When upgrading motor and controller do I need to upgrade anything else?

[Linguolizzard]

Recently had issues with 2007 Western 400 cart (EZGO)
Upon going uphill on a street car started vibrating and slowed to near stop. Once home and able to inspect, I found top of controller melted it appears to be one of the cables going to the motor.
Need a new controller and am contemplating just getting a motor controller combo “kit” online.
My question is if I swap motor and controller do I need to swap any other parts out. For example forward reverse switch, throttle sensor ect ect. I am buying new 2 AWG cables for batteries since it had melted out 6 AWG and I don’t want any more problems. Would I need to swap any other cables other than the ones for batteries?
Any suggestions on a good motor? I live in a mountain community so lots of hills but main area is relatively flat.

[scottyb]

From the main harness 10 pin plug it looks like you have a PDS drive? Please confirm.
If PDS you have a really good option in the Admiral B4 long stack high torque high speed motor. However - This motor is 48v. So the carts needs to be 48 or be upgraded to 48v with a 48v controller, solenoid, and batteries.

[Linguolizzard]

I’m not entirely sure if it’s a PDS System or not. I’ll have to get the motor out to confirm because I do have a tow run switch… but I also have the forward recurse lever that by your leg as you’re sitting. So everything I’m finding online says if you have a forward reverse lever and not the switch on the dash then is a series. But then it also says if you have a tow run switch then it’s pds.
At this point I just want the thing running and since I got ripped off i don’t have a lot of money to upgrade the entire cart.

[Linguolizzard]

Update,

Its a DCS cart. I have upgraded the controller and solenoid to an alltrax 36/48 volt/ heavy duty.
I upgraded the cables from 6 AWG to 2 AWG and took motor out and confirmed brushes were good. hit it with can of air to blow out dust and reinstalled everything. cart runs now... But batteries are still in need of replacement. I cant get a load test but based on the charger only going to 5 amps then dropping to 3 while charging and age of batteries i can only assume at least one of the batteries is not functioning properly. I am pretty sure nothing wrong with the charger and batteries look like they have been abused by previous owner.
I am currently looking into trying to fix the not really broken but not working the way t was intended forward reverse lever.

[Dallas@Eco Battery]

Hey Linguo, I just helped a customer with a similar build on his Western. He went with one of our new 51/105 "Skinny" batteries as it dropped right in his battery tray like a TXT. We also have other 48 and 36 volt options available if you're interested.

As far as the switch goes, I believe Scottyb has some great options on his site. Maybe he can chime in on this.

[scottyb]

The DCS F&R switch is just a low amperage device. No upgrade is needed, This device sends a signal to the controller and the controller does the heavy current switching. Lots of people have converted to a modern rocker switch. It's not too hard to do with the forums help

If you want to go all in with this cart you go with the new TXT48 Conversion. Dallas I were just emailing about that for his DCS. Nice to gain the regen brake feature and all the Alltrax FN options too.

[Dallas@Eco Battery]

Originally Posted by scottyb

The DCS F&R switch is just a low amperage device. No upgrade is needed, This device sends a signal to the controller and the controller does the heavy current switching. Lots of people have converted to a modern rocker switch. It's not too hard to do with the forums help

If you want to go all in with this cart you go with the new TXT48 Conversion. Dallas I were just emailing about that for his DCS. Nice to gain the regen brake feature and all the Alltrax FN options too.

Yes sir! Scottyb is helping me convert a DCS and Series cart as we speak.

[Linguolizzard]

I didn’t want to do a full conversion right since I’m still up in the air if I like this cart or not based on several factors. For now to get it running I bought the 2 AWG cables, controller and solenoid (from Scotty B) for the 36 volt that is capable for upgrade to 48.
Would I be able to get the other portion of the txt conversion kit minus the items I already purchased at some point in the future? If I’m reading the description correctly, I would only need the wiring harness and admiral 10 HP motor (and batteries of course) to complete the conversion.
This would be on hold until next year since I’m already in the doghouse for getting the cart in the first place.
But I do want to replace the f and r switch to a rocker.
Scotty B, would the one posted on your site for club car be the one I could use to swap it out? I had some folks mention dpdt and spdt switch and it sounds like the dpdt is the easier of the two options not requiring a diode.

[bronsonj]

What is your battery configuration? I know a lot of Western carts were 42v. There are some free things you can do to check the pack health and possibly get you a little more time.

Take your cart on a short/intense run. Full accel, maybe a hill if you have one with passengers in the cart. Stop, lift the seat and look for hot cables or connections to the battery. Careful, hot metal looks like cold metal.... If you find any cable/connection that is more than a few degrees above ambient temp then you need to fix that cable/connection. It is costing you performance. Also verify that the 'stacking' is correct, that is the big fat cable is the first one contacting the battery and any smaller cables are stacked on top of that, not the other way around.

*Assuming you have 6v batteries and not 8v batteries*

Often the carts have their headlights wired to two of the 6v batteries. This gives an easy 12v source but it taxes those two batteries harder and they age quicker. Charge each battery individually with a 6v automotive charger so they all reach full, proper state of charge. Charging each battery by itself will balance the pack. You do not need to disconnect anything to do this.

If your pack was imbalanced (usually from a 12v pigtail to run lights) then this can absolutely give you a noticeable improvement in performance and run time. THIS IS NOT A PERM FIX but quite possibly a fix that will give you some more months of battery life and time to get out of the doghouse...

Good luck

[copajoe]

so how is this update coming along? I have a 42 volt western in the shop and customer wants to upgrade to a 48 volt Eco battery. Solenoid clicks but cart wont move. will a controller/solenoid upgrade get him going or does it need a new 48 volt harness as well?

will the txt harness work? any help is much appreciated! thank you in advance