2002 Lifted PDS DEAD

[scottyb]

Don't put that stuff on your shoe on the small terminals of the solenoid

[infospecs]

I removed the diode and it still didn't even switch on. I did notice that my carts battery meter was off and very slowly turned on to a dim state. With the diode back on the meter light went right to bright. Could the solenoid be dead and the diode is redirecting the voltage and hence causing the heat?

[scottyb]

Below is a post which will tell you how a solenoid works so you can test yours

A quick overview of the solenoid is :
The solenoid is a HD on/off switch or Contactor
the connection is made /broken between the 2 large terminals. The 2 small terminals are the activation circuit. typically one terminal will have a constant negative connection to the pack. When Positive power is applied to the second small terminal the contact is drawn up against the spring to make contact. When power from either side of the activation circuit is removed then contact is released and the spring pushes it away interrupting the circuit ...It doesn't matter which small terminal is neg or pos on the activation circuit so long as you have both....

[todo_brane_ded]

Originally Posted by infospecs

I removed the diode and it still didn't even switch on. I did notice that my carts battery meter was off and very slowly turned on to a dim state. With the diode back on the meter light went right to bright. Could the solenoid be dead and the diode is redirecting the voltage and hence causing the heat?

Well, it could be but not the way you described it. The diode isn't supposed to conduct, period......except when the solenoid is turned off, and then for only a few milliseconds.....

I'll reiterate, the solenoid does not need the diode to operate. The diode is there to supress reverse emf due to a collapsing magnetic field when the solenoid is turned OFF, or DE-ENGERIZED. Thats all it does, nothing else.

Either troubleshoot the cart with the diode removed or replace the solenoid with the old one but once again, if you don't have a new diode then don't put that one back on until you've got the cart working again. Frankly, once you get it working again then you should replace the diode with a new one, period. Make sure the polarity is correct! It only goes one way!

[infospecs]

So could it be the switch that turns on the circuit to the small terminals.

[scottyb]

Yes it could be the solenoid activation circuit. One side (neg) is the blue wire from the controller, this is the trigger wire, and the other side is the Positive yellow wire, active after key on and in gear...

[infospecs]

I swapped out the solenoid with my origional and no power.. I swapped out the Alltrax with my origional controller and nothing. I plugged in the charger as it wouldnot charge either, charger kicked in.... I pressed the gas pedal and the tires spun. Unplugged the charger, pressed the gas pedal nothing. With the charger plugged in the wheels would turn. If i unplug the charger with the gas depressed the tires continmued to spin until i released the pedal, if I press it again nothing without the charger plugged in.

[infospecs]

anyone have any ideas why the cart will only operate when the charger is plugged in??? I send my Alltrax back in to service to have them check it out...

[scottyb]

Sounds like the solenoid is not activating without the added voltage. Can you confirm this? Solenoid clicks with charger connected, but not clicking without the charger?

If so ...
1. battery pack too low voltage to activate solenoid
2. solenoid activation circuit not wired to full voltage

[todo_brane_ded]

Originally Posted by infospecs

I swapped out the solenoid with my origional and no power.. I swapped out the Alltrax with my origional controller and nothing. I plugged in the charger as it wouldnot charge either, charger kicked in.... I pressed the gas pedal and the tires spun. Unplugged the charger, pressed the gas pedal nothing. With the charger plugged in the wheels would turn. If i unplug the charger with the gas depressed the tires continmued to spin until i released the pedal, if I press it again nothing without the charger plugged in.

This might help you....


Frankly, there's nothing that changes with/without the charger connected other than the reed switch closes. Almost sound like the cart's being powered through the reed. Are you sure there's nothing wrong with the pack (+) or (-) battery cable connections?

I like Scottyb's answer above too....What is the voltage at the Solenoid?