Navitas Tac 2 install battery issues

[Christopher2178]

Anyone ever found a solution to this? Was it the batteries going bad or something else?

[Getprepared]

Navitas never replied back to my email about calibration/adjustment. It is not a battery issue. By controller voltage reading less than pack voltage I am just not getting the range I should be getting due to the controller safety kicking in even though pack voltage is ok. Normally I would run batteries to 50% but probably getting to 60% or so with voltage discrepancy. It has not effected the way I use the cart just my OCD.

[Christopher2178]

Originally Posted by Getprepared

Navitas never replied back to my email about calibration/adjustment. It is not a battery issue. By controller voltage reading less than pack voltage I am just not getting the range I should be getting due to the controller safety kicking in even though pack voltage is ok. Normally I would run batteries to 50% but probably getting to 60% or so with voltage discrepancy. It has not effected the way I use the cart just my OCD.

Well that's disappointing Navitas never responded.. Thank you for the update!

[austinKaratePants]

I am seeing the same thing. I just went with the Navitas 440A controller and AC motor, and if I turn it up to 20 mph, the batteries get drained in minutes. I am running two Big Battery LI Honey Badgers that are less than a year old. I guess I'll call Navitas tomorrow.

[ojo]

Originally Posted by austinKaratePants

I am seeing the same thing. I just went with the Navitas 440A controller and AC motor, and if I turn it up to 20 mph, the batteries get drained in minutes.

I'd say that's more a problem with the batteries than with the controller! 56ah honey badger,
Max Continuous Discharge Current Amps: 63
Very low, not ideal for typical golfcart application. The Navitas is set to 200amp when it comes new. I can drive for half an hour pretty fast, with no significant drop of the Fla batteries.
( Fast means more than 20 mph )

Also, max voltage of the honey's is 50.4v, even pretty low. 100% SOC of Trojan lead acid batteries is 50.93v!

[Volt_Ampere]

It's not Navitas - it's your batteries!

[austinKaratePants]

I called Navitas and found out that I needed the Advanced settings on the App, once I was there, I was able to pick the profile for the Big Batteries. So far, it seems like a major improvement. Much happier.

[coug86]

Originally Posted by coug86

Thanks OJO. They are US Battery US 8VGC XC2. Less than a dozen full charges on them.

So weird though, not sure why the reading in the Navitas App is completely different from when I put my Multimeter on them.

Here are some of my theories on why this is happening:

1. Batteries were not new like the shop said who I purchased from and are not holding charge properly. (I have checked and double checked water levels, all good), remember there are fewer than a dozen charges on them since I acquired the cart.

2. Delta QuiQ charger*(913-4800-09) does not have the right profile (currently 93 and Battery manufacture suggests 71, have been so far unsuccessful changing profile, does anybody have any suggestions for this? I have emailed the manufacture), thus the batteries are not completely charging properly.

3. Navitas controller (Tac2 600A) îs not hooked up right, even though a buddy and I have looked twice and checked against install instructions. (We believe it is right) because the controller is reporting lower voltage, it automatically puts the cart into limp mode prematurely when the pack actually still has sufficient charge?)

4. Something is acting as a parasitic draw somewhere (although why would multimeter stay 50.2 pretty consistently 12 hours after charge. (were 50.4 yesterday)


Navitas App Readings immediately after charge (Pic 1)
Navitas App Readings 12 hours after charge (Pic 2) Cart not driven at all
Navitas App Readings 24 hours after charge (Pic 3) and continues to drop with cart not driven at all
Multimeter has remained consistent around 50.2 to 50.4. Individual batteries 8.3-8.4 (Pic 4)

Anybody have any thoughts?

UPDATE:

Wanted to update my Yamaha/Navitas situation. Still frustrated. I have pretty much resolved my battery situation. Was the Delta/Q charger. I bought a Lester Summit II and have had no more issues with the batteries. Even have recently used a Lester Battery Discharge Tester to make sure all batteries were solid (Ran for 110 minutes and I took readings on individual batteries all the way down to about 42.2 volts on the discharge unit before it turned off)

I performed this discharge test because I am STILL having issues with my Navitas Controller throwing fault messages at me.

Here is what happens. I drive approximately a mile or so from my house to my course ( I now drive it ultra-conservative max 15 mph etc ). Play 7-8 holes and I either get a "Low Voltage" and or "Throttle Fault" error codes on my Navitas App from the Controller. Nothing happens at all when you go to step on the throttle pedal. After 3 to 4 minutes, the fault codes go away and I can continue to drive it. This usually happens 2 to 3 times during 18 holes. I now ride around with my meter hooked up to my battery pack so I can monitor the pack at all times. Here's the thing, the pack under load never gets below 45 during operation.

I am beyond frustrated. I have been in constant contact with the West Coast Navitas Tech, he was convinced that one of the batteries was causing this, thus why I performed the recent load test on the battery pack.

The most recent thoughts of the Navitas Tech in an email were

"I've had a couple customers repack bearings and get lighter oil in the rear and drop their current draw by a ton. I still think you have a battery that is folding under the current draw and is the source of all your issues"

Do you guys think repacking the bearings and getting lighter oil in the rear is really a fix for this? Doesn't sound right.

I also have a local cart mechanic who I have been talking to. He thinks I should change out the throttle position sensor first and then possibly explore the wiring harness.

Anybody have any thoughts?

[ojo]

Sorry to hear that, i think the "lighter gear oil" was a yoke. But the tech assumed a battery problem, and me too. Healthy, fully charged golfcart batteries should be good for two full rounds on the golf yard. The voltage drop from 50+v to 45v while driving the cart, seems too much. One bad battery, or one bad cell in a battery could cause that. With a hydrometer, you could check all of the cells. Or testing with a different set of batteries, but that would be the heaviest procedure.

[coug86]

Originally Posted by ojo

Sorry to hear that, i think the "lighter gear oil" was a yoke. But the tech assumed a battery problem, and me too. Healthy, fully charged golfcart batteries should be good for two full rounds on the golf yard. The voltage drop from 50+v to 45v while driving the cart, seems too much. One bad battery, or one bad cell in a battery could cause that. With a hydrometer, you could check all of the cells. Or testing with a different set of batteries, but that would be the heaviest procedure.

Thank you for the reply OJO!!!! I performed a hydrometer test and all cells measured 127 and above about 6 hours after charging was complete. All cells are solid.

I went out on the course again last night. Played about 20 holes, drove a mile there and a mile back. (Drove it wide open (25+) the whole way home). The intermittent problem continues to happen. The cart once again was dead in the water at about the 8th hole. Seconds before, while underway my meter under load showed 47.7. My buddy pushed me for about 10-15 seconds and the system resets and I drive away. Both the bus under voltage low throttle error messages were showing, sometimes at the same time. Happens about 7-8 times during the round.

The last advice from the Navitas guy was "there could be something mechanical dragging the cart a bit (tires, alignment, gear oil, bearings). Do you think that this his advice is in anyway legit before I start doing all of this maintenance?

I did order a new throttle sensor to replace in the cart. I figured there could be something there because the cart does not go into limp mode at all when this happens.

Thanks again for your help.