Adding a Radio to an EZGO GOLF CART ISSUE

[MatrixEzgo]

I have an ezgo electric 2005: tired a new radio and then a 10 year old radio both same problem. Sound and signal fade when gas pedal is pressed. I ran it off a 36V reducer, then just batteries 1&2, then put in a stand alone (7th) battery with nothing but the radio attached. ALL have the exact problem…. sound and signal fades when pedal is pressed. I moved the antennia to the front then top of cart…. no difference.

I have a Club cart (48V) too.. radio was a piece of cake to install, works perfect with none of theses problems.

There is no whine when you press a gas pedal like on a car that a capacitor usually will fix.

I am out of ideas of how to fix this.

[prdmetalworks]

Having this same problem right now on a 2002 TXT series cart. Just installed a Kenwood marine receiver & 6.5" speakers, along with a Jenson mini heavy duty antenna.
Everything works great & reception is fine when not moving, but at soon as the throttle is depressed reception turns to ****. I had a stabilizer mount on the back of the receiver mounted to the steel chassis, so I removed it & no change. I had the antenna mounted to that same section of frame under the cowl, but moved that to the plastic dash, with still no change?
The constant power is coming from the factory 12v pigtail from the headlight harness under the cowl, switched power coming from the factory 12v fuse block on the drivers side rear inner fender and running up the drivers side frame rail zip tied to the factory headlight / horn harness & the ground is connected directly to the negative lug of the battery that the factory used for their 12v circuit and ran up the passenger side frame rail.
I'm not a cart shop, but I do have a metal fabrication shop & this cart is a customers, so it has to be right when it leaves here. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[prdmetalworks]

Don't know how to delete? Double posted

[lethalaudio]

How close are your speaker wires to a positive lead on the battery? If it's to close or zip tired to a positive wire you can get a humming noise or static through the speakers when giving it gas.

[prdmetalworks]

They are not near each other at all. It's not really the humming / whining alternator noise you get with a crappy car stereo install. It gets static like your driving in a tunnel with your car.

[yurtle]

Since you're highjacking an old thread, please tell us the symptoms. Is it static, or a loss in power. I'm guessing a 2002 series factory wiring has no reducer, and simply taps two batteries. When under load, voltage can drop below what the radio needs. A quick check while using an external device such as USB drive, blue tooth, 1/4" aux jack to a iPod or smart phone, or even a CD or DVD will eliminate RF interference to radio transmissions as a possible source. If it drops out due to voltage drop, it will do so regardless of the audio source.

Voltage drop can be solved by several methods. The best would be to buy a reducer and place all 12 volt accessories on that. You already have a fuse block. If it's a short duration drop in voltage, a capacitor and diodes will solve that. The setup in my sig still experiences excessive voltage drop for a second or two, during hard acceleration, so I need to add a capacitor to either the line or load side of my reducer. Since energy = .5CV^2, by placing the cap on the 48 volt side vs. the 12 volt side, I can store 16 times more energy.

[radioman]

There is no complete cure for this interference. I tried solving this on two EZGO golf carts and never found a solution. The noise is radiated from the controller and it competes with the radio station signal. It is picked up on the radio's antenna just like the station signal. I tried some clamp on ferrite beads on wires from the controller that seemed to help but it did not completely eliminate the noise. If you take a portable AM-FM radio and run some test it will pick up this same noise. If there is a solution it would be with the design of the controller.

[yurtle]

We don't know what the hijacker's problem is. The first post on page 3 sounds like a voltage drop issue.

[prdmetalworks]

It's definitely a static issue, not a voltage drop issue. The CD player works fine, as well as one station that has an antenna about 3 miles up the road from me.
Has anyone tried one of those noise filters (not sure what they are called) that radio shack used to sell?
And you are correct yurtle, the factory 12v wiring just taps 2 batteries.

[yurtle]

I've never had a static issue on mine, but I assume some sort of filter would help. I listen to FM stations that are at least 30 miles away with no problem. Here's my amplified antenna, mounted in the roof-mounted console. I think it's a different brand, but looks identical.

Amazon.com: Jensen Marine AN150SR AM/FM Amplified Antenna: Electronics

Amazon.com: Jensen Marine AN150SR AM/FM Amplified Antenna: Electronics

Nothing is grounded to the frame.