Motor/controller/battery/everything questions....

[URBANNGUERILLA]

I know that I will have several other questions to follow this, but now that I have narrowed down the available carts to the one that I think I'll take home on a trailer I have a couple motor & controller related questions to kick this party off.

I have read that stock series motors do well with "overvolting".

What about aftermarket "performance" motors? I'm not talking about the dual-voltage motors that have HP ratings for both voltages, I'm talking legit 36v aftermarket motors. Plum Quick, D&D, etc.. I'm thinking maybe they don't do so well because aftermarket "upgrade" motors already have close to "all the good you can get out of them" at the recommended voltage. Is this accurate?

I also need to think about a controller, solenoid and cables. I see the HD solenoids with 1000amp max so I assume it is less than 1000 amps. I'm curious how many amps an average 36v and 48v pack could provide to the cart at absolute maximum in an ideal situation if it was not restricted by anything? (Guessing..20% rule.. 800?)

It seems like a point of diminishing returns after you go "so far" up in amperage on controllers. (These are not exact numbers but I'm using them for an example) For instance, with a certain motor and setup you might increase your torque 40-70% on a 500amp controller upgrade, but might only gain an additional 10% of torque on top of that with a 750amp controller. At what amperage point does everyone think it goes beyond "cost effective" and into just paying a lot more for much smaller gains?
(Guessing.. around 500amps?)

Do they make programmable controllers for series carts? If so, Is it worth the little extra for a programmable on a series?

What year did EZGO start using SEPEX motors?

I'm sure I have a couple hundred more questions, but I need to let them brew up and come to the surface.

[URBANNGUERILLA]

Wow.. 80 views and no one wanted to get involved with my extensive questioning? lol.. I brought the 97 TXT home today. It seems slow as sh!t. It is a series cart. All the batteries have liquid covering the plates. Not sure about state of charge, I just put it on the charger when I got home but it seems pretty slow. I will GPS speed test it after its charged to see exactly how fast it goes. It does have an hour meter on it that says like 1800 something hours. I will try to notice tomorrow if it still works or not.

The cart seems to have a lot of extra play in the steering wheel, or its out of alignment, or out of toe.. not sure how to fix that but hopefully someone does. It almost feels like it over-corrects when you get to the other side of the "play", which is getting annoying and I have only had the cart home and off the trailer 30 minutes. Took each dog for their own "ride around the block" and then put it on the charger.

I tried to look for the place where the batteries are stamped, but I could not find a stamp anywhere on them. They do have stickers w/ months and years on them by the posts, but none of the months OR years are marked? So I'm not sure what the deal is with them, but I don't know what to do about them unless I just replace them, which is expensive.. but I will if I need to.

There is an empty spot under the drivers side that should accommodate a single battery, but I'm not sure where the second one would go unless I put it in the bagwell, and at that point I might as well put both extra batteries in the bagwell.. I'll have to think about it.

There are also 2 black boxes under the passenger side seat. One big and one smaller. They both have black plastic covers over them. I have not opened it up yet, to find out what they are.

What does that metal arm that comes from behind the FNR switch go into? I marked it with a yellow dot.

What is the black box marked with a red dot? Is this the controller?

I marked the "ends" of the battery bank (that feed the cart) with blue dots. Do they look too small compared to the red wires?

There are 2 fuse blocks on top of the battery bank. I marked them with green dots. Any idea what they are for before I start trying to trace them back?

[chloe]

You can put both extra batteries under the seat but you'll have to relocate the controller, (large black box) and the F&R switch, (small black box). That is also what that stell rod connects to. The piece by your knees is just the lever to activate the switch.
The wires with blue dots do look smaller than the red wires. But, it also looks like installing all new 4 guage wires would be a good idea.
The fluse block nearest your F&R lever looks like it goes to your charger plug. The other appears to be additional wiring for lights.

[kab69440]

The yellow is your FNR, the red is the controller, the wires look to be correct. Those are NAPA replacements. They are awesome batteries, that's what I have in my cart. The punch stickers are supposed to be dated before the batteries leave the store, for warranty purposes. I guess it was too much trouble.

Congrats, that looks like a very well maintained pack. I don't know why the pack is tapped with inline fuses. Did it have lights installed or something?

Yes the cart is slow. That is just the nature of the beast. If you want all 48v under the seat, you're going to have to get creative with controller and FNR placement.

[kab69440]

If you have any question about an aftermarket motor. Call them and ask. If you let them know what your intentions and expectations are, they will gift wrap the perfect solution and send it to your door. They will also let you know what type of controller is needed to get the most out of it.

Yes, prorammable controllers are available. Alltrax is very popular. Odds are you're going to end up with an AXE 4855 under your seat before it's all said and done.

Your steering box probably needs rebuilt and your kingpin bushings are likely shot, too. Golf carts align very similar to cars. It isn't hard to figure out, once you're into it.

[URBANNGUERILLA]

Originally Posted by chloe

You can put both extra batteries under the seat but you'll have to relocate the controller, (large black box) and the F&R switch, (small black box). That is also what that stell rod connects to. The piece by your knees is just the lever to activate the switch.
The wires with blue dots do look smaller than the red wires. But, it also looks like installing all new 4 guage wires would be a good idea.
The fluse block nearest your F&R lever looks like it goes to your charger plug. The other appears to be additional wiring for lights.

Chloe, you might be right. I have not took the time to look closely at everything as I just got the cart home tonight close to dark. There are no lights on this cart. It does have a "horn button" on the floorboard to the left of the brake pedal, but the man I bought it from said the horn no longer works. That is the only other thing electrical on the cart that I have seen.

Originally Posted by kab69440

The yellow is your FNR, the red is the controller, the wires look to be correct. Those are NAPA replacements. They are awesome batteries, that's what I have in my cart. The punch stickers are supposed to be dated before the batteries leave the store, for warranty purposes. I guess it was too much trouble.

Congrats, that looks like a very well maintained pack. I don't know why the pack is tapped with inline fuses. Did it have lights installed or something?

Yes the cart is slow. That is just the nature of the beast. If you want all 48v under the seat, you're going to have to get creative with controller and FNR placement.

No lights Kab. The only electrical item on the cart is an old horn that no longer works, "high beam" button on the floorboard just to the left of the brake pedal - for the horn that no longer works. Maybe that is it?

[kab69440]

Could be.

[URBANNGUERILLA]

Originally Posted by kab69440

If you have any question about an aftermarket motor. Call them and ask. If you let them know what your intentions and expectations are, they will gift wrap the perfect solution and send it to your door. They will also let you know what type of controller is needed to get the most out of it.

Yes, prorammable controllers are available. Alltrax is very popular. Odds are you're going to end up with an AXE 4855 under your seat before it's all said and done.

Your steering box probably needs rebuilt and your kingpin bushings are likely shot, too. Golf carts align very similar to cars. It isn't hard to figure out, once you're into it.

I wasn't sure if they offered programmable for series carts. Seems like series carts are kind of simple technology so it seemed (to me) like there was not much you could program.

[URBANNGUERILLA]

Does anyone have experience with the Alltrax SPM models?

http://www.alltraxinc.com/Products_SPM.html

Specifically SPM-48500EZ

[Mpnoffi]

Originally Posted by URBANNGUERILLA

I wasn't sure if they offered programmable for series carts. Seems like series carts are kind of simple technology so it seemed (to me) like there was not much you could program.

Hi Urban,
Sounds like you are relatively new to electric carts, as am I. I just scored a 96 TXT that needed EVERYTHING. I called ScottyB and he was more than happy to spend WAY too long teaching me things over the phone. I ended up ordering the Alltrax AXE 4855 500 amp programmable controller, Scottyb's heavy duty F&R switch, 2 ga cables, and super heavy duty solenoid. I chose this set up because it would allow me to go further than I plan to go (for now...) and I could move to a 48v set up with only the addition of 2 batteries and their cables. So far I am loving it. major diference as compared to how it was when I bought it. It's still slow, but I can slightly lift my front wheels off of the ground when I "punch it" now (and I am running 25" atv tires with aftermarket 12" wheels).


Either way, give ScottyB a call. Great guy, site sponsor and very willing to help.
good luck! http://www.cartsunlimited.net/