unless EZGo was putting different motors in the same cart (which actually can happen) it's not original. Still, those GE motors are rugged and I have some doubts that your motor is the issue. 2 1/2 HP should be enough to get more than a couple of mph. Those are very easy to pop off. You may want to remove it and check the brushes to make sure that one or more isn't held up. You can bench test the motor with a 12 v battery once it's out of the cart.

Really, it's more likely that there is a non-motor issue with the cart. You need to load test the batteries first and foremost. I know you were told that they are only a year old but still, if you don't confirm that they doing their job then everything else you do could be futile. You may know how to load test. Here is a link if you dont:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2knGYucoyo

As single bad battery, or even a single bad cell within a battery, will show proper volts when the cart is at rest but immediately crap out when the cart is being used.

If your batteries load test good then you will want to test the voltage at the motor with the back of the cart up in the air and running to make sure that the pack voltage is making back to the motor. By the life of me, I don't recall how this is done on that cart, though. With the cart running you have to measure on the A1 S1 A2 S2 terminals depending on what direction the cart is running. I can't remember which is which. You'll figure it out easy enough with a trial and error though.

Thank you! I will do some load testing once I get this solenoid replaced. Currently 5 batts show 6.35 volts. 1 shows 5.8 and the whole pack is 37.5V.

[scottyb]

The 5.8 is dead or dying and responsible for some speed loss. Amazon is not the cheapest place to buy Alltrax

[mfinnegan]

Originally Posted by scottyb

The 5.8 is dead or dying and responsible for some speed loss. Amazon is not the cheapest place to buy Alltrax

Yeah I gotta get a new 6th battery for sure. Amazon was just for the solenoid, probably going to get the same White Rodgers that's there now. I think I'm good with the 400A curtis controller thats on it currently for the time being. I bypassed the solenoid to double check that was the latest issue and thank god that was it. So a new battery, solenoid, and s#*t ton of reading the wiring diagram is in my immediate future. Started taking the body off and a whole slew of crap isn't even connected like the horn, lights, parking brake microswitch.

[mfinnegan]

so i pretty much have the body unbolted from the frame, linkages unhooked from the brake/accelerator, lines disconnected from lights... I want to just slide it up over the steering wheel post (1 less thing to unhook), so my question is can anyone personally confirm the socket to get the wheel off is a 15/16ths? For some reason the biggest i have is a 3/4 (pictured) and before i grab one from my buddy i want to make sure it's correct, i don't want to take his whole kit for 1 socket

[mfinnegan]

for anyone else that comes across this, yes 15/16ths gets the steering wheel nut off

[jakesnake27]

Originally Posted by mfinnegan

for anyone else that comes across this, yes 15/16ths gets the steering wheel nut off