State of charge meter not functioning on key switch ('96 txt freedom)

[webwarmiller]

New to me cart and the state of charge meter does not work when wired as per the attached image.

I've got 38.4 volts if I connect my multimeter to 1 and 2 of the state of charge meter so I'm definitely getting power to it. If I place a jumper btw 1 & 4 the meter will then indicate the state of charge (full as it should with 38.4 volts).

Why isn't the key switch in the on position telling the state of charge meter to turn on. The 'B' post on the switch is attached to both the state of charge meter (4) and the light green wire that goes back to control module. The key switch has no issue letting the control module know the cart is 'on', so why isn't it also turning on the state of charge meter?

[cgtech]

Is it a OEM meter? Also, you know that meter is "near useless" anyway for any battery pack that isnt in perfect condition? Get a better meter, learn how to understand it, and move on. The sooner you get away from the "10-led bar graph" meter, and get a volt meter, the better. If you want more "battery truth", that is..

Cant even count how many "it said it was almost full but my cart died" tales I have dealt with because of those inaccurate meters. They only read accurately on battery sets that are healthy & evenly balanced. (That doesnt mean "I filled them up with water")

Heres the fun part, the factory curtis "bar graph" meter has a 6-minute delay built in, to avoid "wildly fluctuating readings" that would happen when you "mash the GO pedal", so you can get as far as "6 minutes" can take you away from your house before it shows you an "empty" reading..... enjoy the walk back home.

Back to "original golfing", where you carried your clubs around manually. Back to the house on foot.


I'm just a factory certified dummy for 13 years, so, I probably dont know. Man, the first few I totally sucked, had a lot to learn. Still love to learn a new one every day.

[Cartmaster]

just trying to refresh my memory here, does it work when you push the go pedal? if so, that may be correct. On the gas models there is no ign power at the ignition switch until the go pedal is pushed, only power for the headlights which come on at a third switch position. The ignition switch on a gas cart with lights is actually wired as two separate switches. If you dont have lights, there will only be two connection tags on the switch. I cannot remember if the leccy models are done the same? someone will correct me soon enough.

[kernal]

On electric TXTs of that era the factory supplied Curtis meters illuminate when the following conditions are met: Key switch in an on position AND a direction selected, forward or reverse but NOT neutral. It is therefore a visual indication that the cart is on (armed) and will go if the pedal is pressed.
Technically, I believe the gage is always "on" its just that it illuminates when the above conditions are met.

My original TXT came with one of these and has worked for me for 20 years now. Never an issue. My experience with it and conditions my cart has to operate in are probably NOT typical.

[webwarmiller]

Thanks to all that have posted. I was fiddling with this in a my workshop and never even considered that I might have to have the cart in a direction for the meter to come on. I just assumed it would illuminate as soon as the key was in the 'on' position. Sure enough, the meter illuminates once a direction is selected.

So, how did I not notice this behavior earlier. When I bought the cart there was one red wire with a ring terminal in the battery compartment that was not connected. I figured it was for the state of charge meter but didn't want to just connect it without having the key switch panel pulled off so that I could verify with a mulitimeter. So that was last night's task, determine exactly what that wire went to and to get the state of charge meter working. Mission accomplished, I just didn't know it until this morning thanks to Kernal informing me the cart needed to be in a direction for it to illuminate.

And, yes, I do plan to replace with a more accurate digital meter at some point. However, I figured I might as well get the factory one working for the time being. I'm also planning to drive around with my mulitimeter and checking the voltage at the pack as the factory meter's bars drop.

[kernal]

Most if not all SOC meters for batteries will lie to you at some point. This particular meter will reset to full if it is disconnected from the pack and then reconnected even tho pack wasn't charged. It will eventually work it out but in the mean time it is useless. To get back on track do another charge cycle while meter is connected and then trust but verify with a voltmeter.

This meter is vilified on this board. There are thousands of carts where I am and most have this as a factory meter. Not just EZGOs either. It is extremely rare to see one with a digital meter. The reason is because they fluctuate when the cart is in motion therefore pretty useless as a "gas" gage. Since this is a community designed with golf carts in mind, you can get a long way from a charger and a gage of some sort that attempts to show SOC in real time while in motion is pretty important. But, again this is probably not typical use of a golf cart.