I think I found this little thing. It may be the triangle and line located above the solenoid in the diagram (by location not by wires). I need to Google that symbol.
edit: it's a diode.
Edit again: it's a diode that my multi meter says is working fine. .543V in the forward bias direction 0L in the reverse. I guess I wore it back up and keep trouble shooting.
this is a frustrating beast to work on. Not a lot of resources because it is so heavily modified and it was trashed when I started.
I think we are down to the g-core. Which is the switch on the go pedal, or the solenoid.
The g-core is a micro switch in a box.
I have seen solenoids make “just a little” contact. Enough so voltage is apparent, but not so much to flow the amps.
A new solenoid should be around thirty five dollars new. Buy a club car one, others may look the same but there is a difference.
I hope I’m helping.
Edit: I went over your posts and it seems you already ruled out the g-core.
In reply to Folgers :
Thank you, you have been really helpful and I appreciate it. I will order a solenoid, I went through a couple when I built this thing and the one that is in it is from a different cart.
I am going to look for instructions on testing the foot switch. I checked it and it went from OL to continuity when I stepped on it.
So to wrap up this saga, it was one of the micro switches in the foot pedal. I had figured that out a week or so ago but I could not figure out how to verify that or bypass it, my head just couldn't get there. I had a friend who is an electrical genius come over and in 10 minutes he had it all sorted. I eliminated the foot switch and made a toggle switch for on / off. I prefer it that way for what I use it for anyway.
Folgers, I appreciate all the input. I was really scratching my head and the fact I mangled the wiring harness so badly when I built it did not help me troubleshooting at all. That may be a good lesson for next time.
Nick
So the Magic Carpet has been pretty solid lately. I had no issues after the foot pedal fix. I did but and bolt it before I took it out for the spring and found one bushing that had worn and then cracked. I put all new bushings in the steering since I had it apart.
A couple months ago my kids bought me LED strip lights. They are intended to be plugged into AC but that is just a little power supply that makes 12V power so I cut the plug off wires it to my fuse panel and lit the bottom of it up. It's pretty obnoxious but it is a picnic table that you can drive so that kind of fits. I'll try to link a video, not sure if I can do that. If I can't I'll get a pic.
Edit: I figured it out. Or maybe not since it doesn't seem very .gif'y
I've had a great summer with the magic carpet, no break downs, a small amount of maintenance just to keep up on things and a lot of fun use. I also picked up another cart, Ckub Car Precedent that is electric. I would really like to switch to electric for some reason. I have 2 thoughts.
1- build another one using the second cart, I've learned a lot and I could make another one pretty reasonably. It would do some things better, maybe not be as "pretty" but that's subjective.
2- take the rear axle and electrical bits and swap them out with my current rides gas transaxle and engine.
The picnic table tops out at 20 mph right now. That is alright most of the time but I do like to drive it around town where there is a 30 mph speed limit. If it could go 30 mph then I could keep up with traffic and that would be nice. I was looking at upgrading to a Navitas controller which would give me that speed, they are pricey though.
Every time I take the table anywhere it gets a lot of positive attention. Would it be possible to get a "product sponsor" that would give me the controller and battery pack to rep their company with something like that or is that a foolish idea?
I’m not a huge fan of the electrics, for many different reasons.
Bigger wheels or just tires will help top end.
I would look into high speed gears for the rear end of your current car. If it’s doing 20mph now, gears will get you nearly if not slightly past thirty mph.
Last I looked, over a year ago, gear sets were around $700. It’s not rocket science to install them. Need a bearing splitter and a press...
In reply to Folgers :
I'm curious what you don't like about the electrics. I'm up in the air on either system. My gas engine is beat, it took some very heavy damage in the crash that happened before I got it. I've been shocked that it still holds together! The block was cracked and I repaired it. It leaks a little bit holds oil and keeps going.
I also need to put a belt on it and because of how I built it I have to drop the engine to do that (whoops). It is a little portly at ~800 lbs and it usually sees 800-1000 lbs of rider, do you think it will be able to pull all that weight if I change ratio (either with tire or gear).
Mainly the cost of ownership is a lot higher. Batteries last 4-6 years and cost just under 1k to replace.
Worst case scenario four years of having the car cost around two hundred fifty dollars a year in batteries.
When things go bad they are harder to diagnose, and generally more expensive to fix.
The electrics when towing, will cut out, just stop working when overloaded. The controller sense too much current or too high internal temperature and hopefully shuts off before it melts something.
The batteries do require maintenance, need to check and add water periodically, the terminals will get corroded and need to be cleaned, cables need to get replaced when the corrosion gets them. If the voltage gets low over winter the water will freeze and crack the case.
None of this is insurmountable, but the juice isn’t with the squeeze in my opinion.
A modern gas powered golf car will pull a full sized pickup around the parking lot all day long. Gas cars typically weigh around 750lb and the electrics are around 1000lbs.
It will be fine with either gears or tires, installing both would probably be too much.
I have the gas versus electric conversation three or four times a day but I don’t think my eloquence is coming across in text.
In reply to Folgers :
All good points and I know you maintain a large fleet so your words mean a lot when considering this kind of thing. I appreciate the input. I am a little scared of the cost. I priced the components to make the electric cart go like I want and it's big money. Probably 2-3k. I bet I don't have $1000 in the whole thing right now and that includes the $450 in tires and wheels that are on it!
Another golf cart question, Folgers looking at you :-)
fully charged battery, I have oversized wires to the starter. It turns over slowly. Like it's been slow but it's getting slower. It's fast enough that it will start but it's laboring to turn over (especially cold).
Should I be looking to replace the starter generator or have it rebuilt?
If the comutator isnt chewed up bad its worth throwing bearings and brushes in. Brushes are $80-$100 for the brushes themselves. Bearings are not special, 6204rs and usually a 6202rs.
If you have access to a shop press its not a hard job to do. Just a few bolts and pushing the bearings on and off.
Starter generators are another place to not cheap out. Go for an oe or maybe a nidec. The going price for a new starter is somewhere between $450 and $500 around here.
Its not super common for them to fail in that way. Double check that it is charging, and engine grounds.
In reply to Folgers :
Good advice. I'm going to be out of town for a few days but when I get back I'll pull it off and look at it. There is still one mom and pop place around here that rebuilds starters and alternators. Typically for specialty things. I did have an incident last year where it was shorted across the two terminals on the top of the starter. It was probably like that for a couple of minutes. Lots of sparks, not a pretty site...
In reply to Folgers :
Also if I drop $500 on it this will be the most expensive part of the entire build! The cart I started with was free because it was destroyed.
So closing the loop on the starter. I had it rebuilt (which was probably just brushes and bearings), it works better than it ever has by a long shot and is charging and I have no problems!
I have a new problem. Took the table to the local cider mill last week. I live in a small town, the cider mill is no more than a mile from my house, nice time, drive home no issues.
Today I get a phone call from the cider mill owner, he is an old friend and he says "I don't want to cause any trouble but I got a call from someone and they are hell bent on making sure your picnic table is never on the road again." We talk it out, someone called him thinking it was his because I was parked in the parking lot having cider and donuts. I know it's not legal so I am not saying I am in the right here. I mitigate what I can, I never go on main roads, I always drive with 4 ways on, I have turn signals and use them. It goes 20 mph and I'm on village streets with a 30 mph speed limit, I can just about keep up with traffic. I also have it insured.
Does anyone know of any registration options? I know anything I do is going to be gray at best, but I'd love some plausible deniability here. Can I register as an implement or equipment? Or register in another state? I have people in NC, SC and FL that I could give it to and have them register it. My neighbor has snowblowers and tractors that have plates on them, he owns a business and drives them on the road, maybe that is an option?
Any advice is appreciated.
NYN
Is it safe to assume you are in NYS? https://golfcartresource.com/new-york-golf-cart-low-speed-vehicle-laws/
Golf Cart No joy, but a Low Speed Vehicle might work. Also, you might not want to advertise that you can exceed 20 mph as that triggers the Federal definition of a motor vehicle and all of the safety regulations connected to that definition. This info is as of 2017.
Good luck.
In reply to BrianC72gt (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks for the link. Yes I am in NY. I am digging into that to see if I can get it into the LSV category, it's going to be an uphill battle because there is not manufacturer, I built it. Sometimes I'll call it a golf cart because it has a golf cart drivetrain, it's the easiest explanation.
I have most of the lights, need to add a brake light, also need to add reflectors, mirrors and a windshield, I think I can do that easy enough, seat belts are tougher but doable. The hard part will be VIN, and manufacturers certification to a maximum speed and "it must appear on the list of approved limited use vehicles".
This is a great lead so thank you for the info, I have a path.
You'll need to log in to post.
