foot switch wiring help for 48v upgrade

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by mathemagician44

JohnnieB, that is also the name of a guy on one of my favorite radio talk shows. Anyway,
what did you mean when above you said:

"For starters, the microswitches on the Alltrax schematic are mislabeled. (I just noticed when I looked at it more closely)
MS-2 The run switch on the F/R assembly.
MS-4 Is a double microswitch on the F/R assembly. When reverse is selected, one of the switches sounds the beeper and the other puts controller into 1/2 speed."

When I took out the FnR this afternoon, I noticed that one of the two microswitches is always open in forward or reverse and closed anywhere in between. This microswitch is on the passenger side of the FnR and I wired this as the run switch. However, I noticed today that if I depress the run switch then reverse works, when it never has worked before. Once this happened, your post immediately ran through my head. I know my problem isn't as simple as the switches are wired backwards because I tried switching them and it didn't work correctly. Now I also remember a post with ScottieB mentioning which was on the passenger side that I am going to try to track down.

The ultimate problem I am trying to fix is why I have such little power all of a sudden with every part being only a month or two old. However, I never had reverse working prior to tonight and just never took the time to track it down.

Unless you have a Marathon with controller drive system with a 6V beeper that has been upgraded to an Alltrax SR (SR predecessors), what I said doesn't apply.

However, take a look at the microswitch labeling on the attached Alltrax schematic and compare it to the microswitch labeling on the attached EZGO schematic.

On the EZGO schematic, MS-2 is the RUN switch, MS-3 is the PEDAL switch and MS-4 is the REVERSE switch. MS-4 is a double microswitch, one of them sounds the beeper and the other tells the controller to run at 1/2 speed.

On the Alltrax schematic, MS-2 sounds the beeper, there are two microswitches in different physical locations labeled MS-3, (PEDAL switch and 1/2 speed switch) and MS-4 is the RUN switch.

Whoever draws the schematic get to label the components, but companies that produce aftermarket parts typically retain the OEM's labeling of the original components to avoid confusion. Also a specific label should only identify one component, so both EZGO and Alltrax are guilty of that error. (EZGO = MS-4 is two electrically and physically separated components, so they should have had separate MS numbers. Alltrax = Two switches labeled MS-3)

You have a F/R assembly with only two microswitches, so the above doesn't apply to your cart.

You said that reverse doesn't work. Do you mean the cart does not move backwards, of it moves backwards at full speed instead of 1/2 speed and the beeper doesn't sound.

Not going backwards is related to the high current contacts, while the speed and sound stuff is related to the microswitches.

[mathemagician44]

So I replaced all 4 gauge with 2 gauge yesterday, except those which connect batteries together because I just didn't have enough ring terminals. In the process, lots of the smaller gauge wiring got shuffled around. Once it was all back together, My power was back to normal.

As far as my reverse problem, I just had no reverse. I figured it was a problem with my wiring at the pedal POT but just didn't take the time to fool with it. Though, I noticed during last night's test drive that I can force reverse to happen:
With the arm over to reverse, the speed switch is open and my solenoid will click but the cart will not move.
However, if I reach down and manually depress the speed microswitch, it will reverse at full speed.

I am guessing that means that I have something wrong with either the 1/2 speed microswitch or the wiring ran to it.

[mathemagician44]

meant to add that this does have the Alltrax 400 controller, so then I believe that I can assume that the wiring diagram is correct.

It is also has new Admiral motor, new HD 400 solenoid, new FnR, and all new wiring. I may move on to studying/getting the head and tail lights wired up instead of reverse. Headlights are probably more important for its current use than reverse anyway. Though, I am trying to build a detached garage soon, and, just in case, I have been trying to design it such that I can pull the golf cart in and straight out another door in case reverse never works.