From Darling to Dead.. what to do?

[flafishergal]

Whoa... I think we might have our mystery issue found.

Although my husband assured me that he had checked all the wires to the motor (I don't go under carts), I took the light and stuck my head as far as I could upside down to look at the motor. And whaddya know- a huge purple wire was dangling all by its lonesome. I'm assuming that this is the culprit.

Well, at the very least, we've gotten a really good education on the working guts of the 36v DS club car.

Thanks again for all your help!!

[tag50]

Oh sure, it takes all the fun out it when you find something obvious . My copy of the wiring diagram isn't clear enough to explain why that cable would disable the solenoid but all's well that ends well.

Use 2 wrenches to tighten that cable. If the stud rotates you can damage the motor innards.

Enjoy

[flafishergal]

Right now, the nut on that post doesn't want to turn at all. We put some PB Blaster on it and will try again after a while. In the meantime, my husband cut the wire down a bit and reinserted the bare wire into the clip that was still attached to the post. He's a little frustrated right now (it's like 100 degrees out here in Fla) and the cart still isn't working. I'll check it myself in a bit.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by flafishergal

Right now, the nut on that post doesn't want to turn at all. We put some PB Blaster on it and will try again after a while. In the meantime, my husband cut the wire down a bit and reinserted the bare wire into the clip that was still attached to the post. He's a little frustrated right now (it's like 100 degrees out here in Fla) and the cart still isn't working. I'll check it myself in a bit.

Be sure to get a good connection at the cable end or we will be reading about how it melted the post off of the motor or some such trouble. So please give the cable a good tug after repairs and see that it is in tight

[flafishergal]

So we got the purple wire back on nice and tight and even got a good continuity reading on the wire. But now the solenoid isn't clicking. This new one we installed WAS clicking when depressing the foot pedal when the purple wire was disconnected.

I'm about ready to just resign to the "ghost in the machine" theory.

[scottyb]

I hear ya.... it's back to the beginning of the thread and re-read and re- test. Welcome to a day in the life of a golf cart tech.

[flafishergal]

Could the problem be with a faulty diode? We have the type that looks like a little beige box dangling by wires from the solenoid. Now, that's assuming what you call that little thing that looks like a phone box jack....

[scooterman]

After lots of looking and reading here is what I found so far, one the cart according to the serial is a 36v vglide as scotty said, I had to verify it because of the schematics, the Color coded Vglide schematic for 2003 is horribly wrong, just look at the motor connections and the solenoid connections. I can read the original b/w schematic but it isn't all labeled, I'm half blind as it is so it is difficult to read what is labeled.




Solenoid test.
With power disconnected from batteries:
The small terminals on the solenoid, I can't tell which one is hot and which one is not, the schematic is either not labeled or the other is incorrect so you can disconnect both small wires and tape off for now.

Run a black from battery pack to energize the coil, temporary make up solid connections that will stay and not fall off and short something out (alligator clips). Jump a hot wire (make sure 36v) direct from the battery to the solenoid small terminal other side, the coil will energize if it is good. When energized test to see if the large leads close, use meter to test.

In the mean time can someone find a readable schematic?

[tag50]

Where's Crash Test Dummy? He has a visual aid for everything.

[Stevegrmich]

Originally Posted by scooterman

After lots of looking and reading here is what I found so far, one the cart according to the serial is a 36v vglide as scotty said, I had to verify it because of the schematics, the Color coded Vglide schematic for 2003 is horribly wrong, just look at the motor connections and the solenoid connections. I can read the original b/w schematic but it isn't all labeled, I'm half blind as it is so it is difficult to read what is labeled.




Solenoid test.
With power disconnected from batteries:
The small terminals on the solenoid, I can't tell which one is hot and which one is not, the schematic is either not labeled or the other is incorrect so you can disconnect both small wires and tape off for now.

Run a black from battery pack to energize the coil, temporary make up solid connections that will stay and not fall off and short something out (alligator clips). Jump a hot wire (make sure 36v) direct from the battery to the solenoid small terminal other side, the coil will energize if it is good. When energized test to see if the large leads close, use meter to test.

In the mean time can someone find a readable schematic?

. . . see page 12-4 of attached file . . .

Attachment 108739