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Old 12-26-2012, 02:01 PM   #1
MDLNB
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Question What can I expect?

I recently purchased a home that came with a 1997 Club Car DS, 48volt, no visible mods. It has a D377 motor. It went long periods without any charge, but it seems that it does charge up to around 50 volts, according to a small hand held tester. I have not checked the speed by my GPS yet, but I can already tell that it is going slow, because I have other carts pushing me or passing me all the time. It has two to three year old Trojan T875's in it. The batteries are clean and the plates also look clean. They seem to charge OK.

What kind of speed should I be able to expect from the D377 motor? The wiring appears to be rather thick, so I am assuming that it has decent wiring. The controller, from what I can see of it, appears to be black. It is a series system, I assume by the type of F/R lever and lack of coils.

I do not want to spend a grand on speeding it up. I would rather do some inexpensive tweaking and put my money into a gas cart. I plan to keep this one for my wife. She currently uses it to drive to the pool every morning for her water aerobics.

I am new to this forum and have asked a couple of other questions. I really enjoy the amount of expertise gathered here. But, I also see the amount of money you folks shell out for your hobby. I am not criticizing as I also have three Harley Motorcycles that can get quite expensive. But, now I am retired and on a limited budget. I'll only be holding onto one bike. But I digress.

I am looking for information on how fast this D377 should go in a stock setup, and how can I tweak it CHEAPLY to go about 20mph. My understanding is that this motor should be able to produce that much speed, in the right environment. And I am not referring to down hill...

Thanks for your patience with questions.
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Old 12-26-2012, 02:58 PM   #2
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Default Re: What can I expect?

Welcome to BGW , from what I gather you have a 48 volt system , you need to check the water level of your batts. and make sure they are approx at or above the plates , if they are low or you can see the plates add water to the level I mentioned .
Cheers !
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Old 12-26-2012, 03:07 PM   #3
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Talking Re: What can I expect?

Forgot to mention to only use distiller water in your batteries when topping them up , this is a easy first step , you would not believe just by adding water to your batts , the difference it can make
Cheers !
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Old 12-26-2012, 03:27 PM   #4
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Default Re: What can I expect?

Yep, the water level is well above the plates. And the plates look good, from what I can discern from looking at them. Darn cart just seems tired. I still haven't used the GPS to give me an idea of how slow it really is. But, I do know that I have many carts that run up on my rear end. I try to be courteous and pull over to allow them to pass. Darn 80-90 year old seniors are speed demons..

Does anyone know what kind of speed you can expect from a D377 at 48 volts and what appears stock system?
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Old 12-26-2012, 03:36 PM   #5
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Default Re: What can I expect?

When you say it runs slow , how slow are you talking ? less then 10 mph
Being it was not charged for a long time, and who knows how well the batteries were taken care off I would start of there first do a load test or charge up the batts wait 12 hr or one day then take voltage reading that should give you some idea , but a load test is the best way
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Old 12-26-2012, 04:14 PM   #6
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Default Re: What can I expect?

Hopefully someone else can chime in here that has a lot more knowledge on club car than I , I'm a Ezgo guy , good luck
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Old 12-26-2012, 06:19 PM   #7
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Default Re: What can I expect?

Stock DS will go between 12 to 14 MPH. usually on the low end of that speed on flat ground.

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Old 12-27-2012, 06:19 AM   #8
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Red face Re: What can I expect?

Thanks to all the replies.

I figure it must be traveling at about 12-14mph, but haven't used the GPS yet. From the comment above, that must be about right.

I haven't load tested it, because I don't have anything but a simple volt meter for equipment. But, the volt meter says about 50+ after charging. And that's kind of ball parking it, considering it is a cheap analog meter. Most of my tools are in NC. I just recently moved to Florida almost two months ago and haven't moved all my stuff from my other home yet.

Ok, since this is my first golf cart, hopefully someone can give me some ideas on tweaking it to get 20mph from this thing. Like I said earlier, I do plan to purchase a gas cart later, but will likely keep this one also.

The cart has been consistently kept in the garage by the original owner. It's clean. I do plan to clean all the contacts with some contact cleaner. I was thinking of pulling the wheels and packing the bearings. Is there any other lube in the rear end that should be considered?

I have 22x10x8 ATV tires ordered for the back because they are looking like racing slicks right now. The front has new tread on the 215x60x8's. I will likely have to raise the back a bit for clearance, so I plan to use either a "add a leaf" or shackles.

I am not totally sure of the wiring, and will consider replacing it with thicker wiring if advised. It presently looks pretty sturdy. It may have been replaced by the previous owner. Like I said, the batteries are very clean and I don't see a bit of accumulated acid. The posts look like they have been taken care of.

So, my goal is to increase the speed about 6mph, IF it is running at 14 now. It is probably more likely running at the bottom end of 12mph. I have used it for 18 holes of golf, with no problem. My wife uses it to go to the pool for her water aerobics every morning and it seems OK. I charge it after every use. I am assuming that it is running within normal parameters, according to a previous comment.

I will try it out with a GPS either today or tomorrow to see what it's top speed is. I do know that everyone else overtakes me, and they have stock cars. Some are gas, but most are normal electric.

I am currently trying to read as many older posts possible for ideas. Anything that you can advise is greatly appreciated.
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Old 12-27-2012, 09:33 AM   #9
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Default Re: What can I expect?

Speed costs money, the only way I know to speed that cart up is a new motor, Plum Quick is probably the cheapest option. But you are putting on bigger wheels so now you might have to put a higher amo controller too. Need good bats also and yours are weak according to the 50 volt reading. New motor, new controller and new bats probably around $1500 or so.

I would put the new wheels on, and see what it does, and if ok put a new motor on and hope the controller can handel it.
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Old 12-30-2012, 06:41 AM   #10
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Unhappy Re: What can I expect?

Ok, so I pulled the rear panel (behind seat) and was able to use a mirror to check the version of controller this thing has. It is an old Curtis PMC 1204/410, which if I am correct, allows for 225 amps. Someone had written with marker on it "Bad."

I have been told that the D377 motor in this CC is not the stock motor. I am now wondering if maybe the reason for the DS being slow, is the controller. It seems to start out pretty fast, but then quickly slows to a crawl. I am able to go pretty far on it though, so I am assuming that the batteries are holding up pretty well. Like I said in another post, it made it to the golf course and through 18 holes, and then retuning home.

Question: Based on what I have said, if I replace the controller, should I be able to get about 19mph out of this car? I will probably replace the motor eventually, with a bandit upgrade. Right now, I have just recently moved so am strapped for the funding to overhaul the whole thing. I also, eventually want to purchase a gas car for long drives around here. But, the DS will be kept for my wife for her morning water aerobic trips to the pool.

So, what I am saying is, can I get a low end 300amp controller (perhaps used) and get a bit more speed from this thing? Or, at least not have it start lagging in speed?

Thank you for the assistance. This really is a neat forum.
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