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The tail lights on my 2007 Phantom Club Car were not working. I just bought the cart and thought they were burnt out. I got the replacement lights from the dealer and installed them. They worked for a minute or two, then blew a fuse. We drove the cart without the lights working when suddenly smoke started coming from under the seat. One of the cables had melted into the battery. The dealer is saying the lights were installed incorrectly. Any thoughts on this issue? Thanks.
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First, it's important to determine if your light wiring is factory installed or aftermarket. This can significantly affect how the electrical system is set up and where potential issues may lie. Factory wiring tends to follow specific standards and routes, while aftermarket installations can vary widely depending on who did the work and how they did it.
If your cart has four 12 volt batteries, it's possible the light system was connected directly to one of those batteries. On the other hand, if your cart has six 8 volt batteries, you might find a voltage reducer in place. This reducer could be converting 16 volts from two of the 8 volt batteries down to 12 volts for the lights. Voltage reducers can sometimes fail or be incorrectly installed, leading to electrical problems like the ones you've described. In rare cases, there may be a factory installed 48 to 12-volt reducer which would handle the entire battery pack, but these are less common.
In your case, the smoke and melted cable suggest a serious short or overload. Incorrect installation can certainly cause these issues, especially if the lights were connected in a way that bypassed proper fuse protection or put too much load on a single battery or wiring segment.
Start by following the wiring from the lights back to the power source, checking each connection, and verifying the integrity of the cables. Look at the wiring for your lights. Factory wiring is typically neat and bundled with the rest of the cart’s wiring harness. Aftermarket wiring might look newer or less integrated with the other wiring. Determine where the lights are getting their power. If it's directly from one of the 12 volt batteries or through a voltage reducer, make sure these connections are secure and correct. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask!
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