Cart went swimming, need a check list

[TheDave]

As you might guess from the picture, he won't be driving the golf cart again...



No one was hurt (just a little scared maybe), but now I need to get this fixed.

The Golf Cart was only in the water (fresh water river) for about 10 minutes, but no longer works of course... It was left to dry for many hours, but an attempt to drive after that resulted in a loud pop, and smell of electronics burned up

The other attached picture is the current state under the seat.
The batteries were removed, and donated to another Golf Cart (they were fine). So other than being in need of new batteries, what else should be checked out?

Reading around for a while, I know a controller is more than likely needed, and possibly a motor. All of the moving parts (axles/hubs/etc) will be checked, re-greased as well.
What else am I missing?

Time and money are a concern as well, so I will be doing the work myself. Any tips, or recommendations to save on both of those items would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

[Sir Nuke]

Dave......I guess it was a valuable lesson for the little guy. as far as the cart goes, you can bet a new controller is needed, possibly a solenoid. as far the motor goes, you could remove it and dry it out REALLY good, and it should be good to go, especially since it was fresh water. I have a buddy of mine that something similar happen, but it was in salt water, and after rinsing it out, then drying the motor out, it lasted another 1 1/2 years.


oh and btw......Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to BGW. There is a BIG fridge on the back porch with anything you can think of in it...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have. Make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom's, wive's, husbands, girlfirends and boyfriends here don't care....and take it easy.



oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!!

[kgsc]

Chances are the controller bought the farm.. Motor maybe but definitely take it off and make sure there is no water in it. Solenoid may be ok but take it off and shake it upside down to look for water. and the many micro switches..

Try not to beat the boy up too bad, pooh happens just glad he wasn't hurt and I am sure he feels really bad. Been there, my daughter flipped a cart last year or I should say her buddy did. Cart had a partial cage on it and pretty much just threw them out and went over on its side. They flipped it back and drove it home.. Kind-of skirted around what happen but when I figured it out, I was not a happy camper. After I made sure there weren't any life threating injuries other than what I was about to do I made her go in the house.. 1/2 an hour and a few beers later I had calmed down enough to have a few words with her. I hope she learned something from it and it won't happen again. Didn't help that that body that was on it was 2 weeks old.. However, the cart survived well. Because of the cage and the larger wheels, none of the body hit the ground. Little touch up paint on the cage, a battery hold down and it was good to go but don't tell her that

Not sure how old he is but have him help you rebuild it and look at it this way, now you can upgrade to newer goodies and build it bigger and better..

[TheDave]

Thank you both for the advice.

Where would be the best place to buy a controller from?
A local pickup would be great, but cost will come in to play at some point. I am in the Southern California area (orange county) area if anyone knows of a (somewhat) local place to pick things up from. Thanks!

[kgsc]

There is this guy on here lurking around that is near you. Name is Scottyb. Check here http://www.cartsunlimited.net. he can help you out..

[kgsc]

And actually may be able to sell you a package to get the cart to a newer style controller.

hey we were all young once !! glad he's good to go
with all the others that the electronics need to be checked out
also drain the dif and check for water

btw ... welcome to BGW

[cgtech]

For future reference, waiting only a few hours was a dangerous move. I have seen carts soaked with far less water (my marathon did it too) take off at full throttle out-of-control style. With that much water, i would have disconnected the batts, and waited days. Then jack up the rear just in case it decided to "go fast". I definetly agree to change the axle oil, check all wheel bearings, test the throttle pot for proper operation. Check and clean brake shoes/drums. Also consider giving the whole thing a cleaning and rust preventative coat of paint. Clean and lube all bushings (suspension, throttle pedal, brake pedal, steering bushings). You will also need to inspect or replace all "unsealed" electrical connections, all the crimp-on terminals, butt-connectors, headlights, tail lights, switches, ect...

[yurtle]

Concur. I've resuscitated cell phones that sat in salt water for 12 hours (high tide back to low tide), and gave them a distilled water bath (without battery), then a desiccant "bath", and they came back to life.

Water is not so bad for electronics, as long as you don't try and power them up before drying.

At work, we submerged 3, 300 Hp motors for at least six hours in raw sewage, and it was days before they were flushed and baked, but they ran for over 23 years, and still worked, before upgrading.

[caddymankc]

motor should be fine, id take it off and sray it up with some wd40, and empty out the diff. and refill. check to make sure it didnt just pop the solinoid. controllers are usually sealed pretty good. also you want to spray up the potentiometer with some wd40