More advice please / electric motor

[dawgn86]

Hi All..

2008 EZGO PDS 36v

Need some more advice please.

So my cart has been ridden very little in the last 1.5 years as batteries were going bad. The last work I done was put on new rear brake hubs and shoes in Jan 2019 or earlier. At the same time, I put new bearings and seals in too.

I put six new Duracell batteries in this weekend and tonight really gave it a good ride after a good charge. Cart drove like new..plenty of power, etc.

When I got back home, I noticed a burning smell. Battery cables not hot..controller not hot, but the motor was hot. So checked around some more and noticed my rear driver side brake hub was hot as well. Of course, sounds like brake shoe on this side sticking or not adjusted well? Didnt get a chance to jack it up but will tomorrow.

What else should I be looking for? Bearing?

As always, appreciate the good advice.

[LukeL]

I’’d jack it up and make sure the brakes aren’t rubbing. The adjusters have to be “reset” after replacing the brake shoes. If not, it could cause them to be too tight and rub.

[dawgn86]

Today, I took off left rear wheel and hub. Took brake shoes off cleaned everything and reassembled. Took axle out and bearing slid off easily. Too easily. Put all back together...hubs turn smoothly. Went for a ride and hub and motor still getting hot. Right side stays cool

What am I over looking?

[Andy4639]

Jack the cart up and try turning the wheel by hand. The cables may need some lube. The cable maybe sticking. With it jacked up spin the tire by hand and apply the brakes see if it sticks.

[dawgn86]

Thanks Andy..I think you are on the right track. I jacked the cart up at lunch. The tires didnt spin as freely as yesterday when I cleaned everything up and the lever for the star adjuster would work when I applied the brakes, but then seemed to stick out instead of closing and engaging the star wheel.

I was thinking the bearing was bad; took it to a few places to cross reference one and everyone told me the bearing seemed good. It is something in the braking system that is causing that side's shoes to tighten up and drag. I am thinking of some possible problems:

Bad or sticking cables: can they be taken off and cleaned and lubricated?
The star mechanism: can it be unbolted from the hub and cleaned and lubricated?

[dawgn86]

Latest... Took off hubs again..adjusted star wheels all the way in...brake lever/clevis pin not binding. Loosened up adjusted under brake pedal some. I

Brake cable on drivers side was routed up behind leaf spring shackle and pinched. Rerouted it down some and feeding to backing plate straight in.

Drive cart..brakes work good. Drive into garage. Lift rear of cart and tires barely can be turned by hand.

Cables have been lubricated. What am I missing?

[Cobra,1]

I’m going with bad cables also. They get rusted inside the covering.
Also there is a step by step procedure for adjusting not just brake shoes but cables and equalizer bar and pedal clearance.
Try doing all these adjustments in the correct order mentioned in the manual.
Doing this made a big difference in my carts braking.👍