Sluggish acceleration

[GreezMunky]

Originally Posted by foureyed331

So I don't know a lot about golf carts, and what differences each has, but I tore down an older ez-go that I assumed had weak batteries only to find that not all of the contacts on the throttle linkage were touching. The linkage had been bent causing it to not go all the way forward and getting full voltage. May not be the same issue, but under a load I can see there being a voltage drop difference.

I see where you're coming from, but what makes this situation a little different (and weird) is that if I put the cart up on the lift, I get full voltage to the motor. On the ground, I only get a little less than half of what it should be.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by GreezMunky

I see where you're coming from, but what makes this situation a little different (and weird) is that if I put the cart up on the lift, I get full voltage to the motor. On the ground, I only get a little less than half of what it should be.

Sounds like you have excessive resistance in a high current cable, connection or contact.

It doesn't take many amps to turn the tires when they are in the are, so there isn't much voltage drop across the resistance in the cables,connectors or contacts. on the ground, more amps are drawn, so the voltage drop is more.

When driving cart, do any cables, etc. get hot?

[golfcartcare]

Perform the controller test for your cart. Since the cart operates ok in the air, the potentiometer (ITS) is ok. It won't fail under load. This problem indicates either problems with the batteries or controller.

[GreezMunky]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Sounds like you have excessive resistance in a high current cable, connection or contact.

It doesn't take many amps to turn the tires when they are in the are, so there isn't much voltage drop across the resistance in the cables,connectors or contacts. on the ground, more amps are drawn, so the voltage drop is more.

When driving cart, do any cables, etc. get hot?

Haven't really checked to see if anything is getting hot. The people had a mechanic in georgia work on it before it got here, so they definitely don't want to have to put anymore money into it. When I did get to look at the cart, the first thing I noticed is the positive charging cable (from receptacle) was run to the positive side of the solenoid, and the negative was run to B- on the controller. Is it possible for the batteries to even charge like this? Or could this have easily burnt up the controller?

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by GreezMunky

Haven't really checked to see if anything is getting hot. The people had a mechanic in georgia work on it before it got here, so they definitely don't want to have to put anymore money into it. When I did get to look at the cart, the first thing I noticed is the positive charging cable (from receptacle) was run to the positive side of the solenoid, and the negative was run to B- on the controller. Is it possible for the batteries to even charge like this? Or could this have easily burnt up the controller?

That is where EZGO connected the heavy wires from the charge receptacle before they started connecting them directly to the main Pos/Neg terminals on the battery pack. They are effectively connected to the same points electrically, so the only real difference is that connecting the charging wires directly to the battery pack, saves EZGO a couple feet of 10Ga wire on every cart they build. It won't harm the controller connected either way.

One thing I want to confirm. The positive wire from the charge receptacle should connect to the solenoid's battery side large terminal. (If it isn't, the batteries will be charging through the pre-charge resistor across the solenoid's large terminals and the batteries would most likely be be undercharged.)

It sounds to me like both the battery pack and the controller are in reasonable good condition, so that leaves the motor, solenoid, F/R switch and the high current cables.

I'd check the high current cables and F/R switch first.

[GreezMunky]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

That is where EZGO connected the heavy wires from the charge receptacle before they started connecting them directly to the main Pos/Neg terminals on the battery pack. They are effectively connected to the same points electrically, so the only real difference is that connecting the charging wires directly to the battery pack, saves EZGO a couple feet of 10Ga wire on every cart they build. It won't harm the controller connected either way.

One thing I want to confirm. The positive wire from the charge receptacle should connect to the solenoid's battery side large terminal. (If it isn't, the batteries will be charging through the pre-charge resistor across the solenoid's large terminals and the batteries would most likely be be undercharged.)

It sounds to me like both the battery pack and the controller are in reasonable good condition, so that leaves the motor, solenoid, F/R switch and the high current cables.

I'd check the high current cables and F/R switch first.

which cables are high current?

[JohnnieB]

Cables about the thickness of your fingers.

They connect the batteries in series and connect them to the solenoid, controller, F/R switch and motor.
Should be 13 or 14 of them.

[GreezMunky]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

Cables about the thickness of your fingers.

They connect the batteries in series and connect them to the solenoid, controller, F/R switch and motor.
Should be 13 or 14 of them.

Ah, I see. So, the thicker the cable, the higher the current?

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by GreezMunky

Ah, I see. So, the thicker the cable, the higher the current?

Yep.

For best performance, all of these cables should be 4Ga or thicker. (The lower the AWG number, the thicker the copper conductor)

[kpauley]

I had issues with my F/R switch at one point, which JohnnieB was suggesting you check as well. Was getting really hot, arcing across the contacts, essentially just worn out. As suggested, after using it check to see if some of the cables or the F/R switch are hot, may help you narrow things down.